The pain in wider area of ​​the neck, head and back which characterizes it cervical syndromeprefers sedentary people and menopausal women, says the orthopedic physiotherapist of “Asklipieion” Kostantinos Danalis in an interview with Fm Agency and Tania Madouvalou.

“Up to 70% of the population may experience neck pain at least once in their lifetime. The trend appears to be increasing, and at any given time up to 20% of the population has neck pain, with 50% having had neck pain in the past 6 months. Prevalence increases with age, and is particularly common in women in their 5th decade.” As Mr. Danalis says, according to two studies published in the “Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy” 30% of sufferers develop chronic symptoms, 14% have neck pain for more than 6 months and 5% experience severe functional deficits and difficulties. As for the symptoms, Mr. Danalis says they include headache, muscle aches, muscle spasms in the shoulder and neck muscles, pain that “radiates” down the arm, pain in the neck joints, limited neck mobility, and definitely worsening the patient’s quality of life.

What are the predisposing factors?

The factors which predispose, according to the orthopedic physiotherapist, are excessive loads on the muscles of the neck and shoulder blade in relation to how strong they are, depending on how much they have exercised. “So sitting may seem restful, but it overloads the muscles and causes the symptoms. Also, the natural wear and tear over time on the neck joints predisposes, as well as injuries after an accident, especially a car accident. Neck pain can also be caused by rheumatoid arthritis, a professionally demanding environment, stress itself, but also smoking, as well as a history of back pain. But what happens if someone doesn’t get treatment? “There is the possibility that the pain will go away after a while, but in many cases there is chronic pain, worsening of symptoms, or muscle weakness, so movement restrictions are created in the arms or the head.” With physical therapy, Mr. Danalis emphasizes, acute pain is initially treated with orthopedic chiropractic massage and electrotherapy that have an immediate effect, and then a properly designed structured exercise program strengthens muscles, corrects body posture and protects against future relapses .