Physiotherapeutic treatment of chronic neck pain

Synonyms in a broader sense

Cervical spine syndrome, cervical spine syndrome, cervical syndrome, chronic cervical spine complaints, cervical spine pain, neck painIn this topic I would like to provide background knowledge on the development of chronic neck complaints and offer “help for self-help”.

Frequency

Approximately 50% of all adults suffer from back pain, 30% of them are affected by recurrent (repeatedly occurring) neck pain, about 15% are chronic. Chronic neck pain with or without radiating pain is the third largest group of chronic pain patterns, in relation to chronic back pain it is in second place of musculoskeletal pain patterns. Women are more frequently affected than men.

Causes

  • Acute pain patterns that have not been treated sufficiently with pain medicine, such as “blockages” or intervertebral disc problems in the cervical spine
  • Unhealed injuries such as whiplash
  • Too long rest periods after acute events
  • Muscle imbalances, chronic muscle tension, description follows
  • Psychosocial factors such as dissatisfaction at work or in the family, tendency to catastrophize, gain in attention through pain (no orthopedic background, secondary gain in illness)
  • Instability of the cervical spine is caused, for example, by injury, muscle weakness, “weak” supporting tissue, slipped disc, congenital
  • Persistent poor posture at the workplace
  • Chronic wear problems of the cervical vertebral joints
  • Inflammations, rheumatic basic diseases
  • Tumor
  • Eye Problems

Muscle imbalance

Muscular imbalance is not exclusively caused by deficits in strength, endurance or stretching, but often has its origin in a lack of muscular coordination (i.e. the cooperation of the cervical muscles is disturbed in terms of the use of force and temporal sequence) and in malfunctions of the neurological control mechanisms. Impairment in the deep stabilizing muscle system and rapid fatigue of the superficial cervical muscles leads to overloading of certain muscle groups with severe tension and muscle trigger points (local hardening within a tense muscle strand) and the passive support apparatus of the cervical spine. The result is pain and the feeling that the head is no longer supported by the neck.