Why does cervical spondylosis cause pharyngitis?

       Many people (including even many doctors) think that cervical spondylosis and pharyngitis are unrelated, and they generally only know that cervical spondylosis is related to degeneration of the intervertebral joints or discs caused by long-term low head and neck or improper sitting and lying posture, and they do not think of any relationship with the throat.  However, long-term clinical practice found that more than 90% of patients with cervical spondylosis are accompanied by varying degrees of throat inflammation. Some occupational groups, such as actors, teachers, workers exposed to dust or odorous chemical products, etc., have a high incidence of cervical spondylosis because of the long-term tension and chronic irritation of the throat. In addition, people who are susceptible to throat inflammation such as smokers and alcoholics are also susceptible to cervical spondylosis. Further studies have confirmed that inflammation of the pharynx is an important susceptibility factor for cervical spondylosis, and its course and degree have an important influence on the occurrence of cervical spondylosis.  The reason for this is that the cervical spine and the pharynx are adjacent to each other and there is a close connection between the blood and lymphatic circulation of the two. Inflammatory substances such as bacteria and viruses in the throat can spread to the atlanto-occipital, atlanto-axial and other intervertebral joints and surrounding muscles and ligaments in the cervical spine, causing these tissues to spasm, contract, degenerate, decrease muscle tone and relax ligaments, thus destroying the integrity and stability of the cervical spine and soft tissues, and eventually causing imbalance in the internal and external balance of the spine, leading to the occurrence of cervical spondylosis.  Similarly, when cervical spondylosis is caused by various reasons, the imbalance between the internal and external balance of the spine in the cervical segment causes spasm, contraction, degeneration, edema and exudation in the atlanto-occipital, atlanto-axial and other intervertebral joints and surrounding muscles and ligaments, which can cause inflammatory cell infiltration and non-specific inflammation; the change in the surrounding internal environment also makes it easy for viruses and bacteria to stay and multiply, inducing specific inflammation.  It can be said that cervical spondylosis and pharyngitis are two bitter gourds on a vine, and it does not matter who happens first or second, but the important thing is that they can cause and affect each other, making cervical spondylosis and pharyngitis difficult to heal, or even recurrent and gradually aggravated.  The pathogenesis of cervical spondylosis is due to the loss of harmony between qi and blood, wind and cold, phlegm and stagnation, depression and heat or both wind and heat, phlegm and heat; pharyngolaryngitis is also called “laryngeal paralysis”, the pathogenesis of which is cold and heat attack, lung and stomach heat, yin deficiency and fire; resulting in stiffness, hair plate, limited extension and flexion of the neck, even neck and shoulder pain or accompanied by headache, dizziness, blurred vision The symptoms of cervical spondylosis, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat, phlegm in the throat. Therefore, for cervical spondylosis and pharyngolaryngitis, the treatment principle of cervical pharynx should be adopted: the combination of disease identification and evidence identification, the combination of internal and external treatment; the treatment of cervical spondylosis and pharyngolaryngitis should be emphasized.  The pharynx is innervated by the cerebral nerves as well as the spinal nerves, mainly the branches of the cervical plexus nerve. The main nerve in the pharynx consists of nine pairs of cerebral nerves, the glossopharyngeal nerve, as well as branches of the vagus nerve and a mixture of postganglionic fibers of C1, C2, C3, and C4. When the vertebrae of C1, C2, C3 and C4 are misaligned, they will compress the nerve roots of the corresponding segments or indirectly stimulate the nerves through local inflammatory factors such as histamine, resulting in impaired microcirculation in the pharyngeal mucosa, causing mucosal congestion and edema and the formation of chronic aseptic inflammation.