How to treat cervical spondylosis

  Definition: cervical disc degeneration after protrusion, the resulting secondary intervertebral joint degeneration caused by damage to the spinal cord, nerves, blood vessels and the corresponding symptoms and signs manifested.  Common causes: 1, cervical degenerative disc degeneration.  2, injury.  3. Congenital spinal stenosis of the cervical spine.  Clinical manifestations: It can be divided into 4 types.  1. Nerve root type: It starts with neck and shoulder pain, and may radiate to the upper limbs after aggravation. Skin numbness, allergy and other sensory abnormalities. At the same time, there is a decrease in muscle strength of the upper limbs and inflexible finger movements. The upper limb pull test is positive, and the head press test is positive. The neurological examination has more definite localization signs.  2.Spinal cord type cervical spondylosis: early manifestation is weakness of limbs, unstable walking and holding. X-rays are similar to the neurogenic type. Myelography, CT, and MRI can show the compression of the spinal cord. Cerebrospinal fluid kinetic measurement, nuclear medicine examination and biochemical analysis can reflect the degree of spinal canal patency.  3.Sympathetic cervical spondylosis: (1) Sympathetic excitation symptoms, such as: headache, dizziness, sometimes with malignant, vomiting; blurred vision, posterior eye pain; rapid heartbeat, arrhythmia, etc. (2) sympathetic nerve inhibition symptoms, such as: dizziness, blurred eyes, lacrimation, nasal congestion, bradycardia, decreased blood pressure and gastrointestinal distension.  4. Vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis: (1) vertigo; rotational, floating or shaking. It can be triggered or aggravated by head movement.  (2) Headache; occipital and parieto-occipital pain, mostly episodic distension, often accompanied by autonomic disorder symptoms.  (3) Visual impairment; sudden amblyopia or diplopia, with automatic recovery within a short period of time.  (4) Sudden collapse; mostly occurs when the head is suddenly rotated or flexed and extended.  Diagnosis: In middle-aged patients and above, diagnosis can be made based on medical history, physical examination, especially neurological examination, and X-rays, which can be supplemented by special examinations such as myelography, vertebral arteriography, CT, MRI and nuclear medicine if necessary.  Treatment: 1, non-surgical treatment: ① jaw occipital belt traction.  ②Cervical brace and collar.  ③Tui-na massage: performed by professionals.  ④Physiotherapy.  ⑤ Pharmacotherapy: symptomatic treatment can be used for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants and sedatives. If there is typical nerve root pain, cervical epidural injection is feasible.  2.Surgical treatment: The diagnosed cervical spondylosis is invalidated by non-surgical treatment, or the recurrent attack, or the progressive aggravation of spinal cord cervical spondylosis is suitable for surgical treatment. According to different surgical routes, it can be divided into anterior surgery, anterolateral surgery and posterior surgery.  Anterior surgery, anterolateral surgery: It is suitable for removing the herniated intervertebral disc, posterior vertebral body bones and hook vertebral joint bones to release the compression on the spinal cord, nerve roots and vertebral artery. At the same time, intervertebral bone graft fusion can be performed to stabilize the spine.  Posterior surgery: Decompression of the spinal cord is achieved through laminectomy or laminoplasty. It can also be supplemented with posterior spinal fusion.  Preventive measures: Avoid strenuous neck activities. Avoid prolonged rigid neck position.