Prognosis

The prognosis of the cervical spine syndrome and the headache associated with it depends on the causative underlying disease. An exact prognosis can therefore not be given.

Symptoms

Typically, headaches in patients suffering from cervical spine syndrome begin in the neck area (neck pain). In addition, the back headaches felt by the patient can radiate into the arms and hands. Many people who suffer from chronic cervical spine syndrome report of regularly occurring headaches, the strong intensity of which even leads to nausea and vomiting.

Other symptoms of the cervical spine syndrome are impaired vision, dizziness and tinnitus. In addition to the neck and headaches, neurological deficits can also occur. Not infrequently, those affected report numbness and tingling in the arms and hands.

During the course of the disease, paralysis of the arm muscles can also occur. Furthermore, the cervical spine syndrome can be further subdivided according to its exact localization and pain radiation. In everyday clinical practice, a distinction is made between upper, middle and lower cervical spine syndrome.

In the case of the upper cervical syndrome there is typically a radiation of the neck and headache to the back of the head. In some cases, the affected patients also feel a strong stinging sensation that extends over the ears and forehead region. The middle cervical syndrome, on the other hand, causes headaches only in very rare cases.

Patients suffering from this type of cervical spine syndrome rather report complaints in the shoulder blade and arm area. Also numbness, tingling and motor deficits are typical for this type of cervical syndrome. The lower cervical spine syndrome is most often manifested by symptoms that radiate into the forearms and hands.

Especially the exact localization of the complaints in the area of the hands allows conclusions about the affected nerve root. A frequently occurring symptom in the cervical spine syndrome is headache, whereby the back of the head is most frequently affected. The lower part of the back of the head is the source of the large hooded muscle (Muscuslus trapezius), which extends into both shoulders and the thoracic spine, and of small muscles in the depths, which are important for the mobility of the head.

Tension can occur in all parts of these muscles, which can lead to headaches at the back of the head and other symptoms of the cervical spine syndrome. In addition, irritated nerves can also be responsible for pain radiating to the back of the head. If the pain is exclusively at the back of the head, however, the cause of the complaints can also be a tension headache.

However, it is often not possible to differentiate between them with certainty. Distinct from the cervical spine syndrome, there must also be alarm signals for a dangerous disease. On the one hand, these are sudden, extremely strong pain in the back of the head, also known as a headache of destruction, and on the other hand headaches that are accompanied by increasing neck stiffness and possibly fever.

In such cases a doctor must be contacted immediately. With the many possible manifestations of a cervical syndrome, headaches of the forehead can also occur. This localization is less frequent compared to the back of the head, but nevertheless affects some people who suffer from the syndrome.

Especially when the upper part of the cervical spine is affected, the pain may radiate from the ears to the forehead. The pain character is often described as stabbing. Both sides or only one side can be affected.

Strictly unilateral headaches in the forehead are more typical of migraine or cluster headaches. A dull or oppressive pain character can also be caused by a tension headache.Irrespective of the cause, relief can often be achieved by taking a painkiller for a short period of time and regular physical activity, both for cervical spine syndrome and for the other possible causes. In the case of frequent or very severe headaches in the forehead, the family doctor should be consulted and asked for help.

Many people with a cervical spine syndrome suffer from headaches and dizziness. This is usually accompanied by vertigo or dizziness. In addition, a gait insecurity can occur.

The causes lie on the one hand in nerve irritation and on the other hand in the often limited mobility of the cervical spine. The tense posture can cause headaches and dizziness. In addition, the sensation of position can be impaired, which further intensifies the symptoms.

However, the cervical spine syndrome is only one of many possible causes of dizziness. There are many other diseases that can also be responsible for dizziness and headaches at the same time. During the diagnostic clarification, sometimes a disease of the nerves or the sense of balance, for example, can be identified as the cause.

The diagnosis of a cervical spine syndrome can then ultimately only be made after other causes of headaches and dizziness have been excluded. A cervical spine syndrome can trigger a variety of unspecific symptoms. In addition to headaches, many sufferers also suffer from occasional nausea.

This can be caused by irritation of the so-called vagus nerve, which runs from the brain on both sides of the neck to the internal organs. The muscular or bony causes of the cervical syndrome can trigger nausea by influencing the nerve. Nausea can also be the result of dizziness, which also occurs in some people with cervical spine syndrome.

In addition, some people react to pain in the neck or shoulder area with nausea. Often, however, the cause of the symptom remains uncertain. People who frequently suffer from headaches and nausea should have a check-up with their family doctor.

If necessary, the symptoms may also be due to different causes. Nausea can also occur as a result of stomach problems, for example. In some cases, it is advisable to combat the symptom by taking a medication.

Dizziness is a very unspecific and vaguely defined sensation that can be due to a variety of possible causes. In addition to headaches and many other complaints, a cervical spine syndrome can also trigger a feeling of dizziness. This can be caused by, among other things, limited mobility of the cervical spine with resulting insecurity of gait, as well as pain.

The symptom can usually not be treated specifically, but improves through measures that lead to the alleviation of the symptoms of a cervical spine syndrome in general. In some cases, a cervical spine syndrome causes irritation of nerve cells, which leads to a drop in blood pressure and thus to dizziness. In such a case, blood pressure should be measured when the symptoms occur.

Swallowing difficulties can have various causes, whereby one can roughly divide into mechanical disturbances, for example by a bulge or compression from outside, and functional disturbances, by a malfunction of the nerves. A rare but possible cause can be a cervical spine syndrome, in which swallowing difficulties are triggered by nerve irritation. Another cause of headaches and difficulty in swallowing in a cervical spine syndrome is also a cramping of a muscle that runs deep in front of the cervical spine.

In general, however, other causes of swallowing problems are more common, so that a doctor should be consulted if symptoms persist regularly or for a longer period of time. Visual disturbances can occur, for example, in the form of flickering eyes, double vision, visual field restrictions or a reduction in visual acuity. A cervical spine syndrome can also be accompanied by slight visual disturbances, for example when the blood supply to the supplying blood vessels in the neck area is impaired.

However, this is then a diagnosis of exclusion. Newly occurring visual disorders should always be clarified by a medical examination, as in rare cases it may also be a disease of the eyes or brain requiring treatment. This also applies, for example, if there is only a temporary loss of vision in one eye.If headaches and visual disturbances suddenly occur, one of the symptoms may be an acute increase in intraocular pressure (glaucoma), which should be treated.