Is cervical rectification the cause of our neck pain?

Cervical rectification

Cervical rectification is defined as the loss of physiological curvature (in the cervical region it is lordosis) in this part of the spine.

One of the most common problems for which a patient comes to a medical or physical therapy clinic is neck pain.

It manifests itself to a greater extent in people who have already reached 50 years of age and is usually related to chronicity.

 

How does cervical rectification manifest itself?

 

For example, when a patient suffers a traffic accident, he/she may be diagnosed with cervical rectification, but this does not mean that it was caused in the same accident.

For this loss of cervical curvature to be established, some time must have passed, i.e., it is formed progressively and due to postures or muscular compensations adopted over the years.

 

Does neck pain mean that you suffer from cervical rectification?

Many studies tell us that cervical rectification is not related to pain. A person, throughout his life, acquires a series of compensations of the body, that is, adaptations that the body itself undergoes in order to avoid the pain that changes in life and/or posture could cause us. Therefore, if arises after a compensation, the most logical thing is that it does not cause any pain.

Who are the people most likely to suffer from cervical rectification?

Cervical rectification is more common in older people, since it arises due to the body compensation.

Due to age and the change of curvature, it may be accompanied by cervical osteoarthritis, being this the one that makes us suffer some pain or cause some pathology that results in pain.

A good health professional should perform complementary tests such as radiography, nuclear magnetic resonance and, above all, should perform a physical examination.

This would consist of assessing the neck by means of joint movement, palpation of the muscular and bony areas, specific tests (which precisely orient us towards a pathology), etc.

All this is necessary to be able to perform a quality physiotherapy treatment.

If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about how to find out if you are suffering from rectification, do not hesitate to consult our MIVI team.