[The upper cervical spine. Symptomatology, clinical diagnosis and therapy of functional disorder]

Due to the closely related trigeminus nuclei, segmental functional disorders in the suboccipital area cause--in addition to local neck pain--frontoparietal and retro-orbital pain that can also irradiate to the upper and lower jaw. In addition, tendomyoses with trigger points and difficulties in swallowing may occur in the anterior part of the neck. In order to differentiate between hypomobility, hypermobility or instability, clinical diagnostics requires specific examination of each particular segment in accordance with its biomechanics. Once the nature of the functional disorder is defined, the whole repertoire of therapeutic measures can be applied, with segment-oriented manual techniques being the most efficient. In cases of persisting and recurrent disturbances, rehabilitation must be completed by regular back exercises and optimal ergonomics.