Function of the cervical spine
The cervical spine carries the head. In this respect it is of great importance as a static organ. The movements of the head are also performed by the cervical spine.
The overall mobility of the spinal column is large, although only relatively small movements are possible between the individual vertebrae. By summing up these small ranges of motion, the large total range of motion is ultimately the result. The greatest freedom of movement is in the cervical spine, especially in the lower cervical vertebrae.
Movements in all directions are well possible. Possible are rotation, flexion (flexion, inclination), extension (dorsiflexion, reclination) and lateral inclination (lateral flexion). The large range of motion is mainly made possible by the vertebral joints, which have an almost horizontal orientation in the cervical spine.
The smallest functional (mobile) unit of the spinal column is the mobile segment. A mobile segment is the unit between two adjacent vertebral bodies connected by two vertebral joints, the intervertebral disc between the vertebral bodies, and all muscular, ligamentous, and nerve structures located in this area. Isolated disorders are often located in a single movement segment (e.g., blockages, herniated discs).
To locally describe a spinal disease, the individual vertebral bodies are counted, e.g. HWK 5 for the 5th cervical vertebral body, BWK 9 for the 9th thoracic vertebral body, LWK 3 for the 3rd lumbar vertebral body, etc. The same applies to the intervertebral discs and the movement segments. The description HWK 4/5 refers to the movement segment between the 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae.
In addition to its function as a static organ and as an organ of movement, the spine has another important function as a protective and management organ for the spinal cord. In principle, the spinal cord represents the extension of the brain and is therefore also assigned to the central nervous system. Pain in the area of the cervical spine is very common.
As a non-specific description of pain in such cases, one also speaks of a cervical spine syndrome.A characteristic sign of sudden cervical spine complaints is the oblique protective or forced posture of the head, the torticollis. Changes in the intervertebral discs, e.g. a herniated disc in the cervical spine, can cause characteristic pain radiating into the arm (cervicobrachialgia). Other forms of disc wear and tear (osteochondrosis) without a herniated disc increasingly lead to the implantation of an artificial disc (disc prosthesis).
Severe wear and tear of the vertebral joints can cause a facet syndrome. This is a local clinical picture characterized by pain in movement and rest of the cervical spine and at the same time by a limitation of movement of the cervical spine. Pain radiating into the head is also common (cervicocephalgia).
Severe wear-related (degenerative) narrowing of the spinal canal in the cervical spine (spinal canal stenosis of the cervical spine) can damage the cervical spinal cord and lead to the clinical picture of a cervical myelopathy, which is characterized by loss of strength and increasing paralysis of the arms and legs. In these cases, pressure relief (decompression) of the spinal cord and, in most cases, a stiffening operation (spondylodesis) is necessary. Vertebral body slippage (spondylolisthesis), which frequently occurs in the lumbar spine, occurs in the cervical spine only as a result of degenerative changes. Harmless but very common cervical spine and neck pain is caused by muscular tension (hard muscle tension). Muscular tension is often the expression of a stress reaction provoked from within or from outside.
