cervical pain

[sdkashif]

Management of the Disc lesions involve a comprehensive treatment strategies following careful assessment of the patient and idetifying his needs.

Physical modalities:

They should be used to reduce pain only in the acute phase. Once past the acute phase, modalities are used sparingly on an as-needed basis.

Superficial heat modalities relax muscle and relieve soft tissue pain.

Conversely, deep-heating modalities (eg, ultrasound) should be avoided in acute cervical radiculopathy since they augment inflammation and, consequently, exacerbate radicular pain and nerve root injury.

Traction:

Cervical traction may relieve radicular pain from nerve root compression. Traction does not improve soft tissue injury pain. Hot packs, massage, and/or electrical stimulation should be applied prior to traction to relieve pain and relax muscles.

Traction has effects of mechanical elongation of spine, facet joint mobilization, promoting muscle relaxation, reduction of pain. Traction is indicated for spinal nerve root impingement, hypomobility of joints from dysfunction or degenerative changes, joint pain from symptomatic facet joints, muscle spasm or guarding, meniscoid blocking, discogenic pain, post compression fracture.

Continuous or prolonged traction is an effective mode of therapy. In it a static traction force is applied for several hours to several days usually in bed. Only small amount of weight is tolerable.

The effective force is influenced by the body position, weight of the part, friction of the treatment table, method of traction used and the equipment itself.

The traction regimens include heavy weight-intermittent or light weight-continuous. The neck is flexed 15-20° (ie, not extended) during traction. In the cervical spine, approximately 10 lb of force is necessary to counter gravity and 25 lb of force is necessary to achieve separation of the posterior vertebral segments. Generally for vertebral separation, in cervical spine, under friction free circumstances a force of approximately 7 percent of the total body weight separates the vertebrae. A minimum force of 11.25 to 13.5KG (25 to 30 lb) is necessary to lift the weight of head when sitting and to counteract the resistance of muscle tension. The greatest amount of separation occurs during the first few minutes of treatment at a given force. To avoid treatment soreness, the first treatment should not exceed 10 to 15 lb. Muscle relaxation can be achieved at levels less than those needed for mechanical separation (4.5 to 6.75KG, or 10 to 15 lb) in the cervical spine. Progression of dosage at succeeding treatment will depend upon the goals and patient reactions.

Light weight-continuous home traction is cost effective and provides the patient more autonomy.

Pneumatic traction devices afford greater patient comfort and, consequently, increased compliance.

See Cervical traction

Collars:

They can be worn during certain activities, such as sleeping or driving, for longer periods.

Although not used commonly, a Philadelphia collar can be worn at night to position the neck rigidly in flexion, thereby maintaining open foramina.

A soft cervical collar is recommended only for acute soft tissue neck injuries and for short periods of time (ie, not to exceed 3-4 days' continuous use). Risks include limiting cervical ROM and losing neck strength if the collar is worn continuously for longer periods.

When worn for radiculopathy caused by foraminal stenosis, the wide part of the collar is placed posteriorly and the thin part anteriorly to promote neck flexion, discourage extension, and open the intervertebral foramina.

See Cervical Collars
Spinal manipulation and mobilization:
It may restore normal ROM and decrease pain; however, no clear therapeutic mechanism of action is known. Some believe that zygapophysial joint adjustment improves afferent signals from mechanoreceptors to peripheral and central nervous systems.

Normalization of afferent impulses improves muscle tone, decreases muscle guarding, and promotes more effective local tissue metabolism. These physiologic modifications subsequently improve ROM and pain reduction.

No evidence exists that manipulation confers long-term benefit, improves chronic conditions, or alters the natural course of the disorder.

Spinal manipulation: Its safety is uncertain

Cervical mobilisation: concurrent effects on pain, sympathetic nervous system activity and motor activity.
Influence of a cervical mobilization technique on respiratory and cardiovascular function.

Cervicothoracic stabilization:

It limits pain, maximizes function, and prevents further injury. Such stabilization includes cervical spine flexibility, postural training, and strengthening. This program emphasizes patient responsibility through active participation.

Restoring flexibility prevents further repetitive microtrauma from poor movement patterning. Pain-free ROM is determined by placing the cervical spine in positions that produce and relieve symptoms. Initially, stabilization commences within established pain-free ROM and then progresses outside this ROM as pain diminishes. Soft tissue or joint restriction inhibiting ROM is treated quickly. Anterior and posterior neck muscles are stretched. Indeed, such spine and soft tissue mobilization, passive ROM, self-stretching, and correct posturing collectively restore ROM.

Postural training commences with the patient, supervised by a therapist, in front of a mirror. The patient performs various transfer maneuvers while maintaining a neutral spine (ie, correct posturing) with feedback from the mirror and the therapist. Patient goals include maintenance of neutral spine and demonstrating correct posture during daily activities.

These proprioceptive skills, implemented during strengthening exercises, facilitate stable, safe, and pain-free cervical posture during strenuous activity. Indeed, cervicothoracic stabilization requires strengthening and coordination of neck, shoulder, and scapular muscles. Cervical muscles include extensors, flexors, rectus capitis anterior, rectus capitis lateralis, longissimus cervicis, and longissimus capitis. Primary thoracic stabilizers include abdominals, lumbar paraspinal extensors, and latissimus dorsi. Scapular muscles include the middle and lower trapezius, serratus anterior, and rhomboids. Chest muscles include the pectoralis major and minor. Successful stabilization also requires the training of the lumbar spine and lower extremities, which provide a foundation for the cervicothoracic spine.

Stabilization exercises proceed systematically from simple to complex. Isometric and isotonic resistive exercises employ elastic bands, weight machines, and free weights. Such conditioning distributes forces away from the cervical spine. Exercise repetition ultimately encodes an engram that commands immediate, automatic cervicothoracic stabilization during everyday activity.