Cervical Syndrome

Do you often experience headaches, dizziness, limb paralysis, weakness, unsteady gait, or nerve pain in the shoulders and back? These are common symptoms of 'central nervous system diseases' originating from the brain or spine and should not be taken lightly.

​

Cervical spine disease refers to changes in the cervical spine caused by degeneration, wear and tear, or injury, commonly seen in people who often lower their heads, such as while working, using mobile phones, or excessively tilting their heads back; sleeping on one's side, sitting or lying face down; using a pillow that is too high or low or improperly supports the back of the neck; carrying heavy loads on arms or shoulders; and continuous sports injuries. These factors can lead to overloading and accelerated wear of the cervical spine.

​

Cervical spine disease can be broadly classified into five symptom types:

1. Head and Neck Symptoms: Patients may experience headaches, neck pain, stiffness, and limited neck movement due to instability between the cervical spine and the head.
    

2. Nerve Root Symptoms: Patients may feel numbness and weakness in the arms, along with nerve pain in the back and shoulders.
    

3. Spinal Cord Symptoms: Patients may have unstable gait when standing or walking, numbness and weakness in the hands and legs, and even muscle atrophy.
    

4. Vertebral Artery Symptoms: Patients often experience dizziness, headaches, and tinnitus.
    

5. Sympathetic Nerve Symptoms: Cervical spine disease pressing on the sympathetic nerves in the neck can induce peculiar symptoms, sometimes leading to misdiagnoses of panic disorder, psychological illness, or heart disease. Due to misdiagnosis and lack of understanding from family and friends, patients' emotional distress is further compounded. Strange symptoms include dizziness, headaches, acid reflux, gas, stomach pain, blurred vision, photophobia, nasal congestion, a sensation of a foreign body in the throat and difficulty swallowing. Some people may experience palpitations, nausea, chest tightness, insomnia, and occasional vasovagal syncope, leading to temporary unconsciousness. These sympathetic nerve symptoms are particularly common in female patients and tend to be more pronounced.
    

Peculiar symptoms include:

• Dizziness, headaches

• Acid reflux, gas, stomach pain

• Blurred vision, photophobia, nasal congestion

• A sensation of a foreign body in the throat and difficulty swallowing

• Palpitations, nausea, chest tightness

• Insomnia

• Occasional vasovagal syncope, leading to temporary unconsciousness
   

These sympathetic nerve symptoms are especially common in female patients and are more pronounced.