Neck pain: back, front, back of the head, neck, right or left side

Many people may complain that their morning starts with neck pain. This is a sure symptom of cervical myositis. What can cause this disease and how to get rid of it?

does not treat cervical myositis. If you notice symptoms of the disease, immediately contact your doctor.

Neck myositis is the most common type of myositis. Almost every person is familiar with this situation: you wake up in the morning and cannot turn your head - severe pain in the neck muscles.

Causes

There are several causes of inflammation of the neck muscles - cervical myositis:

• incorrect body position during sleep;
• uncomfortable workplace;
• hypothermia or being in a draft - what is called “blown out”;
• stress, severe nervous tension.

Methods of treating the disease

Treatment of neck myositis may include several stages (all are not always used, sometimes a few are enough).

• Restoring mobility of the cervical spine
  . Achieved through the use of warming ointments. They are applied directly to the skin in parts of the body with painful sensations.
• Relieving inflammation of muscle tissue
  . For this purpose, various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used, for example Diclofenac.
• Elimination of intense pain using novocaine blockades
  . The inflamed area of ​​the body is injected with a solution of novocaine and corticosteroid hormone. In almost 100% of cases, such therapy helps to completely eliminate pain. But such manipulations are not always used due to a number of contraindications and possible complications from injections.
• Taking a course of antibacterial treatment
  . Prescribed if the occurrence of myositis is associated with a bacterial infection.
• Going through post-isometric relaxation
  . This is an innovative technique in which the patient is taught to alternately contract and relax the neck muscles. When the exercises are performed correctly, the pain disappears within 1–5 minutes.
• Use of alternative therapies
  . Specialized medical institutions can offer the patient acupressure and acupuncture. The methods are considered effective, but require highly qualified physicians.

Severe cases of cervical myositis require hospitalization of the patient. After this, the person is in a medical hospital under the constant supervision of doctors.

Symptoms of myositis of the cervical muscles

Neck myositis, as a rule, makes itself felt 1-2 days after the above situations have occurred. Inflamed, spasmed neck muscles compress the nerve endings, which causes the following symptoms:

• aching pain in the neck, radiating to the shoulder (sometimes to the arm);
• if you touch a sore spot or try to make a movement, the pain becomes acute;
• neck myositis rarely affects the muscles symmetrically - pain is felt either on only one side or on both sides with different intensities;
• When you palpate the sore muscle, you can feel strong tension and even local compaction.

Rehabilitation of the patient after therapy for neck myositis

After treatment, experts recommend that patients:

• during therapy and upon its completion, remain at rest and do not unnecessarily strain the neck muscles;
• follow a strict diet high in proteins, vitamins and microelements;
• periodically do therapeutic exercises. An exercise program can be developed by a rehabilitation physician;
• gradually increase physical activity;
• avoid injury and hypothermia.

Diagnostic techniques for identifying signs of disease

To diagnose cervical myositis, a visual examination and questioning of the patient is usually sufficient. It is important to describe the disturbing symptoms in as much detail as possible and indicate the specific location of the discomfort. If the disease cannot be identified, the doctor prescribes additional examinations. It can be:

• electromyogram, showing the response of muscles to electrical signals;
• a blood test to determine the presence of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory processes;
• muscle biopsy, which involves examining the extracted area of ​​muscle;
• MRI, with which a specialist studies the nature of damage to muscle tissue.

A blood test can determine the presence of autoimmune diseases

Immediately after making an accurate diagnosis, treatment must begin. If the treatment regimen is chosen correctly, the patient can count on a quick positive result.

Features of therapy in pregnant women

Myositis develops during pregnancy for two reasons: against the background of an infectious disease and due to increased load on the back muscles as a result of weight gain.

The difficulty of treatment is the fact that a limited list of medications can be used during pregnancy. Most analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs have a wide range of side effects and contraindications. The active substances from their composition can penetrate the placenta to the fetus and cause harm and have a negative impact on development. The doctor must take into account the duration of pregnancy, the peculiarities of its course in the patient, and correlate the risks of taking medications with the effect of treatment.

To relieve inflammation and reduce fever, medications containing paracetamol are mainly prescribed. Creams and ointments based on herbal ingredients are suitable for local anesthesia and relief of muscle spasms. It is prohibited to use ointments containing animal and insect poisons.

To relieve pain, dry heat and light massage procedures are suitable. For preventive purposes, it is recommended to avoid sudden weight gain, use a bandage in the third trimester, and perform special exercises for pregnant women.

Neck pain: back, front, back of the head, neck, right or left side

One of the most common problems of our time for “office plankton” (and not only) is neck pain caused by muscle strain.

Having sat at the computer all day, buried in gadgets on the way home and spent the evening on social networks, we often experience unpleasant sensations mainly in the back of the neck, shoulders, and back of the head. It is worth noting that pain from muscle overstrain is far from the main problem; what is much more dangerous is that constant overstrain of the neck muscles leads to a feeling of fatigue, disruption of the supply of nutrients and oxygen to the brain, salt deposits, pinched nerves, decreased vision, deterioration of blood supply to the muscles in in general, the appearance of headaches. It would seem that your neck is just tired, but in fact - you are turning into a broken and inoperable object! The most noticeable consequence of such conditions for the person himself is the premature appearance of wrinkles and swelling of the face. The fair half of humanity (and now often men as well) begins to spend a fortune on fighting the signs of aging in cosmetic stores and beauty salons, and without eliminating the main cause, they run cyclically in a circle.

Let's understand what are the main reasons why muscles become overstrained, what we can easily do to relax them and how to avoid the problem from recurring?

The experience of our clinic specialists suggests that in most cases, patients complaining of pain and burning in the neck, shoulders, arms, the area between the shoulder blades and in the back of the head, talking about a feeling of heaviness when “the arms hang like a troglodyte” and “like as if a carload of sacks of flour was unloaded” - they have an overload of the trapezius muscle, located from the base of the skull and ending at the medial edge of the scapula.

Why does my neck hurt? The main causes of neck muscle strain:

• incorrect body position when walking;
• prolonged sitting;
• incorrect body position when working with office equipment;
• habit of constantly looking at a smartphone or other device;
• incorrect posture;
• uncomfortable pillow;
• constant stress;
• inability to properly relax muscles.

If you constantly experience pain in the areas described above, the best solution would be to consult an osteopath to accurately determine the source of the problem! It is not difficult to determine that the problem lies specifically in the trapezius muscle: just “walk” your fingers with light pressure along this muscle and identify trigger points. When you hit a trigger point, the pain begins to spread throughout the muscle. Trigger points can be located at the base of the skull, directly on the neck, at the junction of the muscle from the neck to the shoulder, near the shoulder blades.

Effective ways to help you relieve neck muscle tension:

• Complete relaxation. Even if you do not have the skills and knowledge of relaxation techniques and techniques, a 20-30 minute stay in a quiet room, lying with your eyes closed, when, following slow and deep breathing, you will gradually relax every muscle, starting from the head. We do not encourage you to “learn Zen”, we recommend not to forget about relaxation!
• Massage. If you do not have the opportunity to attract a professional massage therapist to help you, do not ignore the “help yourself” principle. By independently warming up (at first stroking, then massaging in a circular motion) the neck muscles, then kneading the muscles (tapping with the pads of your fingers and pinching) you can achieve noticeable and significant effect. Self-massage is recommended for 5 minutes, ending with stroking along the muscle. Attention: be careful with massages from unqualified specialists and nuggets “from the Tumbu-Yumbu Islands”, unfortunately, we often have to save patients from the consequences of exclusive massage techniques...
• Simple exercises. To relieve stress from the neck muscles, we recommend the following complex: Slowly raise your shoulders as hard as you can up to your ears, fixate on a count of 1-5 and slowly lower them (3-5 times);
• Sit up straight, straighten your back, looking straight ahead, slowly turn your head with your chin to one shoulder, fixing at the end point for a count of 1-10, then turn in the other direction (1-3 times).
• Slowly tilt your head with your ear to the right and left shoulder, holding at the end point for a count of 1-10 (1-3 times);
• Raise your right arm up, bend it at the elbow, grab your right elbow with your left hand and gently pull it towards your head; at the end point, hold for a count of 1-5, repeat with the other hand;
• Squeeze your shoulder blades towards each other (10 times), then move your shoulder blades back (10 times).

Which doctor should I contact if I suspect myositis?

No pathology should be left unattended. If you suspect myositis or any other muscle problems, you should consult a doctor. At the initial stage, a consultation with a therapist will be sufficient, who, after examination, will refer the patient to a specialized specialist. As a rule, treatment of myositis occurs under the supervision of a neurologist. You need to contact him in the following situations:

• prolonged muscle weakness;
• noticeable swelling;
• local increase in temperature and redness of the skin;
• the appearance of a red or purple rash;
• severe pain in the neck area.

At the initial stage, you need to visit a therapist

Important! It is better to be vigilant and consult a doctor even with mild symptoms. Any disease is much easier to treat in the early stages of its development.

Prevention of myositis

You can exclude recurrent manifestations of myositis if you pay attention to prevention:

• harden the body, often walk in the fresh air, regularly ventilate the room, conduct contrasting douches with cool and warm water;
• sunbathing, swimming in natural reservoirs in the warm season;
• avoid drafts, protect the body from hypothermia, dress according to the weather;
• exercise in moderation, avoid unnecessary stress on the muscles, start with warm-up exercises;
• when working in an uncomfortable position, take short breaks, perform warm-up exercises for stiff and tired muscles;
• Regularly use the services of a massage room, do a general preventive massage for all muscle groups, massage the back or collar area.

The myositis treatment program includes drug treatment, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, and dietary nutrition. Following the doctor’s recommendations and giving up bad habits speeds up recovery and serves as a preventive measure against relapses.

COMPLICATIONS WITH BACK MYOSITIS

Acute inflammation after an injury, during a viral disease or during a bacterial infection bothers you for several days. But the violations do not go away without a trace: after recovery, the risk of soon suffering from muscle pain again increases. If with every cold the patient feels symptoms of myositis of the back muscles, we can say that the disease has become chronic. Even minor hypothermia or stress can provoke pain.

Autoimmune myositis threatens more serious complications: with systemic connective tissue diseases, areas of bone tissue outside the skeleton are formed in the muscles over time - ossifications, which impede movement and cause suffering. Ossified areas can also form after injury if there was hemorrhage into the muscle and the hematoma did not resolve in time, for example, due to severe tissue damage, impaired lymph flow, or poor regeneration of blood vessels.

Treatment of infectious myositis

According to its clinical course, infectious myositis is classified as acute. The main symptoms are severe discomfort and pain in the area of ​​the affected tissues, high temperature, muscle tightness, and general weakness of the patient. This is a dangerous type of disease that can only be treated under the supervision of doctors.

The drug therapy program includes antibiotics, anesthetics, and antipyretics. In the purulent form, surgical intervention is often required. The surgeon opens the abscesses, excises necrotic tissue, and installs drainage. Enzyme therapy is performed to cleanse dead cells and stimulate the production of collagen fibers.

Antibiotic drugs are prescribed depending on the infectious pathogen. Antibiotic agents can be combined with bactericidal agents. In severe cases of infectious myositis, steroids are prescribed.

When the acute infectious process can be stopped, the recovery stage begins. At this stage, exercise therapy, balneological procedures, massage, and physiotherapy are recommended.

Causes

Viral infectious diseases are a common cause of muscle inflammation. For example, influenza or ARVI. Myositis can occur against the background of a bacterial or fungal infection. In this case, the inflammatory process begins to develop as a result of the activity of microorganisms and their metabolic products.

More rare causes of myositis include:

• autoimmune diseases: accompanied by myositis of the most severe form;
• systemic diseases: accompanied by myositis of moderate severity;
• parasitic infections;
• exposure to toxic substances (alcohol, cocaine);
• taking medications: the lesion is not always accompanied by inflammation and can be attributed to both myositis and myopathy;
• hypothermia;
• injury;
• excessive loads during sports with poorly trained muscles;
• uncomfortable body position and prolonged stress on the same muscle group due to professional activities (pianist, violinist, PC operator, driver, etc.);
• open injury;
• chronic infection or infection as a result of violation of sanitary standards when administering an intramuscular injection.

Classification

Myositis has several forms:

• infectious non-purulent myositis: causes general weakness and severe muscle pain. The prerequisites are infectious diseases such as syphilis, tuberculosis, brucellosis, influenza and enteroviral diseases;
• acute purulent myositis: the affected area has swelling and severe pain, necrosis develops in the muscle tissue and pus accumulates. The prerequisites are a chronic purulent process, for which myositis is a manifestation of a complication. High body temperature, leukocytosis and chills may occur;
• myositis due to parasitic infections: the muscles are tense and react painfully, the affected area is swollen. This form of myositis is a consequence of toxic-allergic reactions with characteristic symptoms: malaise, fever, leukocytosis;
• myositis ossificans: affected areas - shoulders, hips, buttocks. It occurs as a congenital pathology and as a result of trauma. A feature of the form is the accumulation of calcium salts in muscle tissue, which causes the formation of calcifications and compactions. The development of such myositis is fraught with muscle atrophy;
• polymyositis: one of the severe forms in which a group of muscles is simultaneously affected. The cause of the development of pathology is autoimmune diseases. Polymyositis is especially dangerous for children, as blood vessels, heart, lungs, and skin can be affected. For men over 40 years of age, polymyositis can cause the development of tumors of internal organs;
• Dermatomyositis (Wagner's disease): The disease affects both skeletal and smooth muscles, including the skin and internal organs.

Myositis has a large number of varieties and an equally diverse list of causes.