The cervical spine syndrome is a complex of symptoms that can be triggered by a wide variety of causes and is therefore actually a collective term for the appearance of many different diseases. Most often, a cervical spine syndrome is caused by a problem that originates from the cervical spine. The so-called spinal column blockages play a particularly important role here, which is understood to be a segmental functional disorder of the articulated connections between the individual vertebrae. The causes of the cervical spine syndrome also depend on the temporal course of the symptoms:
- Unexpected occurrence of the symptoms (acute cervical spine syndrome) is more likely to indicate sudden overstraining of the cervical spine as in a traffic accident (“whiplash“), severe unaccustomed strain or similar movement patterns.
- The chronic cervical spine syndrome is often due to other longer lasting strains or processes.
Degenerative change of the intervertebral discs
The most common cause of a chronic cervical spine syndrome is the wear and tear and changes in the intervertebral discs, the associated cartilage and the vertebral bodies due to the permanent stresses to which the spine is subjected in everyday life. Natural aging causes the intervertebral discs to lose fluid and thus become narrower. In addition, the layer of cartilage between the intervertebral disc and the vertebral bodies shrinks more and more until finally the function of the intervertebral disc as a “shock absorber” can no longer be maintained.
Since the intervertebral disc can no longer adequately fill the space between two vertebrae, but the spinal column still has to withstand the everyday stresses, the body begins to “attach” itself to the vertebrae and form bony offshoots (= osteophytes). The force can thus be transferred to more surface area, which reduces the load on each individual vertebra. This happens at the expense of mobility, which is naturally severely restricted by these additional bone parts.
If the spurs on the vertebrae grow continuously, it is at some point inevitable that the newly formed extensions of neighboring vertebrae will meet, which is then reflected in the movement-related pain. Movement-dependent pain is caused by the fact that the extensions meet to varying degrees due to rotation in the vertebral bodies when the body rotates. These intervertebral discs, which are narrower as a result of fluid loss, occur in everyone.
However, not every person with narrow intervertebral discs develops a cervical spine syndrome. For those affected, there are often other factors that further increase the strain. Classically, these include one-sided movements or poor posture during computer activity.
However, the painful friction of the bone spurs does not remain the only consequence of these changes in the spinal architecture. In sum, the space between the vertebrae is filled with increasingly less intervertebral disc, but more bone to withstand the loads despite the lack of intervertebral disc buffer. However, the space between the vertebrae is extremely important, because it is precisely in these intervertebral spaces, always between two adjacent vertebral bodies, that the individual nerve roots move out of the spinal column through a bony canal (= Foramen intervertebrale) in order to move into the body from there and to control functions such as muscle contractions and touch sensitivity.
The lack of space means that this space becomes too narrow and bone parts can press on these nerves. These nerves react to this pressure with sensory disturbances in the arms and/or hands up to severe pain. If numbness, tingling, pain or weakness of the arms occur, the affected person should definitely consult a doctor, as these are signs of serious damage to the nerves, which must be treated urgently to prevent permanent damage.
