Palpitation, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness and bloating, easy awakening during sleep, belching, nausea, and even a feeling of death - when these symptoms appear, most people go to a cardiology department, gastroenterology department, or psychology department to see a doctor...
In the clinic of Wang Shuai, deputy chief physician of the Massage Department of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Capital Medical University, most of these patients have gone through detours. Some have been checked out in the cardiovascular department, and some have been treated as anxiety disorders for more than half a year. It was not until they entered the massage department that they found the real root cause of the disease - sympathetic cervical spondylosis.
A "heart disease" that lasted for half a year
Wang Shuai received a male patient around 30 years old last month. Six months ago, the patient's symptoms came very suddenly: palpitations and shortness of breath for no reason, headache and dizziness, inexplicable nervousness and anxiety, and in severe cases, panic attacks and a sense of impending death. "When I had an attack, I didn't even dare to go out alone. Every time I saw a doctor, I had to be accompanied by my family." Wang Shuai recalled.
Prior to this, the patient spent half a year between psychology, cardiology, and neurology departments. The psychology department believed that he did have a tendency to be depressed and anxious, but drug treatment had no effect; heart and skull examinations also ruled out organic problems. It wasn't until the patient found the name "sympathetic cervical spondylosis" on the Internet that he walked into the massage department with the mentality of giving it a try. After a period of massage, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, his symptoms gradually eased.
Wang Shuai told reporters from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that the incidence of sympathetic cervical spondylosis is not high among cervical spondylosis, but the most troublesome thing is being good at "disguising". Its typical symptoms can appear in the head: dizziness, head fullness, palpitation, chest tightness, and shortness of breath; it may also manifest as eye discomfort, excessive sweating, insomnia, and digestive tract discomfort. Because it stimulates the sympathetic nerves, which are almost everywhere in the body.
There are patients whose symptoms are almost entirely directed to another organ. Wang Shuai remembers a patient in his 50s whose main symptoms were chest tightness and fatigue. The patient first went to the internal medicine department. The doctor found signs of interstitial disease in his lungs and targeted the lungs for treatment. But after treatment for a period of time, the symptoms were not relieved. The doctor also suspected whether it was a heart problem. After a round of examinations, there were no major heart problems. Finally, he came to the massage department.
Wang Shuai examined him and found that there was a problem with his cervical spine. "After bone-setting massage repositioned the dislocated cervical spine structure, he felt his symptoms were significantly relieved that same day." Wang Shuai recalled. He noticed that the patient had been depressed before. After the cervical spine conditioning, he gradually became cheerful and felt obviously happier than before when talking.
On the evening of August 16, Ms. Sun, a 28-year-old woman who lives in Nanjing, suddenly developed chest pain without warning while shopping. After arriving at the emergency room, symptoms such as dizziness, palpitation, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and trembling hands struck her, along with a strong sense of imminent death. Chest CT, brain CT, electrocardiogram, and myocardial enzyme tests were all normal. After that, the symptoms recurred, and she was transferred to the neurology department and the cardiovascular department. A cardiologist suggested that she check her cervical spine. There were indeed problems with the CT and blood flow tests. Finally, she was diagnosed with sympathetic cervical spondylosis at Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
After the diagnosis, Ms. Sun insisted on traction, traditional Chinese medicine fumigation, traditional Chinese medicine application, and massage therapy. However, her physical symptoms were only slightly relieved, and her mood became worse and worse. She was always worried that the feeling of death would come again. She had panic attacks four or five times in a month. She once joined a patient group, but then quit the group because the negative emotions of critically ill patients were too severe.
"This disease tortures the mind more than the body." She said that during the attack, she was no longer interested in anything and her appetite became worse. She did not dare to stay outside for too long and just wanted to go home. After more than a month of treatment, the effect was limited, and she began to consider whether to switch to anti-anxiety medication.
Wang Shuai emphasized that the distinguishing feature of this type of patients is that they are easily misdiagnosed as anxiety disorder or depression. "These emotional problems do not come out of thin air. They are rooted in the body. There are structural problems that trigger emotional reactions."
Traditional Chinese medicine theory provides another explanatory perspective. Wang Shuai analyzed that from the perspective of the circulation of meridians, the two sides of the neck are the areas where the gallbladder meridian circulates, and the liver and gallbladder are both exterior and interior. Neck muscle tension and spasm will affect the release of liver qi, which in turn aggravates stagnation of liver qi. At the same time, bad habits such as staying up late and looking at screens for long periods of time consume liver blood, and the muscles and veins are not nourished, making it easier for stiffness and spasm. "The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic" says that "the disease is in the liver, and the disease is in the neck." Neck problems are closely related to the smooth flow of qi in the liver.
To put it in a way that modern people can understand, when you lower your head for a long time, are stressed, or stay up late, the "structure" of the neck is misaligned, irritating the nerves, causing a series of physical discomforts, which in turn triggers tension and anxiety; and emotional stress will make the neck muscles stiffer, forming a vicious cycle.
He also proposed a characteristic that distinguishes sympathetic cervical spondylosis from other cervical spondylosis: other types of cervical spondylosis may be relieved after resting, but sympathetic cervical spondylosis may not be relieved after rest, because the trigger is not necessarily fatigue. “You may think about something disturbing, be stressed, or even lie down and look at your mobile phone for a while, and the symptoms will be ‘tickled out’.”
Mixed reality and reality, treat both symptoms and root causes together
Due to the scattered symptoms, the current diagnosis of sympathetic cervical spondylosis must first exclude cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, digestive system and other diseases before considering cervical spine problems.
In the Massage Department of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a special angle is emphasized when taking cervical spine X-rays for such patients - the mouth-opening position. Wang Shuai explained that the mouth-opening position requires the patient to open his mouth and take pictures of the atlas and axis (cervical vertebra) at the uppermost end of the cervical spine from a specific angle. The first and second vertebrae at the top together form the atlantoaxial joint, which is responsible for about 50% of the rotation function of the head - reporter's note) "Instability of the atlantoaxial and atlanto-occipital joints has a very high probability of inducing sympathetic symptoms."
In terms of treatment, sympathetic cervical spondylosis pays attention to "treating both the root cause and the root cause".
Wang Shuai said that massage and acupuncture techniques can "return" misaligned joints, relax tense muscles, and allow meridians and qi and blood to flow smoothly. Long-term illness and bad living habits can lead to Yang deficiency in the Du Meridian and deficiency of the spleen and kidneys. At this time, traditional Chinese medicine is needed to nourish qi and blood, nourish the liver and kidneys, and calm the mind. "If the structural problems are not solved, the effect of simply taking traditional Chinese medicine will be limited; if the internal Qi and blood are insufficient, it will be difficult to completely eliminate the symptoms with just bone setting and reduction." Wang Shuai said. In addition, Wang Shuai reminded: "Some patients with osteoporosis may not be suitable for bone-setting massage after evaluation, and treatment must be individualized."
Most patients with sympathetic cervical spondylosis are young people, and men are more common. Wang Shuai said that the treatment of sympathetic cervical spondylosis cannot only rely on a few dozen minutes in the clinic. "If your daily life style is not changed, it may relapse after a while."
In terms of daily posture management, Wang Shuai recommends using computers, looking at mobile phones, working at the desk, and getting up and moving every half an hour; sitting upright and trying not to lower your head for a long time; sitting on the sofa looking at mobile phones, "Ge You Lying", lying on one's side looking at mobile phones or reading a book are three "hidden bad postures".
Staying in an air-conditioned room for a long time has a great impact on the disease. Wang Shuai said that in summer, the pores of the human body open, cold air enters the body more easily, and muscle meridians are blocked, causing stiffness in the neck and shoulders, and pain in severe cases. Cold is not a direct cause, but over time it will aggravate neck symptoms and indirectly amplify sympathetic symptoms. If you must stay in an air-conditioned environment, he recommends raising the temperature and lowering the wind speed, wearing a piece of clothing or a gauze towel, rubbing your hands together to cover the back of your neck, which can protect your shoulders and neck.
In terms of exercise, Wang Shuai does not recommend strenuous exercise for patients, but recommends gentle exercises such as Baduanjin and Wuqinxi. He taught a self-regulation movement for the symptoms of sympathetic cervical spondylosis: tilt your head up 45 to 60 degrees, expand your chest at the same time, and inhale in conjunction with it; bring it back and exhale. 15 to 20 times each time, 2 to 3 groups a day. This action can open the chest, regulate the flow of Qi, and directly help relieve chest tightness and shortness of breath.
Wang Shuai emphasized that most young patients have not yet developed organic lesions, so treatment is best at this time. If you continue to delay, the internal organs and blood will continue to be consumed, and the recovery period will be longer.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Dana Source: China Youth Daily
October 03, 2026 Version 03
