Neck under great stress day and night
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By Kim Sang-hyuk
The number of patients suffering from neck (cervical vertebra) related diseases is on the rise.
In particular, the rate of cervical disk incidence in people in their 20s and 30s is rapidly increasing, threatening the health of young people.
Cervical disk symptoms, which are frequent among people in their 40s and 50s, is a degenerative change and mainly results from aging of the cervical disk.
As one gets older, moisture inside the disk decreases and it becomes inelastic. Cracks appear inside, causing the hardened nucleus to leak.
However, for those in their 20s and 30s, the main cause is either external impact or wrong habits. Some people having such habits unconsciously repeat them even during sleep.
The biggest factor threatening the neck is the use of a smartphone or a PC.
The problem with their extensive use comes from incorrect posture, although at the same time, we have to admit that it is not easy to maintain a correct posture at that time.
People tend to glue their eyes to the screen which forces bending of the neck. Their neck is craned forward and shoulders stiffened. Such a stooped position applies to PC usage.
When prolonged, this posture strains the cervical vertebra and causes turtle neck syndrome or cervical disk.
Wrong use of pillows is another major cause of cervical disk. As people spend one third of their day sleeping, the effect a pillow has on the body cannot be ignored.
In particular, as vertebral diseases occur from accumulated habits, using the wrong pillow over a long period can damage the neck even before the person is aware of it.
If the pillow is too high, the neck and shoulder muscles can tense up all night and neural activities can be interrupted as the spinal cord is pressed by the bending of the neck.
In the short term, stiffness and pain can be caused, and in older age, the structure of the neck bone can be changed, triggering potential cervical disk symptoms.
Using too low a pillow is also not good. Some women tend to use low pillows or even sleep without them out of fear that pillow use can cause wrinkles in their neck.
However, if the pillow is too low, it can also strain the neck by impeding the circulation of blood to the brain.
If your neck feels painful or stiff even after a long sleep, you might be using the wrong pillow, causing damage to your neck.
Symptoms can happen to shoulders and arms when the disk protrudes or the bone presses on the spinal nerve in the neck. When shoulder and arm muscles are weakened, it may even cause paralysis.
Many people are reluctant to have their neck diagnosed in a hospital even though they suspect disk symptoms, because of fear that the cervical disk can only be cured through surgery.
However, it can be cured easily through non-surgical treatment and fast recovery is possible with an early diagnosis.
Cervical disk symptoms in the early stages can be improved simply by the right pillow and posture. Non-surgical treatments, such as medication, thermoelectric and ultrasonic methods, physical therapy, muscle strengthening, and sling exercise therapy are effective.
Injection therapies such as nerve blocks, ligament proliferation injections, cervical neuroplasty or nucleoplasty can be administered to more severe cases.
Surgical treatment should be considered if these non-surgical methods do not eradicate the symptoms after a long time.
Also, if the patient cannot sleep at night because of disk-caused aching arms, or experiences serious symptoms such as paralysis or disability in walking, surgical treatment is also required.
Minimally invasive microscopic or endoscopic surgery removes damaged parts of the spine. It also enlarges the spinal canal to relieve pressure on the nerve system. Inserting an artificial disk in some cases can help smooth motion and fast recovery.
Patients should consult a specialist to decide the most suitable treatment option. Even for the same problem, surgery may differ depending on the patient’s life habits and health condition. Also of notice is, combining the surgical and medicinal treatment can ensure a safe and fast recovery.
Of course, preventing illness should come before treatment. Postures which place a heavy burden on the neck should be avoided, and exercises requiring severe use of shoulder muscles or the back of the neck should be avoided.
Correcting the improper posture and exercise regime is important. It is advised to look forward from time to time, bend the neck backward, and lightly stretch the body when reading a book or watching the TV screen for a long time.
So is checking the height of the pillow. A proper length is 11 centimeters, because the neck bone can be most comfortably supported in C-shape curve at the height. It will support the neck, shoulder and head together, ensuring a natural alignment of the spine.
Remember to stretch, exercise, and rest the body throughout the day.
The writer is director of spine center at Bumin Hospital Seoul, in Gangseo District. He was named in the 2014 edition of Marquis Who’s Who.