In addition to the pain and dysfunction of the spine, these pains, spasms and disc herniations, vertebral osteophytes or vertebral joint displacements can be secondary to symptoms related to many systems or organs.
These symptoms are related to the pain and pathological changes of the damaged spinal segments, and are briefly described according to the general clinical manifestations of different spinal segments.
1, the head and neck segment damage related symptoms Head and neck segment damage to the head and face of the five sensory symptoms and cranial neurological symptoms as the main manifestations.
Vertigo: It is generally believed that the process of vertigo formation is as follows: after cervical spine misalignment, local soft tissue edema, inflammatory exudation, and muscle spasm, these changes will inevitably stimulate compression of the vertebral artery and its surrounding sympathetic nerve fibers or superior cervical ganglion, and as a result, it will reflexively cause ischemia in the basilar artery system. It often occurs due to the change of the position of the head and neck, so it is also called “positional vertigo&rdquo. The vertigo attack is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, palpitation and panic, cold limbs and other symptoms of autonomic dysfunction. Multiple misalignments of cervical vertebrae can induce vertigo, but according to clinical observation, misalignment of vertebrae above C4 causes vertigo more often.
2. Headache: The site of pain can be limited to the periorbital area, temporal area, occipital area, top or one side of the head, and the degree of pain can range from mild vague pain, discomfort to stabbing pain or throbbing pain. It is often accompanied by dizziness, eye distension, palpitation, nasal congestion, cold sweat and other symptoms of autonomic nerve dysfunction. The misalignment of the central vertebrae mostly causes pain in the occipito-temporal region on the same side.
3, eye symptoms: eye distension and visual fatigue symptoms are more common. When patients read or watch TV, they cannot last because of eye distension, eye astringency, tearing and fainting, mostly accompanied by ipsilateral headache, and many middle-aged patients with glasses cannot relieve the above symptoms, and the serious ones show a significant decrease in visual acuity or even blindness. Some of them show refractive error and droopy eyelids.
4, nasal symptoms: common symptoms include nasal congestion, clear runny nose, and strange sensation in the nostrils, mostly unilateral, not related to the environment and climate change. The onset of the disease is closely related to the misalignment of the crico-axial joint, mostly ipsilateral to the direction of the misalignment. The pathogenesis may be related to the stimulation of cervical sympathetic nerve. When the sympathetic nerve is stimulated, the blood vessels of the nasal mucosa become sensitive and react strongly to normal physical and chemical stimuli, and the diastolic function of the blood vessels becomes dysfunctional, resulting in swelling, congestion and cicatricial exudation of the nasal mucosa. Some patients have abnormal sense of smell, and even form allergic rhinitis.
5, pharyngeal symptoms: mainly manifested as loss of voice, hoarseness, foreign body sensation in the pharynx (i.e. plum kernel gas in Chinese medicine), difficulty in swallowing, and even chronic pharyngitis with pharyngeal discomfort, increased secretions, irritating cough, pain and congestion in the pharynx. The cause is mainly due to the stimulation of the cervical sympathetic nerve, which transmits excitation to the branches of the superior cervical ganglion and pharyngeal branch, thus triggering the corresponding symptoms.
6. Ear symptoms: Ear symptoms are mainly manifested as tinnitus and deafness. Tinnitus can occur unilaterally or bilaterally, sounding like cicadas, or even like the roar of machines. In severe cases, even the sound of daily speech with high pitch or the sound of metal collision is unbearable. Symptoms can be reduced or worsened when the position of the head and neck changes. Some patients may experience ear swelling, hearing loss, and ipsilateral occipital tugging pain. In severe cases, deafness may occur.
7, cranial nerve symptoms: the 9th and 12th pairs of cranial nerve injury symptoms are common. The symptoms are choking, mute, tongue extension disorder, slurred speech, soft palate paralysis, etc.
8, circulatory system symptoms: cervical sympathetic nerve stimulation can appear blood pressure abnormalities (hypertension, hypotension), Raynaud’s disease, and symptoms of coronary heart disease, such as chest tightness, chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, etc., and even arrhythmia.
9, other symptoms: neck, shoulder, arm pain; muscle atrophy, dysfunction; insomnia, drowsiness, memory loss; dysbiosis, ataxia, limb tremor, paralysis; trigeminal neuralgia; angioneurotic edema; schizophrenia; epilepsy; asthma and symptoms of digestive, endocrine, genitourinary and other systems.
Symptoms related to thoracic segment damage: Both sides of the thoracic vertebrae are the circulation parts of the foot solar bladder meridian, and many internal organs’ points are located in this area, so the clinical manifestations are mainly based on the dysfunction of internal organs and the reaction of lesions in the thoracic and abdominal cavities.
1, thoracic spinal nerve irritation symptoms: manifested as radioactive or limited pain, numbness, muscle spasm or muscle atrophy in the innervation area of the injured nerve segment. For example, irritation of the T7 to T10 spinal nerves can cause pain or fasciculation in the quarter ribs, and irritation of the T8 and T12 spinal nerves can produce pain in the lower abdomen and groin area and disperse to the perineum.
2. Autonomic dysfunction symptoms.
(1) the symptoms of upper thoracic spine (T1 ~ 3) injury are mainly manifested as abnormal sensation and dysfunction of the head, neck, thoracic organs and upper limbs. Similar to the symptoms of sympathetic irritation of the cervical spine, such as vasomotor dysfunction of the head, neck, thoracic back, and upper extremities, sweat secretion disorder. The skin of the above-mentioned parts shows pallor, flushing, coldness, burning, excessive or no sweating, etc. Cardiovascular and respiratory system dysfunction is also associated with upper thoracic spine injury, manifesting as palpitations, arrhythmia, pseudo-colic pain, chest tightness, chest blockage and pressure, dyspnea, wheezing or spasmodic choking cough, and asthma.
(2) Symptoms of injury to the middle and lower thoracic spine (T5-12) are mainly manifested as symptoms of dysfunction of the abdominal substantive organs and the digestive tract. The symptoms of digestive tract dysfunction, such as loss of appetite, distention and fullness, stomach pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation, are common. Long-term disorders of visceral motility and secretion can eventually lead to substantial lesions of organs. For example, gastroduodenal ulcer, chronic gastritis, gastric prolapse, chronic colitis, cholecystitis, etc.
(3) Lumbosacral and pelvic damage related symptoms like lumbar spine and sacroiliac joint injury, pelvic distortion mainly manifests as low back pain and pelvic organ dysfunction.
(1) low back pain and low back pain: the clinical manifestation of lumbar spine injury is low back pain or low back pain of different degrees. Mild manifestations of limited lumbar pain, often does not affect daily life and activities, only when exertion symptoms significantly aggravated; severe cases are bedridden. Common diseases; posterior lumbar joint disorder; soft tissue injury of lumbar hip; lumbar disc herniation, third lumbar transverse process syndrome; pear-shaped muscle syndrome; etc. Generally clinical abnormalities such as numbness, pain and other changes first, followed by impairment of motor function, such as muscle atrophy, limited movement of knee and ankle joints, etc.
(2) Pelvic organ dysfunction: injury to the upper lumbar spine and sacroiliac joint can stimulate and squeeze the sympathetic nerve or its plexus, causing symptoms such as urinary frequency, urinary urgency, dyspareunia, enuresis, impotence, lower abdominal pain, posterior urgency, diarrhea, constipation, dysmenorrhea, and menstrual disorders. It is often diagnosed clinically as psychogenic urinary frequency, prostatitis, impotence, spasmodic colitis and certain gynecological disorders. However, to confirm the diagnosis of these related symptoms, diseases of the organ to which they belong must be excluded.