Cervical spinal blockage – Cause of symptoms

A cervical spine blockage is a sudden stiffening of the cervical spine with movement restrictions in a certain direction. It manifests itself through various symptoms, which are described in more detail below.

Symptoms

Acute pain and restricted movement are typical for blockages. Pain radiating from the cervical spine towards the shoulders or into the arms up to the fingertips are also symptoms of a blockage in the cervical spine. Depending on the location (determination of position) of the blockage, the symptoms are usually unilateral.

In most cases, head rotation (rotation) and lateral inclination (lateral flexion) to one side is restricted. In addition, a one-sided increased muscle tension of the shoulder and neck muscles can usually be felt. If the blockage is not released, the muscles in the head/shoulder neck area are painfully tense and react very sensitively to touch. Simple everyday movements then become unpleasant/painful hurdles and severely restrict daily movement. Appropriate to this topic, since a torticollis can be the result of a vertebral blockage, you can also have a look at these articles:

  • Physiotherapy for a child with a torticollis
  • Wryneck

Causes

A cervical blockage is usually caused by a muscular imbalance. The cervical spine is made up of seven cervical vertebrae. Between all cervical vertebrae there are so-called intervertebral joints and facet joints, and each vertebra offers origins and starting points for different muscles.

If there is a muscular imbalance at one point, the joint or vertebra can be pulled in one direction more and thus become blocked. There are therefore many different places where a blockage can occur. Poor posture and jerky movements can also block a vertebra in the cervical spine. Muscles tense up and a muscularly uneven pull on a vertebra develops. The following articles may also be of interest to you:

  • Wryneck
  • Physiotherapy for a child with a torticollis
  • Physiotherapy for headaches/migraines of small children