Do you feel neck pain and numbness in your fingers after working long hours? Have you been experiencing numbness, weakness or even unstable walking with your hands lately? Do you feel a tightness in your chest and waist, and walk unsteadily? Be careful! You may be suffering from cervical spondylosis. Cervical spondylosis is a degenerative disease commonly found in middle-aged and elderly people, but in recent years the incidence of cervical spondylosis in young adults has gradually increased due to the accelerated pace of life and the impact of poor lifestyle habits due to a variety of reasons. Cervical spondylosis is a syndrome of a series of clinical symptoms caused by degenerative lesions of the cervical disc and osteophytes of the cervical spine, which can be clinically divided into cervical, radicular, vertebral artery, sympathetic nerve and spinal cord types. The degenerative disease of the cervical spine is a long-term, slow process, and not a one-day cold. Therefore, early prevention, early detection, early treatment, in order to have a healthy life! The performance of cervical spondylosis varies from one age group to another, so we will introduce you to cervical spondylosis with a few typical patients as an example. I. Young adults are prone to “cervical cervical spondylosis”: Case 1: Xue, female, 25 years old, visited the clinic for “neck and shoulder pain for 2 months”. Physical examination showed stiffness and pressure pain in the neck and shoulder muscles. No spinal cord or nerve root symptoms were found. X-ray was taken: “cervical spine physiological curvature straightened, vertebral space normal”, diagnosed as “cervical cervical spondylosis”. He was warned to change his bad working habits, and was given hot compresses, physical therapy and topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic creams. He was cured after one month. In modern society, young and middle-aged people, especially white-collar workers, are busy, fast-paced and under great pressure, and they have to work long hours, use computers frequently, and keep their cervical vertebrae in a hyperbolic state for a long time, which results in neck and shoulder pain, muscle tightness and stiffness, which is called “cervical cervical spondylosis”. In order to prevent the problem before it happens, first of all, we must change the bad work habits. Long-term ambulatory work or computer operation of the office staff, due to long-term low desk work, so that the cervical vertebrae for a long time in a flexion position or some specific position, not only to increase the pressure within the cervical intervertebral disc, but also to make the neck muscles in a long-term non-coordinated stress state, the back of the neck muscles and ligaments are susceptible to strain strain, the front edge of the vertebral body, mutual wear, hyperplasia, coupled with twisting, lateral flexion, and further lead to injury The cervical spondylosis can easily occur. So office workers first of all in the sitting posture as far as possible to maintain a natural sitting position, head slightly forward to maintain the normal physiological curve of the head, neck and chest. Secondly, in the ambulatory work up to 1 to 2 hours, should raise the head to far, but also purposefully let the head and neck to the left and right several times, the rotation should be gentle, slow, to achieve the maximum range of motion in this direction shall prevail; can also use the desk, both hands propped up on the desktop, head back, adhere to 5 seconds, repeat 3 to 5 times. For friends who have the habit of reading, read a book naturally low to the book, if the book with a bracket placed diagonally, the head can be slightly raised, without having to flex the neck for a long time. When reading for too long, you should also pay attention to the activity of the head and neck. “Cervical cervical spondylosis” is the initial stage of cervical spondylosis, only the muscles and other soft tissues have changed functionally, the vertebral body and accessories have not yet appeared structural or functional changes, and surgical intervention is not required. At this time, the main treatment is to actively change the bad posture, with the use of hot compresses, physical therapy, health exercises, if necessary, with a small amount of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs, can generally be cured. Second, middle-aged people are prone to “neurogenic cervical spondylosis” and “vertebral artery cervical spondylosis” Case 2: Wen Moumou, male, 45 years old, consulted for “neck and shoulder discomfort and slight numbness in both hands for one month “He visited the clinic. The patient was a civil servant who usually loved mahjong and had no history of trauma. In the past month, he felt discomfort in the neck and shoulders and slightly numbness in the middle fingers of both hands. Physical examination: muscle tension and pressure pain in the neck and shoulder, no significant decrease in muscle strength and sensation of both upper limbs. X-ray suggests: “Loss of cervical physiological curvature, C6/7 gap narrowing, labral hyperplasia at the anterior margin of multiple segments, and small joint hyperplasia.” MRI suggested, “No obvious spinal cord and nerve root compression manifestations, normal spinal cord signal.” The diagnosis was “neurogenic cervical spondylosis”, and traction therapy was given (starting at 2 kg, gradually increasing the weight, 1 hour per day, and the course of treatment was 1 month.) The patient was treated with cervical brace immobilization, together with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs and B vitamins for nerve nutrition. After one month, the patient was reexamined and the above symptoms disappeared. In middle-aged people over 40 years old, various organs and tissues inevitably degenerate, with ligament relaxation and muscle strength weakening. The spine becomes unstable after muscle and ligament relaxation, and the secondary osteophytes or disc herniation can easily compress nerves and blood vessels and cause cervical spondylosis. If the vertebral artery is compressed, dizziness, vertigo, sweating and panic will occur, and if the nerve root is compressed, numbness and pain in the neck and shoulders and both upper limbs will occur. Middle-aged people can often participate in some suitable sports and health activities to prevent cervical spondylosis, such as jogging, playing tai chi and indoor swimming, etc., and adhere to more than 30 minutes a day, for the prevention of cervical spondylosis is quite beneficial. Once middle-aged friends have the above symptoms, they should go to the hospital for the necessary examination, and if they are diagnosed with “neurogenic cervical spondylosis” and “vertebral artery cervical spondylosis”, receiving standardized conservative treatment can often relieve the symptoms. Common conservative treatment methods include physical therapy and medication. There are many physical therapy methods, among which traction is a simple and effective way to treat cervical spondylosis and can be performed at home. Install a set of traction frame, sitting or lying can be, starting from a small weight of half an hour a day, gradually increase to about 6 kg, traction 1-2 times a day, 1 hour each time, 10 days for a course of treatment, after each course of rest 2 to 3 days, and then repeat a course of treatment. However, it should be noted that the traction weight should not be too heavy, especially for patients with hypertension and coronary heart disease, which may have serious consequences. In addition the method is not applicable to the spinal cord type. If it is massage therapy, the technique should be gentle, so that the patient fully relax the neck muscles, do not use violence or heavier techniques to avoid accidents. Wax therapy, hot compress and high frequency electrotherapy can eliminate the inflammation and edema of nerve roots and surrounding soft tissues, improve the blood supply and nutritional status of the spinal cord, nerve roots and neck, relieve the spasm of neck muscles, enhance the effect of cervical traction and improve the blood circulation of soft tissues in the neck, and also delay or reduce the calcification and ossification process of intervertebral joints, joint capsules and ligaments, which is also a more effective and commonly used treatment. It is also a more effective and commonly used treatment method. In addition, there are also cervical braking, together with the use of some anti-inflammatory and analgesic and neurotrophic drugs, can usually achieve good results. Some patients with poor or no effect of conservative treatment often need to receive surgical treatment. Case 3: Luo, female, 69 years old, visited the clinic for “numbness and weakness of the limbs and unstable walking”. Physical examination: limited neck movement, decreased muscle strength and sensation in both lower limbs. x-ray suggests: “loss of cervical physiological curvature, lipoid hyperplasia at the anterior edge of multiple segments, and C6/7 gap narrowing.” MRI suggested, “C6/7 intervertebral disc protrusion, spinal cord compression in the corresponding segment, and degenerative signal in the spinal cord.” The diagnosis of “spinal cord cervical spondylosis” was made, and the patient was admitted to the hospital and treated surgically. The preoperative symptoms were significantly relieved. The symptoms disappeared completely in three months. In addition to further aggravation of osteophytes in the elderly, the cervical spine may also show significant instability and secondary hypertrophy and calcification of the ligamentum flavum and the posterior longitudinal ligament. These lesions cause narrowing of the spinal canal and nerve root canal and compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, resulting in “spinal cervical spondylosis”. Typical symptoms include numbness and weakness of the limbs, inflexibility of the hands, a feeling of thoracic and abdominal strapping, unstable walking, and a feeling of stepping on cotton. Older people are the most prevalent group of cervical spondylosis and the focus of prevention work. First of all, we should change the bad daily habits, such as high pillow position. The appropriate height of the pillow should be adjusted according to the physiological curvature of cervical convexity. For those who are used to lying on their side, the height of the pillow is suitable for the distance from the midpoint of the spinous process to the lateral edge of the shoulder peak, generally at 8-15cm, or according to the formula: (shoulder width – head width) ÷ 2. For those who are used to lying on their side, it is better to have a low pillow in the middle and high pillow in the shape of a metope at both ends. Because this shape can be used in the middle of the depression to maintain the physiological curvature of the cervical spine, can also play a relative braking and fixation of the head and neck, can reduce the abnormal activities of the head and neck during sleep. Secondly, the elderly often take children, embracing children will form a huge pressure on the cervical and lumbar spine, especially in the state of forward flexion easy to make the disc pressure increase and accelerate the degeneration process. Older people Sleep, bathing and winter travel should pay attention to the prevention of wind chill and humidity, wind chill makes local vasoconstriction, blood flow is reduced, hindering the metabolism of tissue and waste removal, humidity hinders skin evaporation. Pay attention to the protection of the throat, drink more water, do not smoke, eat less irritating food such as chili, and actively prevent and treat upper respiratory tract infections, because acute and chronic pharyngitis can stimulate the adjacent muscles, ligaments or through the rich lymphatic system so that the local spread of inflammation, so that muscle tone is reduced, ligament relaxation, which in turn makes the cervical spine internal and external balance is out of balance, destroy the integrity and stability of the cervical spine and induce cervical spondylosis. Physical exercise can help prevent cervical spondylosis, and some cervical and shoulder health exercises suitable for the elderly, such as cervical spine “rice” exercises, neck and shoulder exercises, are also very effective in preventing cervical spondylosis, and regular exercise of these sports and gymnastics can move the cervical joints and shoulder joints, maintain the flexibility of the joints, exercise the muscle strength of the neck muscles, and maintain the The natural elasticity of the soft tissues of the neck, avoid or loosen adhesions, restore or improve the physiological force balance of the cervical spine, and enhance the stability of the cervical spine, which is very effective in preventing cervical spondylosis. Most cases of “spinal cord cervical spondylosis” have substantial damage to the spinal nerves, and usually conservative treatment is ineffective and requires surgery. The traditional surgical method is to release the spinal cord compression through anterior or posterior cervical spine surgery and perform cervical fusion, which is effective. However, the disadvantage is the loss of cervical spine mobility, which may lead to accelerated degeneration of the cervical spine in the adjacent segments of the lesion and re-induce cervical spondylosis. In recent years, we have developed the most advanced artificial cervical disc replacement surgery, which is suitable for patients with no cervical instability, no osteoporosis and lesions within three segments, especially in relatively young patients. Case 4: Zhang, male, 72 years old, was admitted to the hospital with “numbness of both upper limbs for 2 years, quadriplegia after a fall, and urinary and fecal disorders”. Physical examination: grip strength of both hands was significantly decreased, and muscle strength of both lower limbs was 0. X-rays showed severe cervical spine hyperplasia without fracture and dislocation, and MRI showed spinal cord compression and intra-spinal hemorrhagic edema. He was diagnosed with “spinal cord cervical spondylosis and quadriplegia” and was admitted to the hospital for surgery and rehabilitation, and was able to take care of himself, but did not recover significantly from paraplegia. In recent years, many elderly people with “spinal cord cervical spondylosis” have developed paraplegia after an accidental fall. It turns out that many elderly people have severe cervical spine degeneration, the spinal canal is very narrow, and the spinal cord has almost no room for movement in the spinal canal. Once the patient encounters a fall, emergency brake, etc., the excessive flexion or extension of the cervical spine will lead to acute injury to the spinal cord, resulting in serious consequences such as paraplegia. It is worth mentioning that some elderly people may already have spinal stenosis although they have no symptoms, and they may also experience such consequences when they must encounter an accident. Therefore, the elderly should take care to avoid violent sports and choose those effective and steady sports and health care gymnastics for exercise. It should be noted that there are few people who have been paralyzed because of pushing, therefore, any cervical spine disease patients, especially the elderly, are absolutely prohibited from pushing or pushing to move. It is also recommended that older people have regular medical checkups to rule out these potential dangers. For patients with symptomatic “spinal cord cervical spondylosis”, surgery should be performed as early as possible, not only to relieve spinal cord compression early and prevent further aggravation of nerve damage, but also to avoid serious consequences such as paraplegia. Cervical spondylosis can cause physical pain and dysfunction, seriously affecting the patient’s daily life and work. However, cervical spondylosis is not terrible and can definitely be controlled through appropriate preventive measures and regular treatment. We would like to remind our patients that once you experience the discomfort mentioned above, you should go to a regular hospital in a timely manner and do not delay your illness or go to some irregular clinics and hospitals to receive unregulated treatment. As long as you maintain a positive mindset and a responsible attitude towards your health, you will definitely have a healthy cervical spine.