Cervical: symptoms and remedies to treat inflammation
The cervical is the part of the upper vertebral column, the one that supports the head, made up of seven vertebrae. For various reasons, this vertebral tract often becomes inflamed, causing pain that also radiates to the head and back, causing various symptoms and ailments. Inflamed neck is common especially after the age of 45, and mild to moderate pain can persist for years. Young people can get it too, but it's usually caused by muscle contractures. So let's see specifically what are the symptoms of cervical inflammation, and with what remedies the problem can be overcome.
Inflamed cervical: what are the symptoms?
Symptoms of inflamed neck are usually identified with severe pain in the neck, which can radiate to the shoulders, arms, hands, with a certain tingling sensation. Other frequent symptoms can be: headache, pain in the forehead and above the eyes, crunches when turning the head, lack of strength in the arms. Also, do not forget that cervical and dizziness go together, as do nausea, loss of balance and hearing problems, such as buzzing. Usually the pain is more intense in the morning, after hours of nocturnal immobility.
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A great way to prevent cervical: exercise!
A little healthy physical exercise is an excellent antidote to avoid pain and contractures. In the first place, in fact, sport helps to release the tension that in most cases is concentrated in the cervical area, causing a feeling of discomfort, often accompanied by muscle aches, headaches and nausea, for example, here are some exercises to be practiced regularly to increase muscle resistance in the back area and release some tension. Remember that when it comes to sports, the watchword is consistency!
The causes of the inflammation
The causes of an inflamed cervical can be many: due to family predisposition, due to a wrong posture, due to a cold or whiplash, stress, sedentary lifestyle, tension, various discopathies, compression of the vertebrae, arthritis or fractures. Situations of chronic stress, an incorrect diet or an excess of sedentary lifestyle can reduce the overall amount of muscle mass over time, predisposing to disorders and inflammation of the cervical tract. It has been noted that in a condition of overall muscle weakness and insufficiency, the postural muscles find it much harder to support the body. At the cervical level this can be particularly evident as the muscles can never rest, except in a lying position. If the muscles are few and inefficient, they go into crisis easily, with all the painful consequences of the case.
Cervical: the remedies to be adopted
The main remedy to cure inflamed cervical is to change bad habits. If you are forced to stand or sit for a long time, you must learn to maintain the most suitable position to avoid straining the cervical area, but it is above all the lack of physical activity, combined with incorrect postures, which aggravates the problem. To remedy this, simple physical exercises can be performed to keep the neck area and joints well supplied with blood, and to relax and warm the muscles. In some cases, it is good to undergo periodic massages, performed by an expert. It is also important to use suitable mattresses and pillows, not to stand still for too long in front of the computer (get up every now and then, rotate and flex the neck to release the accumulated tensions, keep the monitor about 50-70 cm away from the eyes and adjust it lower than the eye line), avoid stress and drive in the correct position. All these changes in habits can help not to make the cervical inflammation chronic, in the most annoying or painful cases it is good to resort to treatment with drugs.
The cure for the inflamed cervical
A correct diagnosis is necessary to resort to a cure for inflammation, especially in chronic cases. In some cases, a neurological examination may also be appropriate to see the compression of the nerve roots and the spinal cord. In addition, you must undergo an x-ray to assess the extent of the problem, for more investigations a CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging is performed. In the acute phase, analgesics and muscle relaxants can be administered. If the cervical has been contracted by whiplash it is good to wear the orthopedic collar. Another effective and non-pharmacological remedy is physiotherapy, a valid help to heal, while physical exercise and stretching are excellent for preventing and avoiding the onset of inflammation or any relapses. Also thermal therapies, which use mud therapy , can be a solution to the problem.
See here the best stretching exercises, very easy to do even at home
Among the alternative therapies for the treatment of neck pain are foot reflexology, according to which each segment of the foot reflects a part of the body. Therefore, by intervening on specific areas of the foot, the imbalances that occur in the different areas of the body, and therefore also in the cervical one, can be treated.
Acupuncture can also be used to relieve pain and inflammation. Without forgetting osteopathy or massage therapy. Of course, as we have already explained, it is first necessary to consult a doctor and make any checks to assess the nature of the problem. And it is also necessary to choose well-trained specialists, who know how to intervene in this delicate area.
For more useful information on the cervical, you can visit the Humanitas website.
