Review after cervical spine surgery After being discharged from the hospital after cervical spine surgery, it is generally required to come to the hospital for outpatient review at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after surgery. For patients undergoing anterior cervical spine surgery, films are taken to observe the fusion of the cervical implants and, if there is an internal fixation in the surgery, to observe whether the internal fixation is stable. If the bone graft fusion is reliable and the internal fixation is stable, the doctor will recommend the patient to remove the cervical collar at 4 weeks to 3 months after surgery; otherwise, the cervical collar fixation time should be extended appropriately. For patients undergoing posterior cervical spine surgery, radiographs are taken to observe the enlargement of the cervical spinal canal, to observe how stable the cervical spine is, and to observe whether the internal fixation is stable if there is an internal fixation in the surgery. If the stability of the cervical spine is good and the internal fixation is stable, the doctor will advise the patient to remove the cervical collar 2 to 8 weeks after surgery, otherwise the cervical collar fixation time should also be extended appropriately. At the time of review, if the patient’s symptoms do not improve satisfactorily, or if they are worse than before surgery, the doctor will ask the patient to review the MRI again to observe whether there is still residual compression in the spinal cord, or whether there is degeneration or cavity formation in the spinal cord, and to analyze and find the cause. After the surgery, neck trauma should be prevented. In particular, the neck should be prevented from being shaken back and forth violently when riding in a car with a sharp brake, which can lead to injury. Therefore, it is best to lie flat on the car (with bent legs and flexed lower extremities) when discharged from the hospital to go home by car. Care should also be taken within one year after surgery to avoid sudden stresses on the neck and trauma to the neck to prevent re-aggravation of symptoms after surgery. Colds should also be prevented after cervical spine surgery, as they can aggravate symptoms. Patients should start functional exercises as early as possible after cervical spine surgery. About a week after cervical spine surgery, after the pain in the neck and collar has basically disappeared, they should start to exercise the collar and back muscles under the protection of the neck collar to prevent and control the disuse muscle atrophy of the collar and back muscles. Spinal cord type cervical spondylosis can present with muscle weakness and atrophy of the extremities and stiffness of the joints. After surgery, while the spinal cord continues to recover, the muscle strength and functional activities of the limbs should be actively exercised. Exercises for the upper limbs include shoulder, arm and wrist activities and fist clenching exercises, as well as training for fine hand movements, such as threading needles, tying clothes buttons, holding chopsticks, etc., or enhancing hand strength and flexibility through exercise ball exercises. Exercises for the lower limbs include contraction exercises for the quadriceps, leg lifting and kicking, etc. Patients can also practice walking with the accompaniment or assistance of family members and escorts to enhance the strength of the lower limbs and restore the function of the lower limbs as soon as possible. If the patient has difficulty in moving on his own due to heavy paralysis, the family or escort should actively massage the patient’s limb muscles and help the passive movement of limb joints to prevent disuse atrophy and joint stiffness. As the neck collar is worn for a long time after surgery, it can cause muscle atrophy and weakness in the neck collar. Therefore, generally from 8 weeks after surgery, under the wearing of the neck collar, should gradually start to carry out the exercise of the collar and back muscles. This will help to improve the blood circulation of the neck and collar muscles, improve the symptoms of neck strain, prevent the disuse atrophy of the collar and back muscles, and promote the recovery of muscle strength. If available, the above functional exercises can be performed under the guidance of a physical therapist for better results. In addition, in posterior cervical spine surgery, due to the requirements of the surgical operation, it is inevitable that the muscles of the cervical collar must be stripped to expose the cervical vertebral plates and complete the surgical operation. Therefore, most of the postoperative patients may experience muscle weakness in the cervical collar, and some patients may also experience pain in the cervical collar, soreness and weakness, and easy fatigue. Therefore, posterior cervical spine surgery should be more active to strengthen the muscle exercise of the collar and back muscles to restore the function of the collar and back muscles as soon as possible to maintain the stability of the cervical spine and relieve the symptoms such as neck and back pain caused by the weakness of the muscles of the collar. Patients after cervical spine surgery, not only in the recovery period of the disease, but also after the patient’s symptoms are completely eliminated and the disease is healed, should also pay more attention to the rest and health care of the neck, prevent overwork, pay attention to avoid wind and cold, strain, trauma, and strengthen the exercise of the collar and back muscles, which is not only conducive to the early recovery of the disease, but also helps to avoid the recurrence of symptoms after the patient is healed.