What causes neck pain when waking up. How to prevent neck pain while sleeping. Which pillows are best for neck pain relief. How sleeping position affects neck pain. Why proper neck support during sleep matters. When to replace your pillow for better neck health. How to choose the right pillow for your sleeping style.

Understanding the Link Between Sleep and Neck Pain

Waking up with a sore neck is an all too common experience for many people. But what exactly causes this discomfort, and how can it be prevented? Let’s explore the connection between sleep and neck pain to help you find relief.

The primary culprit behind morning neck pain is often poor sleeping posture. When your neck is held in an awkward position for extended periods during sleep, it can lead to stiffness, soreness, and pain upon waking. This misalignment can strain muscles, ligaments, and joints in the neck area.

Common Causes of Sleep-Related Neck Pain

• Using a pillow that’s too high or too low
• Sleeping on your stomach, which twists the neck
• Reading or watching TV in bed with poor neck support
• Sleeping on an old or unsupportive mattress
• Grinding teeth or clenching jaw during sleep

Understanding these factors is crucial in addressing and preventing neck pain associated with sleep. By making simple adjustments to your sleep environment and habits, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of waking up with a sore neck.

The Importance of Proper Neck Support During Sleep

Maintaining proper neck alignment during sleep is essential for preventing pain and discomfort. But why exactly is neck support so crucial? The answer lies in the anatomy of the cervical spine and its surrounding structures.

Your neck, or cervical spine, has a natural curve that should be maintained even during sleep. When this curve is supported correctly, it allows the muscles and ligaments in your neck to relax fully. This relaxation is vital for tissue repair and overall neck health.

Benefits of Proper Neck Support

1. Reduces muscle tension and strain
2. Promotes better spinal alignment
3. Enhances blood flow to the head and neck
4. Minimizes pressure on cervical nerves
5. Improves overall sleep quality

Is there an ideal sleeping position for neck health? While individual preferences vary, sleeping on your back or side generally provides the best support for your neck. These positions make it easier to maintain the natural curve of your spine and reduce the risk of neck strain.

Choosing the Right Pillow for Neck Pain Relief

Selecting an appropriate pillow is crucial in preventing and alleviating neck pain. But with so many options available, how do you choose the right one? The key is to find a pillow that supports your neck’s natural curve while keeping your head in a neutral position.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Pillow

• Your preferred sleeping position
• The firmness of your mattress
• Your body size and shape
• Any existing neck or spine conditions
• Personal comfort preferences

Do different sleeping positions require different types of pillows? Indeed, they do. Side sleepers typically need a thicker pillow to fill the gap between their ear and shoulder, while back sleepers often benefit from a thinner pillow that keeps their head from tilting too far forward or backward.

Pillow Options for Neck Pain Relief

1. Orthopedic pillows: Designed to maintain the natural curve of your neck
2. Feather pillows: Moldable to fit the shape of your head and neck
3. Cervical pillows: Roll-shaped to relieve neck stress
4. Water-filled pillows: Offer customizable support through water volume adjustment
5. Memory foam pillows: Conform to your head and neck shape for personalized support

When should you replace your pillow? As a general rule, pillows should be replaced every 1-2 years. However, if you notice your pillow becoming lumpy, flat, or no longer providing adequate support, it’s time for a replacement regardless of age.

The Impact of Sleeping Position on Neck Health

Your sleeping position plays a significant role in determining the health of your neck. Some positions naturally promote better spinal alignment, while others can lead to increased strain and discomfort. Understanding how different sleeping positions affect your neck can help you make informed choices for better sleep and neck health.

Analyzing Common Sleeping Positions

• Back sleeping: Generally considered the best position for neck health
• Side sleeping: Can be good for the neck if properly supported
• Stomach sleeping: Often leads to neck strain and should be avoided

How does stomach sleeping affect neck health? Stomach sleeping forces your head to turn to one side, putting unnecessary strain on your neck muscles and joints. This twisted position can lead to chronic neck pain and stiffness over time.

If you’re a dedicated stomach sleeper, transitioning to side or back sleeping can significantly improve your neck health. Start by using pillows to prop yourself into a new position, gradually training your body to maintain this posture throughout the night.

Ergonomic Considerations for Nighttime Neck Care

Ergonomics isn’t just for the office – it’s equally important in your bedroom. Creating an ergonomic sleep environment can significantly reduce the risk of neck pain and improve overall sleep quality. Let’s explore some key considerations for nighttime neck care.

Elements of an Ergonomic Sleep Setup

1. Mattress firmness: Should support your body’s natural curves
2. Pillow height: Aligned with your shoulder height when side sleeping
3. Neck support: Maintain the natural curve of your cervical spine
4. Body alignment: Keep your spine in a neutral position
5. Room temperature: Cool enough to promote restful sleep

How does mattress firmness affect neck pain? A mattress that’s too soft can cause your body to sink, misaligning your spine and neck. Conversely, an overly firm mattress might not contour to your body’s shape, creating pressure points. The ideal mattress should provide a balance of support and comfort.

Remember, ergonomic considerations extend beyond just sleeping. If you read or watch TV in bed, ensure you’re using proper support to maintain good neck posture. Avoid propping yourself up with multiple pillows, which can force your neck into an unnatural forward bend.

Preventive Measures and Exercises for Neck Health

While choosing the right pillow and sleeping position are crucial, incorporating preventive measures and exercises into your routine can further enhance neck health. These strategies can help strengthen neck muscles, improve flexibility, and reduce the likelihood of waking up with neck pain.

Neck Strengthening Exercises

• Neck rotations: Gently turn your head from side to side
• Shoulder shrugs: Raise and lower your shoulders
• Chin tucks: Draw your chin down and back
• Isometric exercises: Apply gentle pressure with your hand against your head in various directions

How often should you perform these exercises? Aim to do these exercises for 5-10 minutes daily, preferably in the morning and evening. Remember to move slowly and stop if you experience any pain.

Additional Preventive Measures

1. Practice good posture throughout the day
2. Take regular breaks from prolonged sitting or screen time
3. Stay hydrated to maintain disc health
4. Use a supportive chair when working or relaxing
5. Consider regular massage or stretching sessions

By incorporating these preventive measures and exercises into your daily routine, you can significantly improve your neck health and reduce the likelihood of waking up with neck pain.

When to Seek Professional Help for Neck Pain

While occasional morning neck stiffness is common, persistent or severe neck pain may indicate a more serious underlying condition. It’s important to recognize when your neck pain requires professional medical attention.

Signs You Should Consult a Healthcare Provider

• Pain persists for more than a week despite home remedies
• Pain radiates down your arm or causes numbness/tingling
• You experience headaches along with neck pain
• Neck pain is accompanied by fever or unexplained weight loss
• You have difficulty swallowing or breathing

What types of healthcare providers can help with neck pain? Depending on the cause and severity of your neck pain, you might consult:

1. Primary care physician
2. Chiropractor
3. Physical therapist
4. Orthopedic specialist
5. Neurologist

These professionals can provide a thorough evaluation, diagnose any underlying conditions, and recommend appropriate treatments. They may use various diagnostic tools such as X-rays, MRI scans, or nerve conduction studies to determine the root cause of your neck pain.

Remember, chronic neck pain can significantly impact your quality of life. Don’t hesitate to seek professional help if your neck pain is persistent or severe. Early intervention can prevent the development of chronic conditions and help you find effective relief.

Innovative Solutions for Nighttime Neck Care

As technology advances, new solutions for nighttime neck care are emerging. These innovative products and techniques offer additional options for those seeking to improve their sleep quality and reduce neck pain.

High-Tech Sleep Solutions

• Smart pillows: Adjust firmness and height based on your sleeping position
• Sleep tracking apps: Monitor your sleep patterns and neck position
• Ergonomic sleep accessories: Specialized neck rolls and supports
• Temperature-regulating bedding: Promotes better sleep and reduces muscle tension

How effective are these high-tech solutions? While research is ongoing, many users report improved sleep quality and reduced neck pain with these innovative products. However, it’s important to remember that technology should complement, not replace, good sleep hygiene practices.

Alternative Therapies for Neck Pain

1. Acupuncture: May help relieve muscle tension and pain
2. Yoga: Improves flexibility and strengthens neck muscles
3. Mindfulness meditation: Reduces stress-related muscle tension
4. Herbal remedies: Some herbs may have anti-inflammatory properties
5. Aromatherapy: Certain scents may promote relaxation and pain relief

While these alternative therapies can be beneficial for some individuals, it’s crucial to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new treatment regimen, especially if you have chronic neck pain or other health conditions.

By combining traditional advice with innovative solutions and alternative therapies, you can create a comprehensive approach to nighttime neck care. Remember, what works best may vary from person to person, so don’t be afraid to experiment with different methods to find the most effective solution for your needs.

The Consequence of Sleeping the Wrong Way

Since you will spend about one-third of your life sleeping in a bed, the type of pillow you choose is an important part of preventing or managing neck pain.

One of the most common causes of neck pain is having your neck twisted or bent too far in any direction for a long time. If you wake up in the morning with a painful neck, it may be because your pillow is not supporting your head and neck in the right position, which is described as a “neutral” position. That means that the normal slight curve of your neck is not changed.

Neck Pain: The Right Position in Bed

Even before they go to sleep, one mistake that many people make is not supporting their head properly while reading or watching television in bed. Avoid propping yourself up on several pillows with your head bent forward. If you are reading, make sure your arms are supported and your head is in a neutral position. When it comes to getting some shut-eye, the best position for sleeping is on your back or your side. Avoid sleeping on your stomach, because this forces your head to be twisted into an unnatural position.

Neck Pain: Picking the Right Pillow

Finding the right pillow can improve the quality of your sleep and prevent or reduce neck pain, according to studies on pillow use. If you sleep on your side, pick a pillow that just fills the space between your ear and your mattress without tilting your head. If you sleep on your back, your pillow should keep your head from tilting backward or forward.

There are many pillow options to choose from. The goal is a pillow that gives you good support as well as a good night’s sleep. The basic rule is to find a pillow that keeps your neck in that neutral position. Here are some choices worth a test drive:

Orthopedic pillows. These are pillows that are designed to maintain the natural curve of your neck.

Feather pillows. The old-fashioned feather pillow may be the right choice for you, as long as you aren’t allergic to down or other feathers. These pillows can be molded to fit the shape of your head and offer less resistance than foam.

Cervical pillows. These are roll-shaped pillows designed to relieve neck stress and neck pain by maintaining the natural shape of your head and neck while you sleep.

Water-filled pillows. Water pillows supports your neck by absorbing and redistributing weight. A study done at Johns Hopkins found that sleeping with a water-filled pillow had some advantages over standard down or foam pillows or even cervical roll pillows in reducing neck pain for some of the study participants. One advantage of the water pillow is that you can customize the amount of support it provides: the more water you add, the firmer the support, and vice versa.

If you are waking up with neck pain, if you want to avoid it to begin with, or if it’s been so long since you bought pillows that you don’t even know how old yours are, you might want to do some shopping at your local bedding store. Since you spend a good chunk of your life sleeping, one of the best ways to ensure sweet dreams is to get the most comfortable pillows you can find.

Try this if you keep waking up with neck pain. Right Pillows for Neck Pain.

How often do we wake up in the morning with stiffness and have neck pain? You are not alone. This is one of the most common complaints of most people but most people just think it’s just a sign of ageing and that they have to live with it. However, this is not true. You need not have to wake up every morning with this neck pain and stiffness. Here’s is how to find the right pillow for neck pain.

Choose the right pillow for neck pain relief

The most common cause of neck stiffness in the morning is our pillows. Most of the pillows do not support our necks properly. Everyone’s neck is unique in terms of length, thickness and muscle tension. Thus, unless there is a pillow that is individually customized to your neck, your pillow will tend to be the cause of the stiffness. So what is the right pillow for your neck pains?

Here’s why a right pillow for neck pain is important

This is because as we sleep at night, our necks need to be well supported in a neutral position so as to give our muscles a break.

• If your pillow is too high, your neck will be in a flexed position, which puts a fair degree of stretch to your muscles, giving you an ache and causing neck pain when you wake up in the morning.
• When your pillow is too low, your neck is not supported and the joints between your vertebrae in your neck will compress onto each other, causing stiffness and neck pain in the morning when you wake up.
• If your pillow is too soft, your muscles will be working through the night to help stabilise your neck. The next morning the soft pillow may cause you to wake up with sore neck pain and achy muscles.

Contoured pillow? Try this first.

The best way to prevent morning stiffness and pain is to have your neck supported as you sleep, finding the right pillow for neck pain. But before you start running off to get a contoured pillow, try this little towel roll trick first to determine whether a contoured pillow will of be any assistance to you.

First of all, you would need to determine whether which type of sleeper are you: side sleeper, back sleeper or turner in bed. Once you have determined the type of sleeper you are, take a bath towel and try the following:

Side Sleeper

Roll up the bath towel to a thickness of about 2 to 2½ inches (depending on the thickness of your neck). While lying down, your shoulder should be at the bottom of your pillow. Place the towel roll under the side of your neck to support your neck. Ensure that your head is nicely rested on the pillow. This should support your neck and place it in a neutral posture.

Back Sleeper

Roll the bath towel to a thickness of about ½ to 1½ inches. Have your shoulders on the lower border of the pillow and place the towel roll behind your neck. Your head should not be in an extended posture.

Turner in bed

Have the towel roll rolled up to about 1 to 2 inches and place it under your neck. This should attempt to give some form of support to your neck as you turn from side to side to lying on your back.

You should feel more comfortable immediately upon using the towel roll. If you don’t, chances are the roll is either too thick or too thin. Adjust accordingly until you are comfortable. To prevent the towel from moving through the night, you can place the towel roll under your pillowcase or may even want to sew it to your pillow. If this works well, then consider getting a contoured pillow for neck pain relief.

What if the stiffness and neck pain persists with a new pillow?

If the pain and stiffness still persist, it is highly likely that you have been suffering from this for a long time. It would be beneficial for you to seek a few sessions of treatment with a physiotherapist to get your muscles released and joints mobilized before you feel the relief. Also, paying a conscious effort to watch your posture throughout the day would help prevent the stiffness and pain from developing the next morning.

Your physiotherapist will also help you diagnose your condition and determine the underlying condition if changing your pillows have not helped you. Conditions like neck pains are complex and may need more attention than a pillow change alone.

Experiencing neck pain? Click here to find out more about neck pain relief and how Core Concepts Physiotherapy Singapore can help resolve neck stiffness and pain.

Woke up with neck pain? Can’t move your head? When to worry

Woken up with a sore neck? Suffering with neck ache? Two in three of us will experience neck pain at some point. It’s hardly surprising – the neck is a miracle of natural engineering, allowing us to twist our heads in all directions while still supporting the weight of our skulls and protecting the vital nerves connecting our brains with the rest of our bodies.

What causes neck pain and stiffness?

Seven bones called vertebrae are connected by spongy shock-absorbing ‘discs’, with a network of muscles and tough connective tissue supporting them. The spinal cord runs through a canal protected on all sides by bone. Damage or strain to any one of these can cause pain.

What are the symptoms of neck pain?

Pain – obviously! This often starts in the neck and spreads to one or both shoulders (sometimes further down the arm), or up to the back of your head. Your neck and shoulders may feel stiff. Pins and needles are common and usually not a worrying sign, but these need to be checked out as they suggest a nerve emerging from your spine may be caught or irritated. The pain usually improves after a few days and goes within weeks.

Do I need tests?

As long as you don’t have any of the ‘red flags’ below you’re unlikely to need tests and may not even need to see a doctor. X-rays and scans aren’t recommended except in special circumstances as they don’t change treatment options.

Red flags – when should you worry?

Most neck pain doesn’t mean there’s a serious problem to worry about. However, you should always get your symptoms checked out if:

• It’s connected with numbness, weakness or persistent pins and needles in your arm.
• You’ve had any trauma such as a whiplash injury.
• You feel generally unwell, especially with weight loss or fever.
• The pain keeps getting worse rather than better.
• The neck bones (rather than muscles on either side) are very tender.
• You also develop weakness in your legs or problems with passing urine.
• You have other medical problems such as a history of a recent accident, cancer or rheumatoid arthritis.

Treating neck pain

Keep moving

When you first get neck pain, it may be very painful to move and you’ll need to rest in a neutral postion for a couple of days. After that, as long as you don’t have the ‘red flags’ above, it’s important to keep moving your neck to stop it stiffening up (which is why neck collars or braces aren’t recommended unless your doctor says so). Turn your head gently in all directions every few hours, trying to increase the range of motion gradually. Avoid prolonged sitting but keep up your normal activities as much as possible.

Medication and self-care

Painkillers like paracetamol or anti-inflammatory painkillers like ibuprofen (which also comes in a gel from your pharmacist) will help, and your doctor may recommend a short course of muscle relaxants if there’s a lot of muscle spasm. A heat pad or pack over aching muscles may also help.

Wry neck – not a cause for a wry smile

The medical term for this is ‘torticollis’, when the neck gets stuck with your head twisted to one side. It may be due to strain of the muscles or ligaments of the neck, making the muscles go into spasm. Sleeping in a draught or an uncomfortable position may bring it on. It’s often very painful in the muscles on one side but usually settles within a few days. In the meantime, painkillers will help.

Avoiding neck pain – dos and don’ts

You can’t always avoid neck pain, but simple day-to-day precautions can reduce your risk of suffering.

Do

• Turn your chair to face your computer directly and adjust your chair so the screen is at eye level.
• Stretch regularly if you’re working at a desk or driving long distances.
• Keep your head back over your spine rather than hunched forwards.
• Consider Pilates, yoga or the Alexander technique (many councils have lists of local classes for all ages and abilities!).

Don’t

• Sleep on your stomach. If possible, sleep on your back.
• Use a very firm or high pillow – it should support the natural curve of your neck.
• Tuck your phone under your chin by hunching your shoulders up.

Tips For Preventing Neck Pain After Waking Up

Written By: Lana Adler

Updated March 18, 2021

Neck pain is a common problem, with approximately one in three people (1) experiencing it at least once a year. Although neck pain is often harmless and can resolve on its own, the risk of it becoming chronic increases with age.

The causes of neck pain (2) can be unknown, but are often related to posture or other body mechanics. Neck pain with no known cause affects about two-thirds of people, typically in middle age. Neck pain from known sources, such as injuries from whiplash, can heal within days or weeks, but becomes chronic in approximately 10% of people. Chronic neck pain (3) can also result from conditions such as arthritis or a bulging disk in the spine.

Unfortunately, an aching neck can also result from the simple act of sleeping (4). Certain sleep postures, types of pillows, or sudden movements in bed might lead to a stiff neck in the morning. Neck pain can also make it more difficult to sleep, affecting sleep quality and duration.

Although occasional neck pain is a nuisance, chronic neck pain can more seriously affect a person’s quality of life (5). For this reason, scientists have been investigating ways to help prevent neck pain from occurring in the first place, including while sleeping. We’ll cover how neck pain impacts sleep, how sleeping can cause neck pain, and how to help eliminate and prevent neck pain.

How Does Neck Pain Affect My Sleep?

People who experience chronic pain, such as neck pain, seem to have a higher likelihood of experiencing sleep disorders. In a recent study, approximately 20% of patients (6) with chronic neck or lower back pain reported serious sleep problems, including getting fewer than four hours of sleep per night.

Studies also show that while disturbed sleep can be a result of chronic pain, sleep deprivation might also exacerbate the pain. This degree of sleep impairment from chronic pain can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including cognitive and physical functioning.

Several treatment options can help minimize the impact that chronic pain, including neck pain, has on sleep. These treatment options include relaxation therapy, such as meditation or progressive muscle relaxation (7), cognitive behavioral therapy, and psychodynamic therapy (8). For acute (non-chronic) pain, simple remedies including ice and heat, over-the-counter pain relievers, massage, and stretching may help ease neck pain.

Why Do I Sometimes Wake Up with a Stiff Neck?

It is not uncommon for people to go to bed symptom-free, only to wake up in the morning with an aching neck or back. This type of nighttime-acquired pain can arise due to an unsupportive pillow, a poor sleeping position, or a sudden movement.

Although pillows are intended to support the spine (9) in a neutral position, they can cause symptoms such as a stiff neck when they lack support. Even if your pillow feels comfortable, it may not be an appropriate pillow (10) for minimizing or preventing neck pain. To help support your neck, it may be best to avoid a feather pillow or regular foam pillow, and instead choose a contoured latex, foam, or polyester pillow.

Additionally, recent studies confirm the connection between sleep posture (11) and waking with a stiff neck or an aching back. To help prevent the development of neck or back pain during the night, try sleeping on your side. In studies, the side-sleeping position was found to be the most preventative of spinal symptoms, such as neck pain, while stomach sleeping was most likely to cause spinal pain. Stomach sleeping is believed to induce pain because it places an increased load on spinal tissue.

Prior injuries like whiplash (12) can cause neck pain, and the pain can worsen during the night. An aching neck or back may also be caused by sudden movements, such as myoclonus (13), a brief involuntary twitching or jerking of a muscle or group of muscles, including neck muscles.

How Can I Get Rid of Neck Pain From Sleeping Wrong?

To reduce neck pain from sleeping in the wrong position or from an unsupportive pillow, the following methods may provide relief:

• Apply ice or heat to the neck. Use ice for the first 48 to 72 hours, and use heat after that.
• Apply heat using warm showers or baths, hot compresses, or heating pads.
• Use over-the-counter pain relievers, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or naproxen.
• Have a partner or professional gently massage your neck.
• Ask your healthcare provider about physical therapy techniques, such as massage, stretching, and strengthening exercises.

Choosing the right pillow may also help prevent or alleviate neck pain. Research shows that people who wake up with a stiff or aching neck may be sleeping on a pillow that is not right for them. To prevent neck pain from sleeping, consider trying a new pillow that is made of foam, polyester, or latex, and that is contoured for optimal head placement.

For chronic neck pain, studies show that using a visco-elastic polyurethane pillow (14), also known as a memory foam pillow, in conjunction with chiropractic treatment helped people manage their pain. Memory foam pillows appear to be more supportive than other pillow types for this type of pain.

Successfully Manage Neck Pain from Sleeping

Sleeping in a spine-supporting position and choosing the right pillow can help prevent neck pain from occurring. However, if you wake up with a stiff or aching neck, your pain can be minimized or alleviated by following some simple tips. If your neck pain continues or becomes chronic, discuss it with your healthcare professional to find ways to effectively manage it.

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK338120/ Accessed on March 14, 2021.
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19445809/ Accessed on March 16, 2021.
3. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000802.htm Accessed on March 14, 2021.
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19005925/ Accessed on March 14, 2021.
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19020905/ Accessed on March 16, 2021.
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23300350/ Accessed on March 16, 2021.
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27261979/  Accessed on March 14, 2021.
8. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/01/psychodynamic-therapy Accessed on March 14, 2021.
9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21197317/ Accessed on March 16, 2021.
10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22379258/ Accessed on March 16, 2021.
11. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31256029/ Accessed on March 16, 2021.
12. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/neck-pain-beyond-the-basics Accessed on March 14, 2021.
13. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Myoclonus-Fact-Sheet  Accessed on March 15, 2021.
14. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31934412/ Accessed on March 16, 2021.

Say “good night” to neck pain

Awareness of sleeping positions and proper pillows can minimize neck pain

As with so many things, when it comes to neck pain, an ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure. It’s true that some causes of neck pain, such as age-related wear and tear, are not under your control. On the other hand, there are many things you can do to minimize your risk. One place to start is to look at how you sleep and what effect this may have on neck pain.

What is the best sleeping position for neck pain?

Two sleeping positions are easiest on the neck: on your side or on your back. If you sleep on your back, choose a rounded pillow to support the natural curve of your neck, with a flatter pillow cushioning your head. This can be achieved by tucking a small neck roll into the pillowcase of a flatter, softer pillow, or by using a special pillow that has a built-in neck support with an indentation for the head to rest in. Here are some additional tips for side- and back-sleepers:

1. Try using a feather pillow, which easily conforms to the shape of the neck. Feather pillows will collapse over time, however, and should be replaced every year or so.
2. Another option is a traditionally shaped pillow with “memory foam” that conforms to the contour of your head and neck. Some cervical pillows are also made with memory foam. Manufacturers of memory-foam pillows claim they help foster proper spinal alignment.
3. Avoid using too high or stiff a pillow, which keeps the neck flexed overnight and can result in morning pain and stiffness.
4. If you sleep on your side, keep your spine straight by using a pillow that is higher under your neck than your head.
5. When you are riding in a plane, train, or car, or even just reclining to watch TV, a horseshoe-shaped pillow can support your neck and prevent your head from dropping to one side if you doze. If the pillow is too large behind the neck, however, it will force your head forward.

Sleeping on your stomach is tough on your spine, because the back is arched and your neck is turned to the side. Preferred sleeping positions are often set early in life and can be tough to change, not to mention that we don’t often wake up in the same position in which we fell asleep. Still, it’s worth trying to start the night sleeping on your back or side in a well-supported, healthy position.

Beyond sleep position

Research suggests that not just sleep position, but sleep itself, can play a role in musculoskeletal pain, including neck and shoulder pain. In one study, researchers compared musculoskeletal pain in 4,140 healthy men and women with and without sleeping problems. Sleeping problems included difficulty falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, waking early in the mornings, and non-restorative sleep. They found that people who reported moderate to severe problems in at least three of these four categories were significantly more likely to develop chronic musculoskeletal pain after one year than those who reported little or no problem with sleep. One possible explanation is that sleep disturbances disrupt the muscle relaxation and healing that normally occur during sleep. Additionally, it is well established that pain can disrupt sleep, contributing to a vicious cycle of pain disrupting sleep, and sleep problems contributing to pain.

For the latest in sleep research, information about the numerous health conditions and medications that can interfere with normal sleep, as well as medications used to treat sleep disorders, buy the Harvard Special Health Report Improving Sleep: A guide to a good night’s rest.

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Stop waking up with a sore neck

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Select PhysicianDavid R. Anderson, MDKurt D. Anderson, MDScott D. Anseth, MDZachary P. Arntson, DOAndrew F. Arthur, MDJonathan P. Asp, MDAdam J. Bakker, MDGarry M. Banks, MDJason A. Barry, MDPaul C. Biewen, MDBrian P. Bjerke, MDMatthew S. Butterfield, MDPaul M. Cammack, MDThomas J. Cesarz, MDGlenn W. Ciegler, MD, Ph.DJ. Chris Coetzee, MD, Mb, ChBRyan P. Cole, MDThomas K. Comfort, MDThomas N. Conner, MDJonathan M. Cooper, DOPaul J. Crowe, MDRick A. Davis, MDEric M. Deal, MDBryan D. DenHartog, MDJeffrey C. Dick, MDPaul R. Diekmann, MDJason P. Dieterle, DO, MSChristian M. DuBois, MDKurt J. Duncan, MDPatrick B. Ebeling, MDDavid R. Edwards, MDJason L. Eggers, MD, DCD. Charles Eggert, MDWilliam M. Engasser, MDDavid C. Fey, MDMark D. Fischer, MDDavid J. Gerlach, MDDavid Gesensway, MDBenjamin Gulli, MDFrederick B. Harris, MDDavid E. Hartigan, MDMaura Scanlon Hartigan, MDChristie S. Heikes, MDRyan W. Hess, MDRyan J. Hoel, MDJason S. Holm, MDPeter D. Holmberg, MDNicholas N. Holmes, MDDavid C. Holte, MDScott M. Holthusen, MDRyan D. Horazdovsky, MDAllan F. Hunt, MDNeil R. Johnson, MDMichael H. Johnson, MDRyan R. Karlstad, MDEdward W. Kelly, MD, MBAEric E. Kirksson, MDRobert V. Knowlan, MDLaura D. Koch, MDJay F. Kruse, MDPaul M. Lafferty, MDPaul R. Langer, DPMRobert F. LaPrade, MD, PhDChristopher M. Larson, MDGregory N. Lervick, MDRandall A. Lewis, MDJeffrey J. Mair, DODaniel J. Marek, MDClare K. McCarthy, MDScott R. McGarvey, MDMichael R. Meisterling, MDSteven W. Meisterling, MDSteven D. Meletiou, MDChristopher P. Meyer, MDNicholas J. Meyer, MDMarcus J. Mittelsteadt, MDAmy T. Moeller, MDSteven A. Moen, MDBrad R. Moser, MDJozef Murar, MDMichael J. Nemanich, MDJoseph P. Nemanich, MDFrank B. Norberg, MDRandall J. Norgard, MDPatrick F. O’Keefe, MDOwen R. O’Neill, MDBrian T. O’Neill, MDAndrew C. Ockuly, DOStephen L. Olmsted, MDDavid E. Olson, MDTJ Panek, MDErik J. Peterson, MDTJ Ridley, MDKayvon S. Riggi, MDMaria C. Ryan, MDGary R. Sager, MDPeter C. Sanders, MDAndrea M. Saterbak, MDJeffrey D. Seybold, MDJohn E. Sherman, MDWilliam Simonet, MDEdward W. Szalapski, MDJohn C. Tanner, MDJoseph T. Teynor, MDTroy A. Vargas, DPMLoren N. Vorlicky, MDNicholas G. Weiss, MDErik M. Wetter, MDJennifer H. Wood, MDCorey A. Wulf, MDNicole M. Zappa, DO, MHA

Do You Have a Stiff Neck? Try These Simple Remedies – Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

With so many of us gazing into computers or staring down at our smart phones most of the day, it’s no wonder data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that nearly 20% of us have experienced neck pain within the past three months.

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A stiff neck typically is the result of muscles weakening over time from poor posture or misuse, says chiropractor Andrew Bang, DC.

Looking down at your computer monitor all day can cause the muscles around the neck joints to tire and become overstretched. Driving for long periods of time or looking at your smart phone can have the same effect. If you’re doing this day after day, it can add up and can displace your neck joints.

“When your neck muscles become weak and you try to turn your head, the joint no longer moves smoothly because it’s now out of place,” Dr. Bang says. “Often the joint catches on something, either pulling a muscle or hitting the nerve irregularly, or maybe both.

“Then you’ll have instant pain and your body has a protective spasm. Your body doesn’t want you to get hurt more, so it will clench, causing you to feel like you can’t even move — and leaving you wondering what you did to injure yourself.”

Stretching can keep pain at bay

Putting your monitor at eye level, sitting up straight and avoiding tilting and twisting your head down or to the side while you’re on the computer can help you avoid neck pain. When you’re driving or looking at your smart phone, be sure to take frequent breaks and avoid having your neck bent forward for long periods of time, Dr. Bang says.

The key to relief for a stiff neck is proper stretching and manipulation, Dr. Bang says. Here are some stretches you can try at your desk or in the car that may help you to avoid a stiff neck:

• Roll your shoulders backwards and down 10 times.
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together 10 times.
• Push your head backwards into your car head rest or hands and hold for 30 seconds.
• Bring your ear to your shoulder 10 times on each side.

Take care when you sleep

Dr. Bang says if your neck is bothering you, you also should pay attention to your sleep positions. Sleep only on your side or on your back – never on your stomach, he says.

“When you sleep on your stomach, often you will end up twisting your head one way or the other for hours at a time,” Dr. Bang says. “Sleeping on your stomach also can affect your low back because your belly sinks in to the bed if you don’t have enough support.”

For minor, common causes of neck pain, try these simple remedies:

• Apply heat or ice to the painful area. Use ice for the first 48 to 72 hours, then use heat after that. Heat may be applied with warm showers, hot compresses or a heating pad. Be sure not to fall asleep with a heating pad or ice bag in place to avoid skin injuries.
• Take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
• Keep moving, but avoid jerking or painful activities. This helps calm your symptoms and reduce inflammation.
• Do slow range-of-motion exercises, up and down, side to side, and from ear to ear. This helps to gently stretch the neck muscles.
• Have a partner gently massage the sore or painful areas.
• Try sleeping on a firm mattress without a pillow or with a special neck pillow.
• Ask your health care provider about using a soft neck collar to relieve discomfort. Don’t use the collar for a long time. Doing so can make your neck muscles weaker.

If the pain gets in the way of your daily activities, Dr. Bang says to call your doctor.

90,000 Why does the neck hurt and what to do about it

If your neck tingles, clicks, shoots, it cramp, you can exhale: with a probability of 99% nothing terrible happens to you. Only 1% of neck pain is caused by 90,003 truly disturbing causes. And more often than not, these dangerous diseases do not manifest themselves too much.

When neck pain is really dangerous

Occasionally, neck pain can be a symptom of an autoimmune disease, tumors, inflammation, pinched nerve, blood vessel problems, or spinal cord injury.You can assume an unpleasant disease if you observe three important signs at once.

1. Discomfort or pain in the neck persists for at least several days.
2. The unpleasant sensations are increasing.
3. You have at least one aggravating factor:
   • Over 55 or under 20;
   • Increasing pain on tapping;
   • Fever, nausea, or general malaise;
   • weight loss;
   • regular headaches;
   • stiffness in the simplest movements;
   • Numbness, tingling, weakness in other parts of the body – arms or legs.

If all three points coincide, try to contact a physician as soon as possible. The doctor will prescribe tests for you and, possibly, refer you to narrow specialists to clarify the reasons and make a diagnosis.

There is another obvious situation when pain cannot be left without immediate attention: if you are involved in an accident, fall from a bicycle, ski, snowboard or were injured in another way, and sharp pain in the neck occurred immediately after that.Here you can immediately contact the emergency room or the surgeon.

Why does the neck hurt?

The neck is thin and flexible, and she has to hold a weighty head, which also twists back and forth, upsetting balance. In general, there is enough tension. But in some situations ^{the load increases and pain appears. In addition, other factors often play a role in the emergence of the latter.}

Muscle tension

Almost everyone who spends a lot of time at a computer or desk is familiar with it.Sitting, we unconsciously lean forward, putting our head behind the shoulder girdle. To keep her in such a non-physiological position, the muscles have to seriously strain. If this lasts for hours, the neck starts to ache.

There is an additional nuance: over time, the muscles get used to being in the wrong position and it is no longer so easy to relax them. This means that tension pains become regular.

By the way, the neck muscles overload even such seemingly harmless things as reading in bed or the habit of clenching your teeth.

Worn joints

Like other joints in the body, cervical joints wear out with age. The spacers between them – elastic cartilage that provide the necessary shock absorption under stress and soft turns – become thinner, and sometimes even completely collapse.

Due to thinning cartilage, the joints rub against one another during movement. This causes stiffness and soreness.

Whiplash injuries

You are driving, for example, in a minibus, and at some point it brakes sharply.Your head moves forward by inertia, and then leans back and moves forward again, onto your chest.

The load on the muscles increases, they stretch sharply, and micro tears appear. Podiatrists call this whiplash due to the characteristic movement of the neck.

Muscle inflammation

I ran without a scarf in winter or sat in a draft – and now, my neck blew. In medical terms, due to exposure to cold, the muscles became inflamed – myositis ^began.

Neck muscles can also become inflamed against the background of infectious diseases: ARVI, influenza, viral sore throat … Most often, myositis is not dangerous and goes away by itself within a few days.However, it is important to monitor the symptoms listed in the “When neck pain is really dangerous” section so that you can see a doctor in time if necessary.

Inflammation of the lymph nodes

Strictly speaking, in this case it is not the neck itself that hurts, but the accumulation of lymphatic cells. Enlarged, painful lymph nodes are a sure sign that the body is fighting infection ^{, concentrated in the neck and head.}

Most often we are talking about colds – flu, SARS, ear infections.But sometimes the cause of inflammation of the lymph nodes in the neck region can be “exotic”. For example, developing caries in one of the teeth, beginning measles, immune disorders and even HIV.

Only a qualified doctor can establish the exact cause, so carefully monitor your condition so as not to miss dangerous signs and consult with a specialist in time.

What to do if your neck hurts right now

The vast majority of neck problems are associated either with muscle tension pains or with worn-out joints.These situations do not require special treatment. The discomfort usually goes away within a few days.

To relieve pain, if it really spoils your life, doctors recommend ^{as follows:}

1. Take pain reliever – aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol.
2. Place a bag of ice or frozen vegetables wrapped in a thin towel around your neck to help relieve puffiness, if any. You can use cold during the first 2-3 days.
3. If the discomfort has not gone away after 2-3 days, it is better to relieve the condition with the help of damp heat. For example, taking a hot shower or applying a towel soaked in hot water to your neck.
4. Exercise to gently stretch your neck muscles and improve circulation. Please note that training is prohibited in case of acute pain or suspected diseases of the cervical spine – pinched nerve, hernia, and so on. Once again, check your feelings with the paragraph “When neck pain is really dangerous” and if you have the slightest doubt, consult your doctor as soon as possible.

What to do to prevent neck pain

The most effective way to deal with neck pain is prevention. To make life easier for this important part of the body, follow these guidelines.

1. Watch your posture. When standing or sitting, make sure your shoulders are directly above your hips and your ears are above your shoulders.
2. Take breaks and warm up. If you work a lot at the computer or travel while sitting, get up, move, stretch your shoulders and stretch your neck at every opportunity.
3. Adjust the height of the table and chair, monitor and computer keyboard. The display should be at eye level with your knees just below your hips. The keyboard – lie on the table so that you can comfortably work on it, resting your elbows on the armrests of the chair.
4. Get rid of the habit of holding the phone between your ear and shoulder while talking. If your hands are busy, use a headset or speakerphone.
5. If you smoke, here’s another reason to quit. Smoking worsens the blood vessels and cartilage tissue that feed the muscles.As a result, the risk of developing neck pain increases.
6. Do not carry heavy shoulder bags.
7. Sleep with your head and neck level with your body to reduce stress on your spine. Ideally, sleep on your back with a small bolster under your neck and a flat pillow under your hips.
8. Keep track of your menu, even if nothing hurts right now. A balanced diet will nourish your muscles and prolong joint health.
9. Be careful to avoid drafts and injuries.
10. Carefully monitor your health during the cold season. The life hacker has already advised how not to catch the flu.

Read also 😦

Operations on the cervical spine

1. Pain in the cervical spine: Symptoms and origins
2. Causes of pain in the cervical spine
3. When is the operation of osteoarthritis of the cervical spine necessary?
4. What operating techniques does Gelenk-Clinic offer?
5. What kind of doctor is performing the operation?
6. Preparation for surgery on the cervical spine
7. What type of anesthesia does the patient receive during cervical spine surgery?
8. What auxiliary aids may be needed after surgery?
9. Will there be any pain after cervical spine surgery?
10. Accommodation conditions in Gelenk-Klinik
11. What should you pay attention to after the operation?
12. How much does osteoarthritis surgery of the cervical spine cost?
13. How can a foreign patient make an appointment and the operation itself?

Pain in the cervical spine: Symptoms and origins

Examination of the cervical spine © joint-surgeon

The cervical region is the uppermost and most mobile part of the spine, which is responsible for the movement of the human head.The cervical region contains seven cervical vertebrae (C1 to C7). Under the foramen magnum, the space located under the skull through which the spinal cord communicates with the spinal canal, the 1st cervical vertebra Atlas begins. The second (axial) vertebra epistrophy or axis (Axis) is responsible for the mobility of the skull. The difference in the structure of the axis in comparison with other vertebrae is the presence of the odontoid bone process (Dens axis), around which the atlas rotates.First of all, the cervical spine is responsible for the stability and mobility of the head, as well as for maintaining the functions of the spinal cord.
It is for this reason that pain or injury to this part of the spine are quite serious indicators that should be consulted with a specialist.

Pain in the back, neck and arm may indicate cervical spine syndrome or, in other words, cervical syndrome. As a rule, doctors divide this ailment into acute and chronic forms. In the first case, the cause of injury is often sudden overuse.Such incidents include, for example, injury to the cervical spine during an accident, the so-called whiplash. In addition, an acute syndrome may appear due to physical exertion that is unusual for the body, or if you are in a draft for a long time. Another source of pain in this part of the spine is acute intervertebral hernias (prolapse of the intervertebral disc), during which the inner part of the disc comes out, damages its annulus fibrosus and thereby compresses the spinal nerves.

Chronic syndromes are based, as a rule, on degenerative changes in the supporting structures in the cervical spine. This form of the disease is observed most often in the area of ​​the facet (facet) joints. However, lateral deviations of the spine (scoliosis) can cause a chronic form of the disease. Often, this ailment can be caused by degeneration of the intervertebral discs and associated protrusions of the intervertebral disc, which have arisen due to degenerative changes in the fibrous ring (Anulus fibrosus), which surrounds the nucleus of the intervertebral disc.

The characteristic symptoms of cervical spine syndrome are neck pain, often radiating to the arm. In addition, there is tension and compaction of nearby muscle structures. The pain can radiate not only to the arms and hands, but also to the head, which can lead to severe headaches, dizziness, and even visual impairment and tinnitus (tinnitus). Neurological symptoms such as a feeling of numbness, impaired thermal sensitivity and a feeling of coldness or even manifestations of paralysis are also possible.

Depending on the spread of the action of pain, the specialists of our clinic divide the disease into “upper”, “middle” and “lower” cervical syndrome:

• Upper cervical spine syndrome (vertebral artery syndrome): Pain that occurs in the occipital and temporal regions. An important role is played in this case by changes in the area of ​​the vertebral joints. Uncovertebral arthrosis is a degenerative change in the region of the articular joints between the vertebral bodies.
• Syndrome of the middle cervical spine (radicular syndrome): Radiation pain between the shoulder blades and the shoulder region. Nerve dysfunctions are possible with corresponding symptoms in the hands. In addition to pain, the patient may experience a feeling of numbness or decrease the motor ability of the arm.
• Lower cervical spine syndrome: Similar to upper cervical spine syndrome, hand dysfunctions are observed. The pain radiates to the hand. Damage to the nerve roots is noted depending on its location.

Causes of pain in the cervical spine

Damaged intervertebral disc with low moisture content. © joint-surgeon

Degenerative changes due to wear:

• Distortion of intervertebral discs (protrusion or hernia)
• Ligamentous disorders (functional disorders of retaining ligaments)
• Dislocation of intervertebral joints
• Osteophytic (nodular) reactions (bone outgrowths on the cervical spine)

Congenital disorders:

• Scoliosis or Scheuermann’s disease
• Hereditary developmental anomalies (wedge-shaped vertebrae and fusion / vertebral fusion)

Inflammatory diseases:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Ankylosing spondylitis (acute inflammatory rheumatism, primarily affecting the spine)
• Infectious diseases (spondylitis or spondylodiscitis due to bacteria)

Metabolic diseases:

• Osteoporosis (decreased bone density)
• Rickets (disorders of the musculoskeletal system and bone formation)

Tumors:

• Primary neoplasms (plasmacytoma / myeloma)
• Metastases

Injuries:

• Fractures
• Whiplash in the neck

When is the operation of osteoarthritis of the cervical spine necessary?

• Paresis (paralysis)
• Sensory disturbances, numbness
• Rapidly worsening drug-resistant pain

With this disease, from the very beginning it is necessary to exclude the presence of damage to the nerve roots and the cervical spine.This means that, especially in the event of a recurrence of the disease, the Gelenk-Clinic specialists use the full range of clinical, radiological and neurological diagnostic methods. In addition to a thorough medical examination of the patient, such techniques also include electromyography (EMG), as well as MRI.

Operations are recommended to be carried out in the case of significant restrictions on the quality of life, pain, impaired sensitivity and paralysis. The clinical aspects that are the main indicators of the operation are neurological deficits (numbness, paresis, chills), etc.In some cases, operations need to be performed as early as possible in order to be able to implant an intervertebral disc endoprosthesis, which will help reduce pressure on the spinal cord of the cervical spine.

In the chronic form of the disease, which has occurred as a result of degenerative changes, a relapse may occur. Sometimes it is not possible to completely free yourself from complaints. In this case, it is necessary to think carefully about when it is better to decide on a stabilizing operation with possible blocking of the vertebral body (spinal fusion), and when it is better to go for an operation to implant an endoprosthesis that retains mobility.

What operating techniques does Gelenk-Clinic offer?

Depending on the cause of the pain, the surgeons at the Gelenk-Klinik in Gundelfingen offer the patient different surgical techniques.

Nucleoplasty

Nucleoplasty is an endoscopic surgery intended for the treatment of incomplete intervertebral hernia. If the fibrous cartilage around the nucleus of the intervertebral disc protrudes outward and compresses the spinal nerves, nucleoplasty helps to cure this ailment without the need for open surgery.To do this, the operating surgeon inserts a high-frequency electrode into the damaged intervertebral disc through a special puncture needle. With the help of an electric probe and in the presence of X-ray equipment that allows you to carefully observe the movements of instruments, the doctor shrinks the size of the nucleus of the intervertebral disc until it stops compressing the spinal nerves. The chances of success for this minimally invasive surgery are very high. Thanks to this operation, almost 80% of patients were able to free themselves from pain and return to their previous lifestyle.

Endoprosthetics of the intervertebral disc

A cervical endoprosthesis can replace the original shape of the intervertebral disc. © Spinal Kinetics

For ten years, artificial intervertebral discs have been an effective and widespread method of treatment. In addition, this operation is also a promising alternative to the proven spinal fusion – an operation that blocks the bodies of individual vertebrae. Also, endoprosthetics of the intervertebral disc is aimed at restoring the natural functions of the intervertebral disc.The aim of this surgery is to relieve or normalize symptoms associated with disc degeneration and hernias, such as chronic back pain and neurological disorders. The endoprosthesis replaces a real intervertebral disc, stabilizes the spine and protects it from subsequent injuries. In the medical center Gelenk-Klinik, prostheses of the M6-C type are used during this operation. Such disc prostheses last throughout life and do not need to be replaced.

Spinal fusion

The progressive form of spinal wear often reduces the distance between the vertebrae. Thus, the space between them narrows, which leads to destabilization of the spine and displacement of the vertebral bodies forward, backward or sideways. If conservative methods of treatment did not bring the desired result and minimally invasive operations did not help the patient, the technique of immobilizing the painful area is the only solution. The combination of special screws and connecting components ensures the immobility of the operated area.Thanks to modern medicine, this operation is minimally invasive, through small incisions. It should be noted that spinal fusion does not provide the patient with complete relief from pain, but only reduces pain in the spine.

What kind of doctor is performing the operation?

A very important element for the employees of the orthopedic medical center Gelenk Klinik in Germany is the close connection between doctors and patients. This means that your attending physician will take care of you from the day the medical history is taken until the operation itself.Thus, you will have a contact person who understands your situation and will be able to answer all your questions at any time. An experienced neurosurgeon Dr. Bian Ganepo is a specialist in the treatment of back pain and spinal surgery at Gelenk-Klinik.

Preparation for surgery on the cervical spine

The neurosurgeon checks the sensitivity of all sides. To do this, he uses stimulants such as thermal sensitivity, vibration, or the sense of touch.© joint-surgeon

First, the doctor directs the patient for a comprehensive clinical examination, the results of which become more understandable after imaging diagnostics. A clinical examination is a conversation with a patient and a physical examination. Imaging examination is an X-ray in the “lying” and “standing” positions, that is, under load. Another important point of diagnosis is MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Thus, the condition of the intervertebral discs and nerves in the spine is determined.In addition, bone density is measured to establish their stability, as well as to exclude osteoporotic changes.

Before the operation, the anesthesiologist meets with the patient, who once again carefully checks the patient’s state of health before anesthesia. As a rule, the operation is performed the next day after the permission of the surgeon and anesthesiologist.

What type of anesthesia does the patient receive during cervical spine surgery?

As a rule, the operation takes place under general anesthesia.To do this, the anesthesiologist uses a combination of anesthetics specially selected for the patient. During the operation, you do not feel pain and sleep soundly. The anesthesiologist is by your side throughout the operation. He checks your vital signs regularly and makes sure you stay awake.

What auxiliary aids may be needed after the operation?

During the first days after the operation, watch your movements and, if possible, do not exert stress on the cervical spine.To do this, you will be given a special Shants collar – a soft and elastic anatomically shaped fixator designed to stabilize the cervical spine and prevent sudden movements.

Will there be any pain after cervical spine surgery?

Each surgical procedure is associated with a specific pain. As a rule, we try to keep postoperative pain to a minimum. As soon as the anesthesia ceases to work, you are given an anesthetic injection or given a pill.Our goal is to relieve the patient from pain as much as possible.

Accommodation conditions in Gelenk-Klinik

Orthopedic Medical Center Gelenk-Klinik in Germany, private ward.

During your inpatient stay at the clinic, you are in a separate room with a shower and toilet. In addition, we provide you with towels, a bathrobe and slippers. The room has a TV. You only need to have your own medicines, comfortable clothes and nightwear with you. After surgery, we guarantee round-the-clock care by qualified service personnel and experienced physiotherapists.Basically, the hospital stay is 4 days. Your family members can stay at the hotel, which is located a few steps from the clinic. We will be happy to take care of the hotel room reservation.

What should you pay attention to after the operation?

After the operation, the spine should be at rest. Avoid sudden movements. Within 2-3 days, a Shants collar splint is put on the neck – a soft and elastic anatomical fixator, limiting the rotation of the head to 30 °.Depending on the medical indications, you will be assigned manual therapy to eliminate functional disorders of the locomotor system, which will be carried out by an experienced physiotherapist. There is no need to remove the stitches, since special absorbable sutures are used during the operation. Therefore, it is allowed to take a shower already on the 7th day after the intervention.

• Inpatient treatment: 4 days
• Recommended hospital stay: 10-14 days
• Possible return home: after 7 days
• Recommended return flight: in 14 days
• When shower is allowed: after 7 days
• When sutures are removed: not necessary (absorbable sutures)
• When can the car be driven again: after 2 weeks
• Outpatient physiotherapy: 2 weeks

How much does osteoarthritis surgery of the cervical spine cost?

In addition to the cost of surgical treatment, it is also necessary to take into account the costs of diagnostics, doctor’s appointments, as well as additional resources, such as a Shants collar splint.If you are planning to undergo physiotherapy in Germany, we will be happy to arrange appointments with highly professional physiotherapists and provide you with a preliminary cost estimate.

Information regarding the cost of staying at the hotel, as well as the subsequent treatment in the rehabilitation clinic, can be found on the website of the medical institution itself. We will be happy to assist you in organizing rehabilitation treatment in Germany.

How can a foreign patient make an appointment and the operation itself?

In order for our doctors to assess the condition of the intervertebral discs, vertebrae and facet joints, they need to provide the results of imaging diagnostics – X-rays, as well as MRI of the cervical spine.After you send all the necessary documents through our website, within 1-2 working days you will receive all the necessary information, a proposal for treatment, as well as an estimate of the costs of the operation.

Foreign patients can make an appointment with a Gelenk Clinic specialist in a short time, according to their plans. We will be happy to help you with visa processing after the prepayment specified in the cost estimate is received on our account. In case of refusal to issue a visa, we will refund your prepayment in full.

For foreign patients, we try to keep the time interval between preliminary examination and surgery to a minimum. Thus, you will not need to come to the clinic several times. During outpatient and inpatient stays at Gelenk Clinic, our multi-lingual (English, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese) patient management staff will answer all your questions. In addition, we provide an interpreter (for example, in Arabic), the payment for which is made by the patient himself.We will be happy to help you organize a transfer, find a hotel and show you how to spend your free time in Germany for you and your relatives.

90,000 Heroes: Ninth Life | Philanthropist

LJ marushabelle

Hello everyone! I gathered my strength and finally decided to write this post. It turned out that this is not easy, despite the fact that more than three years have passed.

As you probably already know, Natasha Ratkowski’s book “Allow yourself to create” has been published.There were two of my illustrations and a few words about me in the section “Therapy by creativity”.

Before telling everything in detail, I will tell you why I am doing this …
– I hope that my story will help someone not to give up and not give up,
– I hope that my example will show that sometimes many things are not like that , as they seem,
– because, perhaps, my story will tell someone about what to be ready for if something goes wrong.

I will try to tell everything as best I can, so perhaps my chronicle will be confusing and long.But I feel the need to do it now, because I’m ready.
A very narrow circle of people knows about my problem. From the outside, it may seem to many that I am a carefree girl who lives for her own pleasure. She laughs and jokes, draws funny pictures and uploads photos of nature on instagram, and what is really there, she has nothing to grieve about. I do not like it when they pity me and make indulgences. I believe that we all have equal opportunities and everything depends on ourselves. And also fate. You can’t run away from fate … And it happens that, simply, unlucky…. Or lucky 🙂
Well, that’s all) I’m starting. It’s very difficult to choose where to start .. But I’ll start like this .. In April 2010, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system) and was told that there were two months left to live …

But it actually started long before that.
After graduating from university in 2009, a crisis began. We became young professionals, although it was like sailing on the high seas on a makeshift raft. There is a diploma, but it is not known what to do next! Those who studied at Kosygin at the Faculty of the FPI probably recall the diploma with horror! These were hellish loads, we did not sleep for weeks.In winter, when I was preparing for a diploma, I began to experience severe headaches and on my neck (next to the mastoid) I somehow fumbled for a ball. To be honest, I have never been distinguished by a reverent attitude towards my body, I did not run to the doctor for a cold, and even knowing our clinics … Well, you understand .. Then I did not attach any importance to this. Yes! I had a very bad headache, but it was not at all before. After passing the diploma, something on the neck began to grow, but it seemed to me that it would pass and everything would work out.By the fall of 2009, I was taking painkillers every day. The district therapist goggled at me during the examination and said the following phrase: “Come to me with a worsening” … It was not possible to find any cause of headaches and a growing conglomerate on the neck, according to the results of analyzes in the polyclinic. And in December, already pretty exhausted with a headache, I called an ambulance and they took me to the hospital. At that time, I remember my feelings: I knew that something was sitting in me, I knew that getting rid of it simply and easily would not work … And it will not be the same as before.And another headache! You know, the pain was so hellish that it literally burned me … And none of the doctors could help. I drank strong pain relievers, but at best it gave relief for a couple of hours. I realized that our body, our well-being, our life is not a given! This is a gift that we do not appreciate and sometimes use completely irrationally! God, what happiness it is when nothing hurts you, when you don’t think about how this or that muscle works, when you don’t need to think about how the body functions! If you don’t think about it, thank God! It means that you are doing well! But this is a lyrical digression …
It is not difficult to guess that the New Year was celebrated in the hospital after I had an operation.I don’t know about you, but this omen works for me one hundred percent – “As you meet the new year, so you will spend it!”. He was released from the hospital with a diagnosis of Lymphadenitis, a cut neck, a growing tumor, the same headaches and an incorrectly identified blood group.
Then there was an adventure in a polyclinic, when a dental surgeon sent me to physiotherapy (and as you know, this is absolutely impossible to do with any tumors). The adipose tissue melted under the influence of temperature and began to rapidly go out.And from the next examination by the surgeon, I was urgently taken to the Maxillofacial Clinic named after V.I. Sechenov.

This is about the time when the project “Kingdom of Marushi Belle” was invented. It was an attempt to escape from the frightening, full of pain and uncertainty of reality … I was the mistress of the kingdom and only I could decide what is the weather in my magical country today, who has a birthday and in which jacket Minister Sheaf will go to the holiday. I wrote poetry, drew pictures, sewed dolls. In general, there is no better medicine than a case that completely absorbs you! I rejoiced at each of my heroes, they appeared and life raged in my kingdom.I could plunge into this imaginary world and not think about pain. These are the verses, for example)

Minister Sheaf

At six in the morning, Minister Sheaf,
He stood up, scratching his forehead.
Took lead dumbbells:
“Three, four! We got up – sat down! ”
I drank a cup of coffee from Cuba,
And then I brushed my teeth,
I poured all the flowers from the watering can,
I poured food into the canary,
I washed the dirty dishes,
I dusted off the dust everywhere with a rag,
I ironed out my jacket,
Waxed my boots to work …
But today is Saturday!

But if my essence did not pay attention to the pain, and I dissolved in wonderful gardens and in small towns with cobbled pavements, then my body languished.I could no longer sleep normally, I had torrential sweats, itchy skin and a temperature over 37 degrees (symptoms of lymphoma).
And I was already in the second hospital in a row. Perhaps, it was the worst for me here … In the admission department they examined me and transferred me to the ward. An operation was scheduled a day later. Based on their experience, the doctors decided to do it under local anesthesia.
When you don’t know what awaits you, you are not afraid. I must admit that I am not a timid person, I do not faint from mental shocks, I am not afraid of heights, I love extreme sports.But most of all, I was afraid that with the course of the disease, given the debilitating pain and other circumstances, I would get angry with everyone around me, whine and complain, and curse everything around me … I saw how the disease changes people … Like a woman languishing in pain, screaming foul language and cursed everything and everyone … But this did not happen, no. I smiled and met many people who wanted to help me and with whom I made friends …
So, I got distracted again)) The operation went as if I had been to hell .. I heard what was happening around, every word, felt every movement and hellish, simply unbearable pain.My body clenched in convulsions, my teeth were clenched tightly and several times I almost fainted. And the surgeons continued. In the meantime, I was asked if I had been coughing, for how long and for how long … In general, due to the error of the district doctor and physiotherapy, I was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. After the operation, I could hardly stand on my feet, they took me to the TB dispensary across the whole of Moscow … At the consultation, the head doctor refused to take me to his department, because he did not see any signs of the disease and we returned to the clinic.They put me in the corridor, exhausted, half-dead (after the operation and travel), I sat and waited until they would finally transfer me to the ward for another two or three hours. And this was an unbearable torture …

Well, here’s one in the ward. Diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Isolated. I’m not allowed to go out.
A doctor comes to me for dressings once a day. A masked nurse brings food. For all the arguments that I do not live alone and there are no signs of the disease, and the people living with me, who should have been infected, are healthy, the tests do not confirm the disease, I received the answer – you are sick, period.No reason, no analysis.
My boyfriend took the material to the Invitro laboratory and the result was naturally negative.
By the way, I have not seen so many mistakes as in this clinic, perhaps nowhere. For example, a blood test is done not before the operation, but after. During surgery, a biopsy sample is taken to determine which disease is most likely. So my biopsy was lost! Yes! And this is not just as if you were scratched behind your ear – it means that they will cut your flesh and take a small part of your body for analysis … months it was decided to do the third operation.During this time, they tried various antibiotics on me: from tuberculosis, tropical disease, general action and others, and they almost brought me to anaphylactic shock through negligence. And then there was a lot of resentment and anger and the realization of their own powerlessness .. In my presence, patients sued these wonderful doctors, because they somehow almost killed a young girl, for example … And the doctors behaved as if they were sure of their impunity and everything that happened – does not concern them.
If you think that the relationship with the doctors in the clinic was strained, you are wrong! Moreover, everyone knew me and even loved me.I freely came to the resident’s office to charge my iPod and they even treated me somehow, but this did not affect the quality of the treatment.
The worst thing was that being in the hospital did not clarify the situation in any way. Nobody knew what I was sick with, the condition worsened, the headache intensified .. Nobody could tell me what was wrong with me.

I remember when I was lying alone in isolation, with imaginary tuberculosis … I opened the window and the smell of the beginning of spring rushed into the room … You know, it smells like that only in spring, it is especially wonderful.This is the smell of hope and something new, wonderful! I thought how great it is to be free! Be a bird, fly far, far away! Where the eyes look .. Somewhere where the sea and the sun, and the noise of foliage … A fine rain drummed along the cornice and such lines were written …

I would like to be a cat
From ears to tail …
I would walk and sing
Along the avenue to the bridge,

I would walk on the roof
And from the cornice to the cornice
I would be able to quite inaudibly
Gracefully jump down.

I would light my eyes like candles,
And with spring alone
Spent a blue evening,
For the night to come to me.

And in the night, stepping softly,
With a long train of bluish darkness,
I would watch the grass
Awakened from winter.

I would look at the water,
At her deep sleep,
And, without moving, sat,
As if he was very sensitive.

I would like to be a cat.
Not in a dream, but in reality …
I would then change the body
For a steel bowstring,

For jumps and landings,
For a hot instinct “LIVE”!
I would have a little luck,
To be a cat!

After the third operation, one of the doctors finally guessed to send me to a consultation with a hematologist.It was luck! I got to the head of the Department of Hematology of the clinic. Ostroumova. I am still grateful to this doctor and all the doctors of this clinic for the wonderful work. After examining me and listening to the story, the doctor was horrified, called my attending physician and chastised him for a long time like a naughty kitten. She said that an urgent need to conduct a biopsy in the center. Blokhin, because it is the most competent center for cancer in Russia. Of course, she reassured me that most likely everything will work out and it’s okay, but I need to check it once more.Although I felt that everything was not so simple, I always want to hope for the best. And she also told me this phrase: If you feel very bad, come to me with the result of a biopsy, we will think of something!

But my doctors did not heed the advice of the hematologist and the biopsy material was sent to another laboratory. In the meantime, one more headache was added to the headache, which began to accompany me from day to day. Sharp, burning, hellish pain in the shoulder. I, of course, hoped that it was because I somehow awkwardly slept, well, and lay down…. But after quite a long time, it became clear that this was not at all the case. So the headache has already faded into the background. This is from the series “- My stomach hurts! “Let me break your finger and you will forget about the pain in your stomach” … To my complaints I received an answer from the doctor: “Don’t make it up, it’s all your whim!”. And the pain pulled out the remaining strength. Made me think only of her. The painkillers didn’t help .. But I was drawing. I drew whenever I could. It was in the hospital that I drew a series of pictures on craft.I painted what I wanted, but the pictures and characters speak for themselves. What worries you the most always comes out. I tried to ignore the pain and well-being, the wound on my neck, the daily dressings, the fears and everything else — a notebook, crayons, liners and imagination — that was the best medicine I needed. And more poetry … I made many friends and admirers in hospitals, who stood behind me like a mountain and looked at the pictures with pleasure.

Finally, the biopsy came.It was April. I was diagnosed with Lymphogranulomatosis (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma). While giving the discharge, the doctor said in a low voice that most likely the stage was already decent, that I needed to go somewhere and do something, but what he didn’t know for sure … and I’m so young, and there’s so little time left, and this so sorry … And it all sounded like a funeral march …. It’s time to give up, right?)

I remembered what I told the head of the department … And taking things with documents, we went straight to the Hematology Department of the clinic.Ostroumova. And in spite of the non-office hours, my savior received me and explained what to do next.
I have learned that the duration of the treatment will be about a year. That I still need to do a bunch of tests, undergo chemotherapy and then radiation. And that most likely hair will fall out .. But it was already at least some certainty.
Then we still took a biopsy to a cent. Blokhin to make a final diagnosis. We put stage 2 B.

Everyone who is given a terrible diagnosis asks himself the same questions.In some ways, we are not at all unique, we all want to live. Everyone asks himself questions: “For what?” and “Why me?” We all think that we are special, that we are invulnerable, that well-being is forever. That life is endless! Every day we hear that something bad is happening – terrorist attacks, diseases, earthquakes … But this happens to a virtual someone, it does not happen to us, and deep down everyone is sure that trouble will bypass him. You know, this is a delusion. No matter how it sounds, but it is. We need to thank the Almighty that everything is fine with us.You need to appreciate your loved ones and those who are next to you and say words of gratitude to them, because without doing this now, there may not be another opportunity. Life is an illusion. Each of us walks on the edge of a knife and runs the risk of being cut or falling into the abyss. And today you need to live this day so that tomorrow you will not be ashamed. If everything is fine with you now, if you feel great and you have something to rejoice in – this is a great success!
And one more thing about fears! Do you know what was the worst?) I was not afraid of dying and was not afraid of a terrible diagnosis, most of all I was afraid that my hair would fall out)) I always had a luxurious head of hair with long hair, and here once – and bald … Oh no, just not that! )) Girls, they are such girls!))
The causes of cancer by blood have not yet been studied.As my attending physician, my guardian angel said: “This is fate.” In my family, no one was sick, so there is no point in blaming heredity either. I think this is my personal test, my war to become better and wiser. As you know, what does not kill us, makes us stronger … And if I am destined to live, I need to appreciate every minute of my life, enjoy it, not waste time and not bury my talents in the ground, but multiply them.
I regard this experience as given to me for something, but for something …

The diagnosis was made.But that’s half the battle. Treatment, namely, determining the number of courses, the strength and type of therapy is a serious matter. Therefore, you need to undergo a large examination and, in the conclusion, trepanobiopsy. This is when, under local anesthesia, a strong doctor extracts bone marrow from your vertebra in the lumbar spine with a special tool)) This is not a joke! This is necessary in order to finally confirm the diagnosis, because the bone marrow is the most reliable store of information about the body. Well, to be honest, this procedure didn’t scare me.Maybe because by that time there were already so many things that there was no point in being afraid of something, I don’t know. I must say that in Ostroumov’s clinic all doctors and laboratories work surprisingly competently and harmoniously, like clockwork. And I have something to compare with)
For the last most terrible analysis, I was called to the office where a woman was lying under a dropper, they received anesthesia and began the procedure … It was not very pleasant … When in your body someone wielding a tool like a chisel, hollowing out something made of bone is still a pleasure.To distract the patient from pain, the nurse and the doctor talk to the patient. I told them a joke. About doctors. And they obviously did not like it)) but I still heard strained laughter).

So. All analyzes were done. Results received. Chemotherapy is determined. But the adventure did not end there. Appointed hospitalization a week later, but had to go for an ultrasound scan on Saturday. The swelling on the neck began to grow very quickly. Uzist said he didn’t know what was going on. And I could no longer turn my neck at all, did not sleep and could hardly breathe … I started to panic.Tears flowed like water. Hospitalization was postponed until Monday. To be honest, at that moment it was so bad … Pain and illness exhausted me so much that it is difficult to convey in words .. My whole being seemed to have stopped its rhythm. Pause. Vacuum. I didn’t want to die, no .. I wasn’t scared… I’m just very tired. Very … I have no strength left to fight. The subconscious said everything in the Epitaph …

I changed my life with my even step
For a nervous step, for a run.
Will not calm down in any way,
Do not hold the flow of rivers.

I got ready to jump,
I am standing on a stone bridge,
I can’t hesitate any longer,
I rush into a deep emptiness.

I don’t know what lies ahead …
And I don’t know the fields,
What still has to go,
I don’t know that land.

It’s not easy for me to walk
With the gusty wind at the same time,
I erased my feet along the way,
But this is a trifle. Anyway …

Let my voice tremble slightly,
But I’m ready for anything!
I need to live this way,
So that no one gets it.

And even with the last bit of strength
I will reach, I will not give up, I will not turn.
I will pass through the wind, heat and silt
Into the healing silence.

And at this moment … Now there will be a bit of a strange plot twist, but it’s true, I was found by a woman who called herself a healer. When I arrived home after the ultrasound to collect things for Monday, one friend called me, with whom we were in the previous clinic and said that someone X (let’s call her that), whom we met there, really wants to talk to me.X said that when she saw my photo on the site, she realized that I was going to die soon and I needed to be rescued! Do you think I was skeptical about this? No) I didn’t care anymore. The state was such that there was simply no strength: to be surprised, angry or indignant .. She said that she would come to me before the chemotherapy and I agreed.

Blood tests were urgently taken on Monday. It turned out that in no case should you drink strong painkillers for patients like me – leukocytes (blood particles that are responsible for immunity) are greatly reduced, from that day on, drugs began to inject me twice a day.And it gave a rest! There was a professorial round and I learned that the enlarged lymph nodes pinched the brachial plexus and this displaced the scapula (the right hand did not rise any more), and that in turn gave severe pain. The stage of the disease is not that big 2 B (transitional to the 3rd), but the body is very exhausted by pain, operations, various antibiotics and possibly some kind of infection, so most likely I have 2 months left to live and no one knows if I will endure the first chemotherapy …
So chemistry. In itself, this is not scary.These are just droppers with substances that are introduced into the body very slowly. My therapy was called ABVD. 4 substances, about 5 hours. Healer X came to me, brought some charged water, said that everything would be fine. Before the therapy, we kissed my boyfriend, cried and said goodbye, holding hands. I dimly remember what happened next. There was no strength. I opened my eyes for only a few minutes a day, heavy eyelids, as if crimson were falling, and then it was dark again and sleep …

After the second chemotherapy I felt better.The swelling on the neck diminished, but hair began to fall out. At that time, this did not upset me, but simply became annoying. When they let me go home, I cut my hair under a typewriter on my bald head. From a length of 20 cm below the shoulder blades to, as they say, “under the knee”. It was the same expiriens))
The professor began to visit my ward less often – it was a good sign.
The situation clearly began to level out, the tests improved, they let me go home, now I came only for the procedures. And the pain gradually disappeared! It is difficult to convey in words what happiness it was! Ask your body, wait for an answer, with fear, and suddenly the pain will return, it suddenly seemed … But no! No pain! She passed! What happiness it was! Thank you!!
I was assigned 4 courses, taking into account the state.Then there were tests, counting leukocytes and other cells, drugs that stimulate immunity. I could already read blood tests with ease, I understood different values ​​and components of therapy … How wonderful that now I don’t remember anything!
The chemotherapy procedure itself is not scary .. But here’s the effect of it .. Each time it happened more and more difficult and painful … I vomited for weeks, exacerbated smells, sensations, perception. In any place where there are strangers, I could only appear in a mask.I was lucky it was summer! You need to work very hard not to catch pneumonia or something worse. I never thought that herpes is transmitted by airborne droplets. Chemistry completely erases the immune system. After the procedure, you are a clean sheet, a sponge, ready to absorb all the sores. The girls in the ward and I developed a protection system with different ointments and precautions so as not to get sick. And you know, we did it!
Interestingly another sense of myself. These are the instincts of the body and self-preservation.At that time, my most acute sensation was this: I felt that I was a nerve. A bare nerve, because always, every minute, all my feelings were heated to the limit. Every sense organ made sure that no danger appeared nearby. Every person, object, smell is a real threat to life. Over time, when the body got stronger, all this was forgotten … Nature takes its toll) And this is wonderful.

Then there were also meetings with X, she brought charged water and said that two courses of chemistry would be enough, that in general it was bad for karma.But then I gradually began to come to my senses, began to react more adequately to what was happening and refused to interrupt the treatment.
There is a lot of information on the Internet about this. A large percentage of patients, feeling relief, abandon difficult treatment and everything goes down the drain. The disease burns to the ground, leaving no chance.
In the process, it turned out that I (if appropriate in this case) was lucky with the disease. It is the nonspecific Hodgkin’s lymphoma during treatment – ABVD therapy in combination with radiation therapy – in 99% of cases gives a stable positive result and after 5 years of remission the disease is considered completely cured! But in no case should you quit treatment! No matter how difficult it was.
I do not know if the effect of Healer X helped me … I went through all 4 courses of chemistry and a full course of radiation therapy, I took the full amount of drugs I was entitled to, so it is difficult for me to judge the result of such treatment. However, somehow she borrowed the N-th amount of money from me, and then disappeared and I never saw her again.
I can only say one thing, that in no case should you solve health problems through the services of people who advise you to refrain from treating traditional medicine! And the sooner you go to the doctor, the better it will be and, perhaps, this will save your life.Yes, our medicine is far from perfect, as far as you can judge from my story, but in no case should you give in to the assurances of charlatans, who often do not know what they are talking about. During my medical history, I have seen a lot, listened to stories of real people and I can say that miracles do happen, but they do not happen as quickly as we would like, and serious treatment is needed to get rid of a serious problem. Although, of course, I want to eat the pill of happiness and wake up completely healthy the next morning!

Then there was radiation therapy, burns of mucous membranes and skin, restoration of the body and many other overcoming of oneself.
The doctors told me that the displaced scapula and the problems associated with it, most likely, will remain with me and this is unlikely to be restored. But then yoga came to my rescue. It was hard to practice and “regain your body” again, but it helped me a lot, the problems with the shoulder went away, the body began its recovery.
During the treatment, I gained more than 10 kg. And one might say, she learned to live in a new way. I found myself anew, as if I was born a second time. She learned to be feminine and beautiful again, learned to like herself in the mirror.My hair grew back and I tried many hairstyles)) By the way, chemistry changes the structure of the protein, so at first I had strong beautiful curls!
If you think that during the treatment period I gave myself a rest, then you are very mistaken! As soon as I had the strength to hold in my hands liners and pencils, a needle and thread, a brush and a pen, I set to work with special zeal! I drew, cut, sewed and wrote … I did not give myself indulgences and discounts for fatigue. I continued to create! Irresistibly and with pleasure.Truly creativity is the best medicine! I worked whenever I could, regardless of my weaknesses. I think this zeal helped me a lot in my recovery. And not even! I’m sure. Now I lead a fulfilling life, undergo an examination once a year, work a lot, play sports, travel, learn something new, enjoy life, love, make plans and thank God for every day I have lived.

Here are the lessons that I learned:
– We must not give up and give up, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem, we are the masters of our own destiny and if we are destined to live, we need to fight for it!
– Do not listen to those who say that everything is over, they themselves do not know what they are talking about!
– There is a way out in any situation.If you look, you will definitely succeed!
In our country, there is still an opinion that if you have been diagnosed with an oncological disease, then you are no longer a tenant! These are all remnants of the past from the field of dinosaurs.
– Do not trust charlatans, they need your money and by and large do not care about you. Go to the doctor and you will definitely be helped.
– The stronger your grief, the more despair you are, the more people who want to deceive you. Don’t lose hope and be strong.
– Life is wonderful! If you are killing time and in vain tempt fate, most likely tomorrow you will regret it!
– And I also realized that the limit of our capabilities is very far! And even when it seemed that now something would break…. You continue to live and are reborn like a phoenix from the ashes, in order to continue to bloom with renewed vigor brighter and more beautiful! The main desire and aspiration!

Friends! I know each of you sympathizes with me and I really appreciate it. But I beg you do not feel sorry for me, this is absolutely useless. Truth!

During my illness and in the most difficult moments, my parents were not with me, for reasons that I do not want to voice. The only person who supported me, cared and was there for me was my boyfriend.Lesch, I want to thank you so much! For every day spent with me in the hospital, for kilometers on the way, for words of support, for fear and excitement for me, for your love and for everything that you did for me, I know it was not easy for you too, but despite on this you did not abandon me and did not give up.

Dear ones! All those who have had the patience and strength to read to the end, I wish you to appreciate what you have been given, your loved ones and every day you live. Love and create, this is the only way you can look back and you will not be ashamed that you did not leave even a small mark on a large space of the human path.

I hug.
Marusha Belle.

Jar of jam

There was a jar on the table
With orange jam,
This jar is a foreigner,
At the Petrovs’ safekeeping.

In hot countries, distant countries,
In the trees near the lowlands
Under the supervision of the guards
Oranges ripen.

The juices of the sun are gaining,
Taste and smell are the hearts of the south,
Gradually ripening,
Grow in the form of a circle.

And from them jam is made,
Amber of thick color,
And thus people are given
In winter, a small summer.

And then early in the morning,
Directly with the sun, early in the morning,
Sent away on a journey,
This bank to the house of the Petrovs.

There was a bank on the table,
The batteries were warmed with heat,
It is important, proud posture.
And inside – a piece of summer.

90,000 When You Stop Breathing: The Story of a Man with Sleep Apnea

• Neil Steinberg
• Mosaic / BBC Future

March 14, 2020

Photo Credit, Getty Images

Chances are high that you have no idea that you have sleep apnea.However, if this happens very often during the night, then your life is in danger.

I thought I was dying. During the day I felt so tired that my knees were shaking. When I was driving, I sometimes caught myself nodding and falling asleep. Exhaustion was written on my face.

At night I slept in fits and starts, with difficulty finding a comfortable position for my legs, often woke up with a pounding heart, panting.

My doctor was puzzled. He asked to donate blood and urine and sent me for an electrocardiogram.Perhaps, he suggested, the reason was heart disease, since I had such a rapid heartbeat at night.

But no, my heart was all right. And the blood showed nothing.

Then I was sent for a colonoscopy. All this happened in 2008, and I was then 47 years old – anyway, the right age to have a colonoscopy for the first time.

But the gastroenterologist did not find anything wrong with me either. No tumors. Not even polyps. However, he noticed something.

“When you were under anesthesia,” he said, “at some point you stopped breathing for a while. You need to check – it may be apnea.”

Apnea? I’ve never heard of that.

What is it and what is the threat

It turned out that apnea is an arrest of respiratory movements, in my case – during sleep. Specialists distinguish between obstructive (narrowing of the upper airways during sleep) and central apnea.

When the muscles in the larynx are too relaxed, they can block the airways.During sleep apnea, this can happen all the time, leading to a decrease in the level of oxygen in the blood.

Then you wake up gasping, gasping for air. During the night, this sometimes happens dozens, or even hundreds of times, and the consequences of this for your health can be dire.

Apnea increases the load on the heart, makes it work harder and faster, as it tries to compensate for the lack of oxygen.

Constantly changing oxygen levels in the blood lead to plaque build-up in the arteries, increasing the risk of heart disease, hypertension and stroke.

In the mid-1990s, the US National Sleep Disorders Commission estimated that approximately 38,000 Americans die each year from heart disease exacerbated by sleep apnea.

There is growing evidence that apnea affects glucose metabolism, leading to insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes) and weight gain.

Add to this the constant fatigue from lack of sleep, which causes memory problems, anxiety and depression.

A 2015 study of drivers in Sweden found that those with sleep apnea were 2.5 times more likely to have accidents.People with sleep apnea are more likely to skip work and are more likely to be fired.

Photo by Getty Images

Caption,

Sleep apnea means you never get enough sleep

summer period than those who do not have this syndrome.

However, as with smoking, people tend not to associate apnea with such serious health effects, according to a report commissioned by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.According to academy estimates, 12% of Americans suffer from sleep apnea, but 80% of them are undiagnosed with the syndrome.

Approximately the same percentage can be transferred to the whole world: as a result, it turns out that about a billion people on the planet suffer from moderate to severe sleep apnea (according to a 2019 study), while not realizing it and not receiving the necessary treatment.

How to deal with it?

I’ll tell you about myself, about my experience.

Risk factors for the development of apnea include obesity, specific body structure (large neck, large tonsils, etc.)or aging, but the problem is that the syndrome does not manifest itself in any way until a person falls asleep.

So the only way to diagnose it is by monitoring sleep. So in early 2009, on the advice of my doctor, I went to the sleep medicine laboratory in Northbrook, Illinois.

Sleep medicine specialist Lisa Shives examined my throat and advised me to undergo polysomnography, a study that monitors breathing, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, muscle and brain activity.

I came back to the laboratory a few weeks later at nine in the evening.

Photo author, Getty Images

Caption,

The only way to diagnose sleep apnea is to watch a person sleeping

The laboratory assistant took me to a small room with a bed. The equipment was located in another room, the window into which was behind the headboard. I changed and the technician attached electrodes to my chest and head. At about 10 pm I turned off the light and fell asleep pretty quickly.

At half past five in the morning I woke up and was about to make an attempt to fall asleep again, but they told me that I had slept for six hours and the data was enough.

While I was getting dressed, the laboratory assistant said that I had severe apnea, and Dr. Shives would tell me the details. After such a message, I refused the planned breakfast and went home, rather frightened.

After a few more weeks, I returned to Northbrook, this time in the afternoon. Shives showed me a black and white video of me sleeping, and it was unpleasant – as if you see a crime scene and yourself killed.

As Shives told me, once my breathing stopped for 112 seconds – almost two minutes.

The normal level of blood oxygen saturation is from 95 to 100%. In patients with acute chronic pulmonary insufficiency, it is usually higher than 80%. I have 69% at the time of apnea.

How dangerous is it? According to the WHO’s handbook for surgeons, if the oxygen level in a patient’s blood drops to 94% or below, an immediate check should be made to see if the airways are blocked, the lung has failed, and if there are circulatory problems.

I had few options. According to Scheives, I could have undergone uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, the essence of which was even more frightening than the name: it is an operation to excise the tissues of the uvula, palate and pharynx – to widen my airways.

The operation is associated with blood loss, and recovery after it is difficult and long. As I understand it, Shives offered it to me only in order to go straight to the second option: the mask.

When sleep apnea was first discovered, the only option that was offered to patients was a tracheostomy – a tube removed through the opening in the windpipe.This brought relief – but also had serious consequences. It is now resorting to tracheostomy only as a last resort. And just ten years ago …

Photo author, Getty Images

Caption to photo,

A 2017 study found that almost 40% of German residents have sleep apnea

“I always snored loudly in my sleep, often woke up out of breath in the middle of the night, “says Angela Kakler of Hot Springs, Arkansas, who was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2008.

In 2012, she was taken to the hospital with a heart attack and in the morning the doctor said: “We will do you a tracheostomy.”

More than seven years have passed since then – is she used to living with a tube in her throat?

“This is a serious story,” she says. “It requires regular cleaning, it’s like extra work. It’s unpleasant. You don’t breathe like a normal person. Your throat is constantly dry, you need to keep it moist. You are at risk of various infections.”

The main drawback for Angela is that she can no longer practice her favorite swimming.And she hates it when people look at her with curiosity.

However, her apnea has passed. “I don’t snore, I can breathe normally in my sleep now, I sleep better.”

Photo author, Getty Images

Photo caption,

Although CPAP therapy is now recognized as the gold standard in sleep apnea treatment, many people who tried it were disappointed in it

Would she agree to such an operation again?

“If this question had arisen again – yes, of course. It saved my life.”

And then Colin Sullivan, now a professor of medicine at the University of Sydney, invented the CPAP machine, CPAP therapy, which is now considered the gold standard in sleep apnea treatment. The device, which includes a special mask, can be used at home. Today it is used by millions.

But often it doesn’t work

However, it takes a lot of persistence to get a successful result. Although CPAP devices are becoming more and more advanced (for example, data from them can be directly uploaded to the cloud for further analysis), doctors made one unpleasant discovery: this treatment often simply does not work.

Previously, the patient could simply deceive the doctor and say that the mask works great. But now, when the data is collected electronically, when it is immediately visible how long the patient slept in the mask, doctors have found that many simply do not use it or take it off soon after falling asleep, because it is uncomfortable and interferes with sleep, as noted in an article in New York Times in 2012.

Research shows that between a quarter and half of all users stop using CPAP in their first year.

As I did.

The first night I tried the device, I slept well – even with this mask on. This took place in the laboratory, under the supervision of doctors.

But the positive effect of the first night quickly dried up. At home, I have not been able to experience the same. The fact is, the first letter “si” in the English abbreviation CPAP means “continuous”, “constant”. The device constantly delivers air, even when you exhale.

You have to deal with this opposite air flow.I woke up breathless.

In addition, I had to sleep in a mask that squeezes my face. Air seeped out from under the mask and dried the eyes, even when they were closed.

Most nights ended with me just pulling off my mask. In the morning I checked the statistics and saw how little I used the device.

Dr. Shives tried to help me by adjusting the supply air pressure, suggested trying other masks. I came to her laboratory several times, but everything was useless.

Finally, Shives said irritably: “You know, if you lose 15 kilograms, the problem will go away by itself.”

Indeed, obesity significantly increases the likelihood of developing sleep apnea. My height is 180 cm, and in 2009 I gained 95 kg (compared to 68, which I had when I graduated from university).

So, at the beginning of 2010, I decided to lose weight – as much as Shives advised. And I almost succeeded: by the end of the year I already weighed 80 kg. I got rid of apnea, and no mask was needed for this.

Photo author, Getty Images

Photo caption,

People with sleep apnea risk going to surgery

However, it turned out that I won the battle, but did not win the war. Ten years later, the kilograms slowly returned to me. And with them the apnea syndrome returned.

I did not realize this until the summer of 2019, when I had a spinal operation. The preoperative questionnaire included questions about whether I snore during sleep, how often I get tired, and whether I have ever been diagnosed with sleep apnea.

As it turned out, sleep apnea poses risks for patients during surgery, can affect the well-being of the outcome and the likelihood of complications.

According to a 2017 German study, obstructive sleep apnea can be experienced by up to 40% of people in Germany, and only 1.8% of hospital patients have it.

The authors of the study believe that this is due to the low level of awareness about the problem – both among patients and medical staff.

After admitting that many years ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I was subjected to extensive research trying to find out how severe it was.

Tests have shown that I have moderate apnea, possibly due to the fact that I still have not fully regained my previous weight.

“Weight loss is healthful,” says Phillip Smith, a professor of sleep apnea and lung disease at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “The problem is that people usually can’t do it.”

And if we add to this that many patients cannot use CPAP therapy, then there are very few ways to get rid of apnea.

In the mid-1990s, for those who cannot stand a mask, they came up with a device that is inserted into the mouth and makes the lower jaw move forward, and with it the tongue [which can block the air flow during apnea] “.

Like CPAP, this device is not an ideal solution, it keeps the jaw in an unnatural position, the person may feel uncomfortable, prolonged use can change the bite …

Photo Credit, Getty Images

Photo Caption,

Sleep Apnea Mouthpiece , used since the mid-1990s

However, most of Dr. David Turok’s patients are quite happy with the results of this device.According to him, it is suitable for patients with moderate apnea. In severe cases, CPAP therapy is preferable.

“I never offer freedom of choice,” he says. “I always say, try CPAP first.”

Those who are intolerant of oral devices and CPAP masks can try surgery to improve the position of the jaw, which is much better than inserting a tube into the windpipe, Turok said.

“Healing is easier and faster because it is bone,” says Turok.However, this is still an unpleasant operation, during which you have to break the lower jaw in two places.

Another treatment option for sleep apnea is electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve, which causes the tongue to contract and stop falling backwards during sleep.

As stated by Laurence Epstein, associate director of medical affairs for sleep disorders at Boston Women’s Hospital and recent chairman of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, CPAP therapy is still the gold standard, but in the end the treatment comes down to what is most appropriate for patient option.

“We have very effective methods, but each has its drawbacks,” he says. “What’s good for one patient isn’t necessarily as good for another.”

Photo author, Getty Images

Caption,

Researchers hope to create pills for treating sleep apnea – but this is unlikely to happen in the near future

Doctors are pinning their greatest hopes on pills that have not yet been created.

“The future is neurochemistry,” says Professor Smith.- Probably, in 10 years, or even five years, we will be able to treat apnea with medication – after all, this is actually a neurochemical problem, and not, say, a problem of obesity. Fats release certain hormones that cause the airways to close. “

And there are already some successes – for example, in the course of research, dronabinol, which contains a semi-synthetic cannabinoid, reduced the severity of sleep apnea compared to placebo.

According to experts, CPAP fights physical the problem, not the cause.The medicine works on the brain and nerves that control the muscles in the upper respiratory tract.

There are other encouraging results: One small, placebo-controlled, international study of two drugs used in a specific combination (atomoxetine and oxybutynin) found that they dramatically reduced sleep apnea by removing at least 50% of the obstruction of breathing during sleep – for all participants.

However, for people like me, those who suffer from apnea now, the wait may be too long.For me, all this means only one thing: a return to the diet and regular visits to a sleep specialist.

What is significant: when in July I tried to get an appointment with this very specialist, I was told that the nearest free window was the end of October. To all appearances, many have understood what exactly torments them in their sleep.

Legal Information : This article is for general information only and should not be construed as a substitute for the advice of a physician or other healthcare professional.The BBC is not responsible for any diagnosis made by the reader based on the materials of the site. The BBC is not responsible for the content of other sites, links to which are present on this page, and also does not recommend commercial products or services mentioned on these sites. If you are concerned about your health, see your doctor.

This is an abridged version of an article originally published at Mosaic and republished at BBC Future under a Creative Commons license.

History of my headache / Habr

Contents

1. Introduction
2. First clear symptoms and seeking treatment in your city
3. Search for specialized specialists in other (large) cities
4. Cardiocenter
5. Chiari malformation 1.
   5.1 What is this disease?
   5.2 Barcelona
6. Hernias and narrow spinal canal
7. Total
8. Afterword
9. Afterword on the problems in our medicine

Attention! All treatment regimens and drug prescriptions are strictly individual for each person.Self-diagnosis and self-medication can lead to dangerous consequences. The article is not advisory, but narrative in nature. If you have similar or other unpleasant symptoms, consult a doctor!

Introduction

Hello. I am a little over 30 years old, man, I live in Russia. I work in the IT field. This information is important as age and profession play a role. For example, if I were 90 years old, then there would be no point in complaining about my health, since at this age a person consists of diseases).

In this article, I would like to talk about the headaches and related problems that I have been struggling with for more than 10 years. The purpose of this article is to tell the personal experience of visiting doctors, the treatment process, and the results. If someone is interested, I have the contacts of doctors, I can share. I also really count on feedback – maybe someone had (is) similar problems and you can give useful advice – recommend a doctor, tell about your experience of treatment, etc.etc.

At the moment, the headache either subsided or I got used to it – I can’t say for sure, since I haven’t experienced a state without absolute pain for a long time. I can only say that now she worries less, so I will talk about her in the past tense, since she was still very worried before. If you describe this pain, then it was concentrated in the back of the head and had an aching character. There was a feeling that the head was compressed. A constant companion of this pain was and is now constant noise in the head – a feeling of high-frequency ringing in the ears.This noise bothers me a lot. A combination of pain, noise, and possibly other factors interferes with sleep – the quality of sleep is poor. In addition, recently, the neck has sometimes jammed, where, according to the results of MRI, 3 hernias C2-C5 and a narrow spinal canal were found. The narrow canal and the presence of hernias resulted in relative central stenosis of the spinal canal. Now I think maybe all the problems are due to this? But first things first.

First clear symptoms and seeking treatment in your city

I don’t know if this can play a role, but I’ll describe it anyway.In the early 2000s, I moved from my hometown to another to prepare for university. Separation from my home, a change in environment and lifestyle, intensive study – all this created a lot of stress, which I did not tolerate well – I was exhausted, tired, and often wanted to sleep. Even then, the head that is called “ache”, but I did not attach any importance to this, attributing it to overwork and stress.

Once in winter, on New Year’s Eve, I was on the bus home and it so happened that our bus hit a woman to death and flew into a ditch, turning over on its side on a snow cushion.Fortunately, no one was hurt on the bus, but we barely made it home. The next day in the evening I fainted – this was the first fainting, which then repeated several times. As I remember now – I went into my brother’s room, said something and realized that everything was floating in front of my eyes – the next second I was already lying. Then I also did not attach any importance to this – I thought it was because of the excitement about the recent events with the bus.

The climax of the stress was the admission process itself, which was not very smooth due to my fault.But still, everything worked out and I entered the IT department. A different city, an unusual environment, a different way of life and hard study – all this remains.

At that time, I think, the study was tougher than now (in terms of deductions) and we were immediately given to understand that no one would bother with you. I had to delve into many things that you see for the first time. In general, I personally experienced stress, I think constant.

Somewhere in the second year, I began to notice that my “headache” developed into “headache constantly”.This was especially felt in the morning. It was just a aching stone on my shoulders. In addition, I noticed that my eyes were almost constantly red, although I was not nervous and did not sit out at the computer. Several times I went to the ophthalmologist – she noted that her eyes were red and even expressed the opinion that I was mistaken in my profession – they say, because of the computer. Whether she prescribed what kind of treatment, I do not remember.

I want to say that the state of constant headache interfered with my studies quite strongly – it is difficult to concentrate on the task for a long time.Long – I mean 4-5 hours. I clearly remember that after 4-5 hours of tests, I was just squeezed out like a lemon and like a zombie went home from the university in order to have a rest as soon as possible. In general, I noticed a correlation in myself that the more I did mental work, the more I got tired, the more headaches and noise (ringing) in my ears became. My persistent headaches were accompanied by constant tinnitus (ringing) felt in the ears, which has survived to this day .

At some point I realized that “the matter is not white” and I had to go to the doctor for examination.First, I went to the doctor for an EEG. There, in the process of carrying out this procedure, I fainted – I don’t know what played, I did the procedure for the first time – maybe I was just worried. The doctor wrote a referral for a more complete examination at the headache center (we have one).
After a while, I went to this center to see a neurologist. I explained to the doctor my problems (headache, poor sleep). Her diagnosis was “Neurosis-like episyndrome (?)”. Recommendations: EEG in dynamics, tablets: Cavinton, Diacarb, Mezapam, Clonazepam, Milgamma, Cortexin.I took the drugs, but did not feel much improvement. From some pills, in my opinion, Mezapama, I passed out, but in the morning I felt like a vegetable. After a couple of tricks, I decided to quit drinking them. Soon I made a follow-up EEG to rule out or confirm epilepsy. As far as I understood, there was no epilepsy. As such, no further treatment was prescribed, the doctor wrote me a referral to a psychotherapist.

The psychotherapist first gave me a test for schizophrenia (as I remember now – some kind of written test + drawings).Passed the test – not a schizophrenic. The treatment she prescribed – Glycine under the tongue, chocolate. That’s all. So far, I decided to give up on the search for treatment, since no one canceled the current affairs – study, etc., I thought, I will do it later when I press it. It was 2005.

Two years later, I decided to start treatment again and made an appointment with a neurologist at the regional hospital. I don’t know how in other cities, but in our country the regional one was considered a good place along with private or some kind of incomprehensible offices. The doctor listened to me and was extremely surprised that I did not do an MRI.Directed me for an X-ray of the neck and wrote out a referral for an MRI. X-ray revealed: signs of cervical osteochondrosis at the C5-C6 level, no signs of instability. But the MRI revealed the lowering of the cerebellar tonsils into the foramen magnum by 0.6 cm. Diagnosis – MR picture of arachnoid changes of liquor-cystic nature. Chiari malformation 1. Do not be alarmed, I already understand that some (possibly many) doctors, when they do not know what to write, still write at least some kind of diagnosis.Quite often, such diagnoses turn out to be sheer delirium, it is just extremely inconvenient for the doctor to say directly – I do not see anything here, so I will not write anything and cannot prescribe treatment. With the results of the MRI, I returned to the neurologist, who did not attach any importance to the Chiari malformation. Now I don’t remember whether any treatment was prescribed, possibly medication. I again decided to score for a couple of years …

During these two years I did an MRI again, turned to another neurologist (on very good advice), who took me coldly until I showed a bottle of brandy, which he was glad to do.He also dismissed the Chiari Anomaly, saying it could easily be a snapshot artifact, which could actually be true. Let me explain. The fact is that the result of an MRI scan is a set of images – slices (slices). In one study, a slice of an organ may be at one angle, in another – slightly at a different angle. Imagine a torpedo melon, put it on its side and make a cut strictly vertically – there will be one cut diameter. Now let’s cut a little at an angle – there will be a larger diameter. So here, as far as I understand, in one study it can show the lowering of the tonsils by 6mm, in the other – 4mm.In general, the number of mm may or may not play a role. As it became clear later, it is necessary to pay additional attention to other factors.

He prescribed medication for treatment – all the same drugs: Mexidol, Cavinton, Cortexin, Diakarb, Glitsyn, Novopassit. I did not feel much improvement.

Searching for specialized specialists in other (large) cities

A year later, I began to think about looking for doctors somewhere in more specialized institutions. On the Internet, I found a specialized state institute (I do not indicate the name yet, if someone needs it, I will let you know in a personal) and wrote an email to the neurosurgeon, in which he also described what worries me, as well as his diagnosis – Chiari 1 anomaly.The doctor immediately told me that if it really is Chiari malformation, then the treatment is only operative and nothing else. To put it mildly, I was scared then. But what to do, you have to go to the appointment. At the appointment, the doctor looked at the pictures and said that the doctor is in my city, that I don’t have any Chiari, it’s just an artifact of the picture. Prescribed wearing a neck collar, drugs: Spazmalgon, Tempalgin, Persen, Nootropil. I bought a collar, some of the drugs are just relieving pain and spasms. I already knew that the problem would remain.Regarding the collar – it cannot be worn for a long time, since you can weaken the neck muscles only to aggravate the problem. In general, on arrival home, I again scored for a year.

Do not rush to see what this disease is – Arnold Chiari anomaly 1. I will tell you later.

A year later, I decided to resume searching for the problem again. I already wanted to at least figure it out and make a diagnosis (perhaps this is one of the most difficult parts – to make a more or less correct diagnosis). Again I found a specialized state center on the Internet, but already in Moscow and signed up for a neurologist.The doctor examined me, looked at the old documents and sent me to the EEG. They put sensors on my head + sensors on my hands for a cardiogram. During the procedure, I felt unwell – I tell the doctors that I will switch off now. And passed out. When I opened my eyes, I looked at me, frightened, the entire staff of the office. For the first 10 seconds I did not understand where I was at all. An electrocardiogram recorded asystole – in fact, cardiac arrest for 15 seconds. Perhaps this was the reason for their fear. In the conclusion, as before, epilepsy was not confirmed, but they described asystole and wrote a referral to a cardiologist at a specialized cardio center here in Moscow.According to the results of the conclusion, the neurologist ruled out the connection between my problems with neurology and said that I had heart problems and would most likely have to put a pacemaker. I got nervous again …

Cardiology center

I came without an appointment (there was only a referral) to the doctor at the cardiology center and, according to the rules, they shouldn’t have admitted me. But the doctor got into the situation, given that I was from another city, and arranged for me to undergo tests. It included: a cardiogram, a holter, a treadmill test (this is testing in a load on a treadmill), an echo of the heart, obstructions of the arteries, etc.In general, a complete set. All except Holter research I completed in one day. An interesting story happened to Halter. This is such a study – taking a cardiogram during the day. They put on a wearable apparatus, attach sensors to your body. You keep a record of your condition in a notebook with an indication of the time and affairs – you ate so much, then walked, then you experienced excitement. All this is necessary in order to correctly interpret the readings. When I returned to the hospital with a halter, I was wearing a white translucent shirt and the wires on my body were visible.I was on the subway. The danger was that the day before in Moscow there were terrorist attacks in the subway). I could well have been knocked out or twisted by every fireman.

The doctor did not identify any significant disorders that could provoke fainting or headaches. The diagnosis was as follows: mitral valve prolapse 1st stage, mitral insufficiency 1st stage, vasovagal syncope. Regarding prolapse, she said that this is typical for people involved in sports. I was actually active in sports – especially running.There have never been problems from the heart. She did not prescribe any specific treatment for the heart. Lifestyle recommendations were given. In fact, I am grateful to her – one of the few doctors who did not prescribe treatment, just to write it out. Since there are no obvious deviations, then drug treatment does not need to be prescribed.

I returned home and for a while again scored on the problem – there were a lot of current affairs.

Chiari anomaly 1

Frankly speaking, after the cardio center I somehow got tired of looking for doctors and wanted to leave everything as it is for a while and live with what we have.Five years passed in this way.

Once, flipping through the tape in VKontakte, I saw a post asking to raise funds for one woman for an operation for an anomaly of Arnold Chiari 1. Following the link, I got into the group of the center itself, which is doing this operation. The trick was that this center did not offer a standard operation for this pathology. I was interested in this information, because after all, I was either put or canceled the Chiari Anomaly.

Now is the time to digress and tell briefly about this disease and approaches to its treatment.

What is this disease?

Chiari malformation is the descent of the cerebellar tonsils into the foramen magnum below the normal level (Chamberlain’s line). This lowering of the tonsils can compress the spinal cord and disrupt the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the spinal canal. These violations can lead to all kinds of complications. A link with a more formal and detailed description of the disease:

Аномалия Киари – причины, симптоматика, лечение

Picture for clarity:

The first picture shows the lowering of the tonsils into the occipital foramen.

My picture for comparison:

I roughly marked with a yellow line the fact that the tonsils are lowered a little lower than necessary – by 2 mm. And green – that they do not interfere with the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. I checked the cerebrospinal fluid flow separately by doing CSF dynamics (MRI) – everything was fine there.

If the Chiari malformation is confirmed and manifests itself clearly , that is, the person develops neurological problems such as: problems with walking, progressive weakness in the arms, syringomyelia (the first picture with a cyst), etc., then the doctor together with the patient makes a decision about the operation. The classic operation in this case is decompressive trepanation of the posterior cranial fossa and removal of the arch of the first cervical vertebra (http://syringomyelia.ru/chiary-surgery/). The aim of the operation is to restore the circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid and relieve the compression of the spinal cord. I repeat once again – the operation is usually performed if the symptoms increase. Still, it is not appendicitis to remove. In short, a small part of the occipital bone, the arch of the first cervical vertebra, is removed and a patch is placed (usually from a special material).

On the Internet, you can find a bunch of horror stories like “they’ll open the skull there,” “you will be disabled,” “there will be a scar in half your head,” etc. I personally saw people after this operation – the scar was 3-4 cm in length and was not very noticeable. Not noticeable at all if covered with hair. Everything looked very neat.

Of course, it should be noted here that the operation as a whole is complicated. As with any surgery, there can be complications. Much depends on the doctor and the team and clinic where the operation is performed.The point is, as far as I understand, the protocols for conducting this operation are not standardized (although it has been carried out for many years). Some doctors put a patch from material taken from a patient, others use artificial materials (based on animal origin). Some make a resection (cut off a part) of the tonsils, others do not, etc. Much depends on the doctor’s experience in carrying out this particular operation.

Do not consider it an advertisement, but it seemed to me that good results were achieved in the N.I. Pirogov. Why do I think so? I personally saw people operated on – the operations were carried out accurately, some of the symptoms regressed, some of them managed to slow down the disease. Extensive experience in this operation, modern equipment, positive patient reviews (you can find it on the website).

Even though ultimately canceled this diagnosis, I still follow the doctor (he leads a group on the social network) and his success. I can say that there is a young team there and they constantly speak at international conferences and successfully.As I understand it, we in Russia have achieved significant success in the treatment of this and associated pathologies. Even more than in some European countries (I also read reviews of patients who performed such operations in Germany, USA. I can say that not everything is so smooth there – they can do it badly. Again, a lot depends on the doctor’s experience in this particular operation) …

Barcelona

This refers to the classic approach to surgery. Let’s go back to the place where I mentioned the woman from VKontakte.She raised money for an operation for Chiari Anomaly, but the operation is completely different. It consists in cutting the terminal filament (ligament) in the coccyx to relieve tension on the spinal cord. This operation is practiced mainly in the center in Barcelona. Their group in VK is. They give a general definition for a number of diseases – Filum Disease. These include: Chiari malformation, Syringomyelia, Scoliosis, Platibasia, etc. From their website: “Disease of the filum terminale, according to our research, is a consequence of the tension of the nervous system (brain, cerebellum, brain stem, spinal cord) with a shorter filum terminus than normal.»To eliminate the disease, they carry out an operation – cutting the end thread in the coccyx region, which as a result relieves tension.

Here I would like to point out the following.

1. Basically this operation is carried out in this Institute. If someone else claims that they are also doing such an operation, then usually the Institute replies that they did not pass their certification and the Institute cannot guarantee success.
2. Opinion of other doctors about this operation. I have asked the opinion of some neurosurgeons specializing in Chiari malformation.Overall, they were all skeptical about its effectiveness. One doctor said that it can be done while the person is growing (up to 14.15 years old), thus not allowing the brain to stretch. Another doctor said that it can be performed in strictly defined cases, and not for everyone. I think he was referring to surgery for a fixed spinal cord (this is when the spinal cord attaches to the spine and actually pulls it down). However, in Barcelona they say that their operation has nothing to do with a fixed spinal cord.
3. Opinion of foreign doctors. I asked on the Internet for the opinion of neurosurgeons from the United States about this operation. They were also skeptical of her.
4. As far as I understand, doctors from the Institute in Barcelona do not participate in international conferences of neurosurgeons dedicated to Chiari malformation and Syringomyelia. At least at the conference this year (summer 2018), they were not announced in the past either.
5. However, with all this, I want to note that they have a bunch of patients who report significant improvements after this operation.They celebrate themselves. It is important. Since in order to speak objectively, you need to see positive dynamics in the images, and not only from the patient’s words. I personally met with one patient from my city who performed an operation there. According to him, he felt “better.” The diagnosis for Barcelona was Chiari anomaly. According to the classic version, no. Before the operation, the symptoms were problems with walking – I could walk no more than a kilometer and then my legs “got tired”. Long distances can be covered after the operation, but fatigue still remains.As he says, at least the progress of the disease has been stopped.

I also communicated in absentia with another patient who had an operation there. Before surgery – constant pain in the neck and back. After the operation, nothing has changed. However, they have a lot of positive reviews on their website and in the group. I would like to believe that their operation still helps the majority. I also want to mention an interesting case here: one of our doctors, who is generally skeptical of their operation, once noted that he had a patient who had an operation in Barcelona and after that his syringomyelic cyst decreased (in the first picture above) …So, apparently, the operation still helps in some cases.

In general, when I saw that girl’s message on VK, I decided to resume treatment and try to figure out whether I have Chiari or not. I have sent my pictures to the Institute in Barcelona. As expected, they answered me that I was a candidate for their operation. The operation was paid and cost 18k euros at that time. I didn’t have that kind of money and I decided to start digging around for information about their method and patients. Actually, my experience is briefly described in the list above.As a result, I did not go there, but decided to try again to undergo examinations here and finally understand if there is a given disease. I made high-quality MRI scans for 3 Tesla and went through 3 neurosurgeons – once again I went to the very first one, which I had for a long time, also again to the second and another new one, which I found in a paid center in Moscow. All three rejected the diagnosis of Chiari malformation.

I somehow calmed down a little with this anomaly and decided, well, since 3 highly qualified specialists reject the diagnosis, then most likely they are right.

However, when I did the MRI, I did not only the head, but also the whole back – the cervical, thoracic, and sacral regions. Like many people over 30 years, hernias have been found. The neck turned out to be a particularly problematic area – I have 3 hernias C2-C5 + protrusions + a narrow spinal canal there. Of course, I thought about the fact that the cause of my problems – headaches and especially noise – may be a narrow spinal canal, hernias, and decided to make an appointment with a neurosurgeon who had Chiari malformation.

Hernias and narrow spinal canal

Here is my picture:

Two pictures – the first sagittal section and the corresponding axial section (second picture).In general, it can be seen that there is a relative central stenosis + a slight compression of the backs. brain.

Nothing to be done – I was born this way. I went to the neurosurgeon about whether it was necessary to have an operation, and in the future, ask so that, as often happens, then it would not be too late. He told me that the operation is not indicated, since there are no obvious neurological disorders. In general, I agree, because such operations are complex and the surgeon better understands the balance of benefits and risks.

Total

In general, with what I started at the very beginning of the path and ended with that.The headaches seem to have become less or I just got used to them. Remained and worried – tinnitus and against this background, a bad dream. Plus, there was a relative stenosis in the cervical spine. Therefore, in the future I would like to try to solve these problems:

1. Find the cause of the noise and, ideally, find a treatment, normalize sleep.
2. Stenosis. Find modern therapies and patients who have undergone surgery to communicate and understand their effectiveness.

For item 1.the neurosurgeon recommended finding a good neurologist. But where can I get it? A doctor who will be interested in helping and who will have time. As far as I understand, it is necessary to act on a new method of exclusion: check the ear nerves in the ENT, the vessels of the neck, head, venous outflows, etc. Some of this I have already gone through – ENT did not find any problems with nerves. I did an MRI Angiography to look at the vessels of the neck and head in statics. So hypoplasia (narrowing) of the left vertebral artery was revealed, but as the doctor told me, it’s okay in principle, since the brain is filled with blood enough.They offered to do MRI of vessels with contrast to see the dynamics of blood movement, but I refused at that time. Once I did tests to check the tone of the veins – there seemed to be a change in tone. I did it, but again, everything is somehow not systematized and the next doctors do not always look at the previous statements and results.

I haven’t dealt with item 2 yet.

If you have in mind a neurologist whom you could recommend, I will be grateful. Preferably in Moscow or St. Petersburg. But not necessarily . Or you can share your similar story and what worked for you. Any information will be grateful.
For my part, I deliberately did not disclose the names and contacts of the doctors. If I can help you with something, I will throw off your contacts.

Afterword

Here I will express my opinion.

From time to time going to the doctors, I realized that there are quite a lot of such “non-obvious” patients. I think many of us have problems that are a mixture of physiological problems and psychological ones.By physiological, I mean some non-fatal symptoms: the head hurts, but you can live, your back or neck gets jammed, but not critical. And psychological – this is stress, and “corrals” about their diseases, which only exacerbate the situation. As one of the last neurologists I visited told me, “You have a low threshold for the conditional strength of the nervous system. So many factors are enough for one person to unbalance the nervous system, and half is enough for you. ” He conveyed the meaning of his words.Sounds anti-scientific, but maybe there is something in it? If you are an emotionally more vulnerable person, then perhaps stress will play a role in the development or appearance of some kind of disease. It’s mine too – before the university I lived in a provincial city a measured life, especially not experiencing stress. And the problems began to appear when he changed the situation – he went to live and study in the city alone.

Afterword about the problems in our medicine

Here I will also express my opinion.

You know, when something doesn’t work out, you want to blame others.I would like to say that doctors are bad, medicine is destroyed, and so on and so forth. I don’t think everything is so simple. There are good and bad.

Bad:

1. It is difficult to find good doctors from open sources. Each sandpiper praises its own swamp and missed others. We have to find patients in the same VK and ask what and how, in order to add at least some opinion.
2. Jump frequently between clinics – hand over tests in one, for an appointment in another. In the third, they do not read extracts from previous places in order to add up the whole picture.
3. Derived from 2. There is no electronic, structured, common for other clinics, patient history. In some places, they still write by hand in Chinese. It seems to me that this is so obvious and necessary in the first place, but it is not there!

Good:

1. Still, some of the examinations and analyzes can be obtained free of charge. Alternatively, you can use the tax deduction to get back 13% of the NFDL.
2. There are good professional doctors.And often they are young doctors! Example – Pirogov Institute – neurosurgeons.

I would like to conclude with the words of football commentator Viktor Gusev – “Take care of yourself”!

P.S .: All coincidences with real people are accidental.

Questions from the category Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) on the website of the Preobrazhenskaya clinic

90,000 Why does my back hurt in the morning?

Healthy sleep

09.04.2021

35231

7 minutes

Together with the expert Armos, we discussed which mattresses are suitable for a comfortable sleep in the correct position. After all, if you wake up with back pain once or twice a month, the cause may be an uncomfortable posture or fatigue after exercise. And if this happens at least twice a week, it is worth considering whether everything is in order with your health, lifestyle and sleeping place.

After waking up, the back may hurt for one of three reasons:

• due to an unnatural posture for the body
• uncomfortable mattress
• symptoms of some diseases

Physiologically incorrect posture

Pay attention to what position you prefer to sleep in.Sometimes this is what causes discomfort and back pain.

On the side

One of the problematic sleeping positions. With it, the pressure area is less than in the supine or abdominal position, and the load on the soft tissues and the shoulder joint touching the bed is unevenly distributed.

Regular sleep on the same side threatens with a curvature of the figure. If the part of the body that is not in contact with the mattress is strongly deflected forward or backward, a lateral curvature of the spine is formed, which is unacceptable on a permanent basis.

How to solve problem

To reduce stress on the neck and joints, place a soft pillow under the head and a hard pillow between the legs. Choose high mattresses with soft, comfortable layers – they are as anatomical as possible. This will allow you to sleep well in a familiar posture, and your body will avoid unphysiological stress.

On the stomach

Sleeping on the stomach, even episodic, is also harmful to the skin of the face: it reduces its elasticity due to circulatory disorders, provokes early wrinkles, leads to morning swelling and creases on the skin.

With a long stay in an unnatural posture, the vessels of the neck can be partially pinched, because of this, pain and numbness occurs in the shoulder girdle area in the morning.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

Pain and severe stiffness in the area of ​​the shoulders or lower back in the morning can indicate obvious or latent pathologies of the musculoskeletal system or joints. For accurate diagnosis and treatment, you should consult a doctor.

Act as quickly as possible if any of the following symptoms occur:

• you wake up in pain at night and cannot sleep for a long time;
• Certain areas of the back become heavy and swollen;
• you cannot lie in one position for more than 15 minutes;
• You often feel numbness in your back or limbs in the morning;
• You feel general weakness, headaches or joint pains in addition to other symptoms.

How to solve problem

After the examination, it may be necessary to replace the usual mattress if the doctor recommends sleeping on a firm elastic surface.

The most comfortable sleeping place should be:

• Accurately take the shape of the body – so that the shoulders, pelvis, spine are as free as in the standing position, and the pressure on the joints and ligaments is minimal;
• to have the maximum area of ​​contact with the body – this reduces the load on soft tissues, and the microcirculation of blood in them practically does not change.

The two most suitable options:

• Coconut fiber springless mattress;
• model with anatomical effect on the basis of a block of independent springs or with orthopenic filling.

Selection of a bed taking into account the state of health

On the choice of a mattress for chronic diseases, only general recommendations can be given. They will be indicative, for a final solution to the problem, you need to consult a doctor.

Osteochondrosis, hernia of the spine and sciatica cannot be completely cured by replacing the mattress, but it is impossible to have a good rest and sleep without it

With the ARMOS Rondo Ellay double-sided mattress, sleep will be sound, and awakening will be pleasant: due to the block, where the springs are staggered, even a very large load is evenly distributed.

Comfort and Spine Support

For diseases of the spine, mattresses with an anatomical effect are often recommended.They are based on an independent spring block or a dense elastic filler (latex, orthopene). On such a surface, the load is evenly distributed on the cervical spine, chest, lower back and hips. The spine takes on a natural wavy shape during sleep.

ARMOS Deluxe Soft mattress with anatomical effect, based on a block of independent springs with a maximum number of springs for effective support

If firmness is recommended, but combined with comfort, choose a springless mattress with plenty of coconut coir.It is suitable for those who weigh more than 90 kg – a product made of materials of increased strength under heavy load will “live” longer.

The ARMOS Forma Ellay alternates layers of coir with a more pliable material to smooth out the subjective feeling of “hardness”. It is slightly stiffer than most mattresses with anatomical effect

Unsuitable mattress

A mattress is an individual thing, and you need to select it only according to your own feeling of comfort and state of health.

Too soft

An overly soft mattress deprives you of reliable support. Instead of a night’s rest, the body will again have hard work – to keep the spine on a too pliable surface due to muscle tension. And this is manifested by morning back pain.

How to solve problem

Choose a medium firm mattress that supports your back well and distributes the load. As a rule, these are models where the filler contains polyurethane foam and orthopene.They follow the contours of the body and at the same time have sufficient rigidity to prevent “sagging” of the spine.

The ARMOS Rossini mattress has 2 sides: high and moderate firmness. Due to the reinforced spring block, the mattress can withstand the weight of 160 kg for 1 berth

Too Worn

A prerequisite for complete relaxation in sleep is a solid, flat surface. Too “depressed” and worn-out mattress cannot provide it.The longer you sleep on it, the greater the discomfort and muscle tension will be.

The feeling of inconvenience can arise both from “dips” in the product, and from the fact that the filler inside rolls into lumps. People with a lot of weight, sleeping on old mattresses, suffer doubly. From the load, the materials are crumpled and do not provide the required level of support.

How to solve problem

Change the mattress in time. We recommend that you think about buying a double-sided model or a product of medium hardness.Also comfortable are mattresses with memory effect (memory of shapes), which follow the contours of the body, and after sleep they return to their original position.

Too hard

Mattresses with a hard surface – optimal support for the spine during rest. They take on the weight of the body and take all the load off the back muscles. But they still need to be comfortable and anatomical.

A mattress that is too hard disrupts blood circulation and the body becomes numb.The brain gives the command to wake up and change position, the person often turns and wakes up. It is impossible to rest normally at night under such conditions. Chronic fatigue appears due to sleep disturbance.

How to solve problem

Choose a medium firm mattress or a double-sided model. They use combined fillers containing latex and / or orthopene. Such a mattress will be more elastic, but not too soft. Alternatively, you can choose a mattress topper that softens the surface.

Mattress ARMOS Champion (Harmony) medium firm with orthopene and hard coir

Mattresses you can’t sleep on

Better to forget about cheap old cotton-filled mattresses. They have zero effectiveness as a support for the spine. Consequently, the muscles will be tense all night, which will cause back pain, as well as provoke the development of sciatica and osteochondrosis.

Batting and all similar materials quickly roll off, lose their shape and absorb all odors.This mattress should be washed and ventilated as often as possible.

How to solve problem

Buy instead of a model made of porous and “breathable” materials: latex, polyurethane foam (PPU) and other types of foam based on it. In such a product, microcirculation is better: the filler will not get damp, will not roll or rinse. Sleeping on such a mattress in 5-7 years will be almost as pleasant as on a new one.

It is best to buy mattresses from well-known manufacturers – so you will be sure of the quality of the products and the absence of components harmful to health.

Can you find the perfect mattress for a healthy spine?

The ideal mattress for each individual person exists, but does not have a strict generally accepted standard.It is impossible to say in absentia what degree of rigidity is right for you. It is best to pick it up in practice: come to the point of sale with a large selection of quality mattresses and lie down on at least 3-4 of them. Compare models with different bases (spring and non-spring) and fillings (orthopene, latex, coconut coir). Focus on your feelings – this is most important.

If sleeping on the mattress turned out to be uncomfortable, you can return it after purchase. The consumer protection law allows you to exchange a product for another of your choice – provided that the presentation and all the manufacturer’s labels and markings are preserved.But this must be done no later than 14 days from the date of purchase.

The right mattress is a preventative measure. It can prevent further health problems, but it will not cure pre-existing conditions. If alarming symptoms occur regardless of the posture and stiffness of the bed, do not expect miraculous changes for the better. Consult a neurologist or orthopedist to rule out diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

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