By the term cervical syndrome we mean a series of clinical discomforts and symptoms that worry the patient either because of their duration or because of their intensity and their diversity. In order to achieve an effective therapeutic approach, a differential diagnosis of the causes that cause the cervical syndrome must first be made.

It is one of the most frequent causes of pain that lead the patient to the doctor for help (almost 10% of the population) with symptoms that vary from pain in the neck that can reflect either in the skull (cervical headache) or in the shoulder (cervicobrachial syndrome).

The pain lasts from a few days to weeks or months, while the patient reports pain during specific anatomical movements, at rest at night, resulting in insomnia.

The patient may complain of dizziness, vertigo, loss of balance, numbness, feeling of heaviness, muscle weakness and fatigue that worsens over time due to avoiding movement due to the pain it causes with intensity of symptoms varying from moderate to very intense and lasting from days to months.

The causes of neck pain syndrome is:

1. Alterations of the intervertebral discs. They appear at all ages but primarily at older ages.

Herniation of the intervertebral disc in the neck, which is usually created, is often observed

• from prolonged small loads exerted on the neck or
• from a very heavy load with sudden application of large forces such as in a car accident, in sports injuries or from trying to support a load on the head or neck. Intervertebral disc herniation can cause neurological problems and cervical myelopathy.

After the age of 40, the intervertebral disc gradually loses its height, as a result of which the space between the vertebrae decreases, creating conditions for the growth of osteophytes - "salts" - and spondyloarthritis, causing neck pain.

2. Muscular causes are the most common cause of neck pain in young people. The long-term wrong posture of the head and neck - as happens when the person is constantly attached to the computer or mobile phone - is the main cause of the development of muscle spasms of the neck muscles (trapezoid muscles, short paraspinal muscles) causing straightening of the cervical spine and loss of the normal lordosis position of the neck, resulting in pain of a chronic nature usually.

This group of causes also includes whiplash, i.e. a syndrome in which there is a severe spasm of the sternocleidomastoid muscle on only one side of the neck, making it impossible for the patient to turn the head. It is usually transient and with proper treatment and acupuncture it soon subsides in a few days.

3. An underlying serious condition such as ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatic diseases, various malignancies, migraine and labyrinth disorders.

It is considered necessary for each patient, depending on the case, to be investigated laboratory, i.e. radiologically, tomographically or magnetically, ultrasounds, electromyograms, blood tests and a good clinical examination in order to verify that there is no other cause.

The therapeutic means are medication, physiotherapy and surgical treatment, while a therapeutic option is also Medical Acupuncture, which is practiced only by specialized doctors, is painless, completely harmless and safe.

Acupuncture helps in the simplest cases, whether acute or chronic, because it shortens the recovery time, relieving the patient both through analgesia and with the improvement / restoration of mobility achieved through muscle relaxation as well as in the most difficult situations where acupuncture is an important weapon in our therapeutic quiver.

Medical acupuncture is applied with a personalized protocol with a targeted combination of acupuncture points. The duration of the treatment is 30 minutes while the number of required sessions ranges from 6 to 12 depending on the nature of the problem and the chronicity.

Immediately after the first session, ear acupuncture is usually applied with semi-permanent needles in order to maintain and increase the therapeutic effect.

Medical acupuncture has been used for 2,500 years says:

1. Relief from pain, swelling and inflammation through endorphins and endogenous cortisone produced during acupuncture.
2. Relaxation and improvement of joint mobility through the muscle relaxants produced.
3. Calmness through the sedative substances produced, which the patient has lost due to his pain and anxiety as to how and if his problem will be solved.

Professor Konstantinos Kouskoukis
Professor of Dermatology – Lawyer
President of the World Academy of Chinese and Complementary Medicine, President of the Hippocratic Academy of Thermal Medicine, V. President of the Global Hippocratic Doctors’ Institute, f. General Secretary Ministry of Education, V. Rector of  Democritus University of Thrace.