What is spondylosis of the cervical spine? Description, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

Despite the constant propaganda of the feasible daily physical load on the individual’s body, the number of people leading a sedentary lifestyle is increasing every year. This leads to all sorts of health problems with the skeleton. In this article, we will consider what spondylosis of the cervical spine is, why the disease occurs, how to determine and treat it.

Cervical spondylosis

Everyone knows that the spine consists of individual vertebrae, interconnected by discs, which play the role of elastic pads and serve to absorb stress. In addition, there are elastic longitudinal ligaments connecting the vertebrae. The cervical spine has great mobility and is the most vulnerable. In violation of metabolic processes, there is a lack of nutrients for the disks and ligaments. As a result, their elasticity is lost. The disk ceases to withstand loads, the pressure inside it rises and the surrounding fibrous ring protrudes. As a result of this, a separation of the ligament section from the spine occurs. What is spondylosis of the cervical spine? Bone tissue begins to grow, osteophytes form. The vertebrae are fixed already inelastic ligament, and motionless bone tissue. Rigid attachment of the vertebrae is spondylosis.

Deforming spondylosis in the structures of the spine

Osteophytes that form in the vertebrae are in the form of antennae, spines, and beaks. They squeeze the spinal cord, nerve endings and blood vessels, causing pain. The deformation process is very slow, and sometimes people do not feel pain for a long time. It should be noted that osteochondrosis and spondylosis of the cervical spine are parallel to each other, causing changes in the following structures of the spine:

• Intervertebral discs. Due to the failure of metabolic processes in the individual’s body, the amortization properties of the discs decrease, the fibrous rings wear and tear, and the collagen fibers become inelastic.
• Arched joints. Each vertebral body has four such joints that act as hinges, allowing the neck to rotate, bend and unbend. With degenerative changes, the cartilage tissue wears out and osteophytes form, reducing joint mobility.
• Ligaments. The resulting osteophytes disrupt the blood supply to the vertebrae and ligaments that hold the spine. Fibrous tissue becomes inelastic, and bulging growths easily tear ligaments.

All these degenerative changes adversely affect the condition of the cervical spine, it loses mobility.

Causes of Spondylosis

Physicians of various specialties often do not agree on why deforming spondylosis occurs, but most of them believe that the main cause of the disease is the physical inactivity of the modern person - lack of physical activity. The risk group includes the age category from 50 to 55 years, but the ailment sometimes occurs in young people from 20 years of age. The causes of spondylosis of the cervical spine are considered as follows:

• congenital or acquired violation of posture;
• constant increased physical activity;
• prolonged sitting
• failure of exchange processes;
• sharp hypothermia of the body;
• changes in the spine that occur with the aging of the body;
• hereditary predisposition.

The disease manifests itself early and rapidly progresses in violation of metabolic processes, when deposition of calcium salts begins in the cervical spine. In addition, the following pathologies can affect the occurrence of cervical spondylosis:

• neck and collar injuries;
• joint inflammation;
• osteoarthritis;
• changes in the intervertebral disc caused by progressive osteochondrosis;
• flat feet and clubfoot.

A special role in the event of an ailment is played by injuries inflicted to the baby at birth and received at an early age in the neck.

Three stages of the disease

Symptoms and treatment of spondylosis of the cervical spine depend on the stage of development of the pathology. They are distinguished by three:

• The first - on the vertebrae are osteophytes (bone spurs), but they still do not constrain movement. There are first signs of stiffness and numbness of the neck is felt, as the neck bend, called lordosis, is broken.
• The second - there is a compression of the intervertebral discs due to the fusion of bone spurs. Neck mobility is limited, the patient receives a third disability group.
• The third. At the last stage, all osteophytes have practically grown together. They grabbed the vertebrae like braces, limiting their mobility to a minimum. An individual cannot work and even service himself. He is given a second or first disability group.

Now it’s clear what spondylosis of the cervical spine is.

Only a strong painful sensation is forced to turn to a human doctor in the second and third stages of the disease. Restoring flexibility around the neck is already becoming difficult. For a favorable outcome, it is very important to identify the ailment at an early stage.

Clinical picture

The first symptoms of spondylosis of the cervical spine can appear by the age of thirty, although it is believed that it is most often diagnosed after fifty. The early formation of spondylosis provokes a curvature of the spine. The whole reason - classes that require a long time to maintain a forced position of the body. The main symptoms of the disease include:

• Aching pain at the bottom of the neck and shoulders, which intensifies at night with head movements.
• Neck mobility restrictions.
• Lack of neck muscles.
• Numbness and tingling of the hands, impaired mobility.
• The need to exert effort when moving your head.
• Sensory impairment in the neck.
• The occurrence of crunching and clicks when turning the head.
• A feeling of pain in the back of the head and back of the neck that occurs after sleep.
• Dizziness and fainting during compression of the vertebral artery.
• The spread of pain from the shoulder joint along the entire length of the upper limb.

Signs of spondylosis of the cervical spine for a long time do not manifest themselves or are similar to the symptoms of other pathologies. Pain is either constant or intermittent. From the neck they are transmitted to the shoulders, nape and nerve endings in any other organs. All this makes it difficult to identify a dangerous ailment.

Diagnosis of the disease

When the patient goes to the doctor, when he already has severe pain, the doctor, for the diagnosis, conducts:

• Medical history - a conversation with the patient, as a result of which all complaints, areas of localization and the nature of the pain are clarified.
• Inspection - with the help of palpation and a neurological hammer, the damage sites, the sensitivity of the dermis and the existing reflexes are determined.
• Clinical and biochemical blood tests.
• Radiography - makes it possible to identify the formation of osteophytes.
• CT - the image shows a layered image of the vertebrae.
• MRI - allows you to evaluate the structure of soft tissues.
• Myelography - reveals changes in nerve endings, the spinal canal, the formation of an intervertebral hernia.
• Electromyelography - assesses the conductivity of nerve endings.
• Electroneuromyography - allows you to establish the ability of the nervous tissue to conduct impulses.

Only after these examinations a diagnosis is made - spondylosis of the cervical spine. The causes and symptoms of the disease are studied by a doctor, all the necessary studies are carried out and the results are analyzed, the necessary course of therapy is prescribed.

Method for the treatment of cervical spondylosis

The entire treatment technique is aimed at stopping the process that has begun and removing the emerging symptoms of the disease. It is impossible to reverse the degenerative process and completely eliminate spondylosis. As a rule, the disease is slow, the body itself tries to adapt to emerging changes in the neck. Often the disease does not require special treatment. With complications that arise in the acute phase of the disease, comprehensive measures are used to rehabilitate the patient. How to treat spondylosis of the cervical spine? For this, the following therapeutic methods are used:

• Physiotherapeutic procedures. They have a strong effect on the affected organ. For treatment use: massage, manual therapy, acupuncture, magnetotherapy, laser irradiation, exercise therapy.
• Medications To eliminate the inflammatory process and pain relief, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Ketonal are prescribed, muscle relaxants are used to relieve muscle tone.
• Orthopedic devices. To limit movements during an exacerbation. All devices for each patient are selected individually by the doctor.
• Surgical intervention. It is used very rarely.

Improving the condition of an individual depends on the treatment chosen for deforming spondylosis of the cervical spine and careful observance of all the doctor's recommendations. Particular attention is paid to medical gymnastics and physiotherapy. In addition, manual therapy sessions and a special neck massage, which is carried out by high-class specialists, have a very good effect.

How to independently relieve pain in the acute phase of cervical spondylosis?

To alleviate discomfort, you can do the following:

• limit sharp head movements;
• perform self-massage of the neck;
• find a specific position for the lying and sitting position of the body;
• performance of special therapeutic exercises;
• the use of traditional medicine recipes: warming compresses, rubbing, alcohol tinctures.

Following simple guidelines can help relieve pain.

Osteochondrosis and deforming spondylosis of the cervical spine

Osteochondrosis is an abnormality of the cartilaginous surfaces of the bones, most often the spine, but also of the hip and knee joints. It occurs when a change in the intervertebral disk of the pulpous nucleus, which gradually dries, disrupting its functions. The disk disappears firmness and elasticity, the fibrous ring is reborn, and tears and tears occur in the longitudinal fibers. The height of the intervertebral disc is significantly reduced. As a result, osteochondrosis contributes to the development of arthrosis of the intervertebral joints of the neck. These two ailments, as a rule, occur together. In addition, osteochondrosis and deforming spondylosis of the cervical spine are considered to be complementary to each other, i.e. spondylosis is the next stage of osteochondrosis. In places of separation of ligaments, bone tissue grows, forming osteophytes. The vertebrae are fixed between themselves by a special bone tissue. Injury to the disc does not occur and pain does not occur. The development of spondylosis can only be stopped, but not cured.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system

The spine is the main part of the axial skeleton of the individual. It is subject to significant loads, so degenerative-dystrophic processes begin in it early. It should be noted that the cervical region is the most vulnerable, it consists of narrow vertebrae with small bodies and has very great mobility. Process progression is often associated with:

• genetic lesions of the intervertebral disc (MDP);
• short neck syndrome;
• arthritis;
• incomplete differentiation of the vertebrae;
• the consequences of polio;
• unequal length of the legs;
• various injuries;
• arthrosis.

Degenerative-dystrophic changes are most often affected by the cartilage of the intervertebral discs and the arched joints that form between the upper and lower articular processes, lower- and overlying vertebra. All this is manifested by clinical signs of osteochondrosis, spondylosis and spondylarthrosis of the cervical spine. Three support points provide the depreciation of the spine: MDP and two arched joints. Insufficient blood circulation in them leads to a decrease in their strength, a change in shape and an increase in the marginal divisions of the vertebral bodies. And then there is an overgrowth of osteophytes, as a manifestation of spondylosis, which is accompanied by the development of osteochondrosis.

Prevention of cervical spondylosis

For preventive purposes, in order to avoid problems with the spine in the cervical spine, it is necessary:

• Eat properly, daily give adequate physical stress to the body.
• When sedentary work, in breaks, do a little workout for the neck.
• Timely treat chronic diseases of the spine.
• Purchase an orthopedic mattress and pillow.
• Perform several exercises daily to keep your neck muscles toned.
• Avoid injury.

Now you know what spondylosis of the cervical spine is and how it manifests itself. This insidious ailment is not treatable, but it can be prevented by performing basic preventive measures. In those cases when this did not work out, at the first signs it is necessary to seek the help of a doctor who will help to suspend the process of pathological development.