1.What is cervical spondylosis?
Cervical spondylosis, also known as cervical spine syndrome, is a general term for cervical osteoarthritis, proliferative cervicitis, cervical nerve root syndrome and cervical disc prolapse, which manifests itself as a series of pathological changes secondary to cervical disc degeneration, stimulating or compressing the adjacent nerve roots, spinal cord, vertebral artery and cervical sympathetic nerve and other tissues, and causing various symptoms and signs.
2.What are the manifestations of cervical spondylosis?
There are seven types of cervical spondylosis. The first is the cervical type, which is also the lightest type, with only stiffness, soreness and discomfort in the neck; the second is the nerve root type, in which the nerve roots are stimulated, causing numbness, pain and other discharge-like sensations in one or both upper limbs; the third is the spinal cord type, in addition to the symptoms of the upper limbs, there are also symptoms of the lower limbs, such as walking unsteadily and the soles of the feet are like stepping on cotton; the fourth is the vertebral artery type, in which the reflex spasm of the vertebral artery causes the cerebral blood supply The fifth is the sympathetic nerve type, which can cause a series of symptoms such as panic, increased blood pressure and easy sweating; the sixth is the esophageal type, which is the result of swallowing disorder and foreign body sensation caused by the compression of the esophagus by the hyperplastic tissue in front of the cervical spine; the seventh is the mixed type, which is the result of a mixture of the above symptoms.
3.What kind of people are prone to cervical spondylosis?
Generally speaking, cervical spondylosis is a common disease among middle-aged and elderly people, with the most common occurrence in the age group of 40-60 years old, and the most frequent occurrence in the age group of 45-55 years old. However, with the accelerated pace of work in society, people are under unprecedented physical and mental pressure, and the onset of cervical spondylosis is on a younger trend. Cervical spondylosis is mostly seen in people who work with their head and neck in the same posture for a long time, or who have frequent head and neck activities and are engaged in occupations where the neck is prone to injury, such as surgeons, teachers, metrologists, people who work with computers, drivers, soccer players, adolescents with heavy learning tasks, and so on. In addition, people who are used to using high pillows and have a history of cervical spine trauma are prone to cervical spondylosis.
4.How do I choose treatment for cervical spondylosis?
The treatment of cervical spondylosis is divided into conservative treatment and surgical treatment. Most patients can achieve satisfactory results through conservative treatment such as rest, physical therapy, traction, massage and acupuncture. When non-surgical treatment is not effective, surgical treatment must be considered. The purpose of surgery is to enlarge the nerve root canal, intervertebral foramen and spinal canal, and to relieve or release the stimulation and compression of the nerve, blood vessel and cervical medulla; to remove the diseased intervertebral disc, bone redundancy and overly thick or ossified ligaments to achieve decompression and eliminate stimulation, compression and adhesion; to restore or enhance the stability of the cervical spine by intervertebral bone grafting, and to restore its physiological curve, or to limit local activities to prevent further spinal cord and nerve compression.
5.Does surgery for cervical spondylosis carry risks?
At present, many people have certain misconceptions about cervical spine surgery, believing that the cervical spine cannot be operated and that cervical spine surgery will cause paralysis; in fact, this is absolutely wrong, and this is still an old viewpoint more than 10 years ago. In the past 10 years, with the continuous progress in biomechanics, material science and surgical instruments, the technology of spine surgery has undergone a radical change and spine surgeons have overcome the difficulties of cervical spine surgery and the surgical technology has become very mature. Our department now successfully performs anterior cervical decompression surgery, posterior surgery, combined anterior and posterior surgery, complex upper cervical anterior and posterior surgery, anterior and posterior cervicothoracic surgery, and cervical disc replacement surgery, etc. The technology level is leading in China and has successfully relieved the pain of thousands of patients with cervical spondylosis. Of course, the leading technology does not mean that the surgery is completely risk-free, and the risks of surgery are objective. What spine surgeons can do is to minimize the risk through our advanced surgical techniques to relieve as many patients as possible. In our work over the years, we regret to see that some patients hold the old and erroneous view that “the cervical spine is inoperable” and blindly and stubbornly refuse surgery, causing lifelong disability instead, with disastrous consequences for themselves and their families, and ultimately regretting it too late.
6.What are the precautions for surgical treatment?
Pre-operative.
(1) Pre-operative practice of de-pillowing and lying flat to adapt to the post-operative lying requirements.
(2) Train to use the urinal in bed to avoid unaccustomed defecation and bowel movement after surgery due to the flat position.
(3) Complete the relevant tests to understand the purpose, effect and possible situation of the surgery, as well as the treatment and nursing cooperation.
Postoperative.
(1) Postoperative turning every 2 hours (early with the help of medical staff), turning is to keep the head, neck and crest in a straight line without twisting, rotating the flat and left and right side lying positions.
(2) Postoperative pillow height should be appropriate, not too high when lying on the back, and slightly higher when lying on the side, so that the neck and trunk remain in a straight line, without deviating to one side.
(3) When the postoperative branch numbness, pain symptoms worsen or loss of sensation, or incontinence occurs, promptly reflect to the medical staff.
(4) Perform postoperative muscle stretching and activities of the joints, such as fist clenching and fist loosening, ankle pump exercise, quadriceps exercise, etc. for 1 to 2 weeks after surgery.
(5) Immobilize the neck with a neck brace when moving out of bed, and avoid violent neck rotation.
(6) Immobilize the neck brace for 2-4 weeks or as prescribed by the doctor, and remove the brace when resting in bed.
(7) Strengthen the functional exercise of the neck, such as forward flexion, back extension, left and right lateral flexion, left and right rotation and other exercises to enhance the muscle strength of the neck.
(8) Prevent accidental injuries, such as excessive neck flexion, excessive rotation, overload pressure on the neck and violent shaking of the head and neck.
(9) Follow the doctor’s instructions for regular review.
7.What do I need to pay attention to in terms of diet?
Since cervical spondylosis is caused by vertebral hyperplasia and osteoporosis, patients with cervical spondylosis should have a diet rich in calcium, protein, vitamin B, vitamin C and vitamin E. Calcium is the main component of bone. Calcium is the main component of bone, with milk, fish, pig tail bones, soybeans, black beans and other content as much. Protein is also an indispensable nutrient for the formation of ligaments, bones and muscles. Vitamins B and E, on the other hand, can relieve pain. Relieve fatigue. In addition, if cervical spondylosis is a damp-heat blocked meridians, should eat more heat-clearing fruit and vegetables such as kudzu, bitter melon, loofah, etc.; if it is a cold damp blocked meridians, should eat more dog meat, mutton and other warm food to disperse the cold; if it is a blood deficiency, should eat more rooster, carp, black beans and other foods.
8.How to prevent cervical spondylosis?
The prevention of cervical spondylosis should be taken from both the cause and the trigger to effectively reduce the incidence and prevent the recurrence of cured patients. The cervical spine is a part of the spine, and prevention should be made from the spine as a whole.
Specific measures are: strict prevention of acute head, neck and shoulder trauma: head and neck bruises, bruises and whip injuries are prone to cervical spine and its surrounding soft tissue injuries, which directly or indirectly cause cervical spondylosis, so they should be actively prevented, and once they occur, they should be promptly examined and thoroughly treated.
Correct the bad posture in life to prevent chronic injury: chronic strain on the soft tissues of the neck and shoulder is the pathological basis for the occurrence of cervical spondylosis, and the bad posture in life is one of the main reasons for the formation of chronic strain, so correcting the bad posture in daily life is of great importance to the prevention of cervical spondylosis; good sleeping posture is very important to the health care of the spine. The human trunk, shoulders and pelvic part of the transverse diameter is large, when lying on the side, the spine due to the influence of the mattress and bending, if long-term preference for a side lying position, the spine will gradually side-bending, the lighter wake up stiff back discomfort, the need to get up and move to return to normal, the heavier can develop into spondylosis. Sleep should be mainly supine, side lying as a supplement, to alternate between the left and right, the left and right knee slightly flexed when lying side to side. Prone, semi-prone, semi-supine or upper and lower body twisting and sleeping are bad sleeping posture, should be corrected in a timely manner. The head should be placed in the center of the pillow to prevent the pillow. Patients with spondylosis should be boarded up, spring beds are not beneficial to the physiological balance of the spine.
Prevention of chronic strain injury: due to the need to work, some types of jobs require special posture or work in a forced position for a longer period of time, if not paid attention to, the commission is prone to chronic strain injury, and gradually develop into spondylosis; prevention of the elderly: more than 50 years old, the spine has degenerative changes, so more attention should be paid to prevent the occurrence of spondylosis. When the weather is cold, pay attention to the neck and waist to keep warm, reduce shrinking neck, shrugging shoulders, bending and other bad posture, winter should pay attention to prevent the neck and shoulder cold, especially when sleeping neck and shoulder to keep warm, in order to avoid cold stimulation and pillow, induced cervical spondylosis and frozen shoulder. Talking with people, watching TV, watching movies or reading books and newspapers, we should look at them as frontally as possible and not over-twist the neck. In short, to maintain the normal physiological curvature of the spine, straight, to prevent cervical spondylosis induced by poor posture.