Meningism (from the Latin meningis - meninges) is a symptom of the disease, manifested in painful and sharply limited movement of the patient's head, which is caused by increased tone and increased tension (hypertension) of the posterior neck muscles. Occurs when the meninges are irritated (pinched nerve endings, sharp pain, disc displacement). The disease proceeds slowly for some time; chronic meningitis often hides an incubation period during which the patient does not have pronounced signs of the disease. The disease begins to make itself felt when the first attacks begin during head movement. The period of exacerbation of meningitis lasts several months.
According to modern concepts, the cause of the disease is the reaction of the body's lymphoid immune system to the presence of a spirochete in the human body, which can lead to diseases such as rheumatism. In this case, infection with a spirochete is most likely transmitted by airborne droplets. In most cases, it spreads aerogenously by inhaling the infectious agent. Periodic symptoms of the disease appear over months or even years. This disease refers to the appearance of inflammation of the muscles located at the back of the neck with symmetrical muscle damage. The disease affects the back of the cervical region and spreads to the shoulders. Severe pain appears on the brain, which the patient feels when turning the head in any direction, so the pain is pronounced. A pain syndrome immediately appears in the occipital region, accompanied by severe tension in the cervical muscles. This reason is very common among children - they experience childhood meningitis due to the complicated course of acute respiratory infections. As a result, the inflammatory process develops in the subarachnoid space of the spinal cord. Spinal meningoencephalitis is considered a rare infectious disease.