1.What is cervical spondylosis? Cervical spondylosis is a common and prevalent disease that accompanies efficient life in modern society, with an incidence rate of about 15%. Cervical spondylosis refers to the clinical symptoms and signs of cervical spondylosis. The current international consensus is that cervical spondylosis refers to the corresponding symptoms and signs caused by degenerative degeneration of the cervical disc and its secondary degenerative degeneration of the intervertebral joints and ligaments, resulting in damage to the spinal cord, nerves and blood vessels. There are various symptoms of cervical spondylosis, specifically, the following: stiffness, stiffness and pain in the neck, restricted neck movement, heavy shoulders and back, hardening of muscles; weakness in the upper limbs, numbness in the fingers, reduced sensation in the skin of the limbs, and sometimes unconscious falling of objects held in the hands; some patients will also experience disobedience of the lower limbs and a feeling of stepping on cotton; some patients have abnormal sensations such as headache, dizziness, loss of vision, tinnitus and nausea Some patients have abnormal sensations such as headache, dizziness, loss of vision, tinnitus, nausea, etc.; a few severe cases may experience loss of control of urination and defecation and even tetraplegia. Not all the manifestations will show up in every patient, but often only some of the symptoms appear, and most patients have mild manifestations and a long course of illness. 2.Why do I get cervical spondylosis? The pathophysiological process of cervical spondylosis is quite complex. There are various factors in its development. However, the following factors play an important role in the development and recurrence of cervical spondylosis: (1) Age factor: just like a machine, the wear and tear of human body parts increases with age, and the cervical spine also produces various degenerative changes, and the degenerative changes of the intervertebral disc are the most basic and critical basis for the development of cervical spondylosis. In addition, degeneration of small joints and various ligaments also play an important role. (2) Chronic strain injury: It refers to the injury brought about by various excessive activities beyond the normal range, such as bad sleep, improper height of the pillow or improperly padded parts, and the higher prevalence of repeatedly dropped pillow. In addition, improper work posture, especially the incidence of cervical spondylosis is particularly high in long-term low-headed workers. In addition, some inappropriate physical exercise will also increase the incidence, such as the inappropriate inversion, somersault, etc. (3) Trauma: On the basis of cervical spine degeneration and instability, trauma to the head and neck is more likely to induce the production and recurrence of cervical spondylosis. Patients often have sudden onset of symptoms after minor trauma, and the symptoms are often severe, and the combination of fracture and dislocation adds to the difficulty of treatment. (4) Developmental spinal stenosis: people with spinal stenosis are more likely to develop cervical spondylosis, and the prognosis is relatively poor. (5) Congenital malformations of the cervical spine: various congenital malformations, such as congenital vertebral fusion and skull base depression, are prone to induce the occurrence of cervical spondylosis. (6) Metabolic and rheumatic disease factors: human metabolic disorders caused by various reasons, especially calcium, phosphorus metabolism and hormone metabolism disorders, in addition to rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis are also prone to accompany the production of cervical spondylosis. 3.What are the subtypes of cervical spondylosis? The disease can be broadly divided into six types: cervical, radicular, spinal, vertebral artery, sympathetic and mixed. Cervical type: It is caused by long-term single posture of the head and neck, resulting in strain on the neck muscles, ligaments and joints. Patients mainly show symptoms such as easy fatigue of the neck, neck straightness and pain, inability to read and write for a long time, and often feeling tightness and stiffness of the neck and inflexibility of movement in the morning. Nerve root type: It is the most common type of cervical spondylosis, accounting for about 60% of the cases. Neurogenic cervical spondylosis is a disease caused by cervical spine degeneration and hyperplasia, which stimulates and compresses the cervical nerve roots. Patients often feel pain and numbness in the head, neck, shoulders, arms and hands, and the numbness mostly occurs in the fingers and forearms. Spinal cord type: It is a more serious cervical spondylosis, which is caused by the direct compression of the cervical spinal cord due to the backward protrusion of the cervical intervertebral disc and the osteophytes of the vertebrae. When the spinal cord is compressed, patients may experience unilateral or bilateral numbness, soreness and weakness in the upper or lower limbs, and in severe cases, symptoms such as difficulty moving and unstable walking may occur. Vertebral artery type: It is also a common type of cervical spondylosis, which is based on the degeneration of the cervical spine and causes a series of diseases due to insufficient blood supply to the vertebral artery. At the onset of the disease, patients have varying degrees of vertigo, which is also accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diplopia, tinnitus, deafness and other symptoms. Vertigo occurs whenever the patient tilts his head back, lowers his head to read a book, turns his head suddenly, or repeatedly turns his head from side to side. Sudden collapse is a unique symptom of this disease. Often, when the neck is turned, numbness and weakness of the limbs suddenly occur and the patient falls, but the patient is clear and can mostly get up by himself. Sympathetic nerve type: This type of cervical spondylosis is mainly caused by degenerative degeneration of the cervical spine and stimulation or compression of the sympathetic nerve in the neck by osteophytes. As the sympathetic nerve is stimulated, it causes dysfunction of the internal organs, glands and blood vessels it innervates. Patients mainly show symptoms such as self-induced head and occipital pain, dizziness, migraine, panic, chest tightness, cold limbs, and low skin temperature. Mixed type: Patients who have more than two of the above symptoms are collectively called mixed cervical spondylosis. 4.How to self-examine whether you have cervical spondylosis Have you had the following symptoms repeatedly in the past 3 months? (1), untreated headache or dizziness; (2), neck and shoulder pain or soreness; (3), unexplained arrhythmia, angina-like symptoms; (4), untreated hypotension or hypertension; (5), unexplained acid reflux, erratic, nausea and vomiting; (6), numbness and weakness of the limbs, or strange sensations, such as pins and needles, burning sensation, cold sensation, ants crawling through (7), buttoning, tying shoelaces, pinching pen writing such as movement is not coordinated (8), when lowering the head suddenly caused by the whole body numbness, or have an electric-like feeling (9), unexplained repeated “pillow”. If you have any two of the above nine, you have to consider whether you have the possibility of cervical spondylosis. It is recommended to come to the clinic for further examination.