Cervical spondylosis diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation guidelines

  With the rapid development of science and technology, the products of modern civilization, such as computers, the Internet and automobiles, are quietly damaging our bodies, especially the health of the cervical spine, while improving people’s standard of living. In recent years, cervical spondylosis has become the highest incidence of degenerative diseases of the spine. Among them, the “white-collar” class is the best group of people with cervical spondylosis.  Cervical spondylosis (cervical spondylosis) refers to degenerative changes in the cervical disc and secondary pathological changes that involve the nerve roots, spinal cord, vertebral artery, sympathetic nerve and other surrounding tissue structures with corresponding clinical manifestations.  The degenerative changes of the cervical disc that occur with age are the pathological basis of cervical spondylosis. Long-term ambulation, driving, cold in the neck, poor sleep posture, neck trauma, and inflammation of the throat are all predisposing factors for cervical spondylosis.  According to the different tissues involved, cervical spondylosis is divided into 7 types: ① cervical type, ② nerve root type, ③ spinal cord type, ④ sympathetic nerve type, ⑤ vertebral artery type, ⑥ esophageal type, and ⑦ mixed type. In the cervical type, cervical stiffness and pain are common; in the nerve root type, upper limb pain and numbness are common; in the spinal cord type, clumsy hands and staggering gait are common; and in the sympathetic nerve type and vertebral artery type, vertigo and other clinical manifestations are common.  Except for the spinal cord type, cervical spondylosis is mostly treated conservatively. A large number of clinical observations show that the efficacy of comprehensive treatment is optimal. It has become a consensus in the medical field both at home and abroad to treat the disease with holistic complex sequential therapy. The specific methods include ①Chinese herbal medicine, ②acupuncture, ③external application of Chinese medicine + TDP electromagnetic wave therapy instrument to promote the transdermal absorption of drugs, ④cervical traction, ⑤neurotrophic agents, dehydrating agents, analgesics, etc.  Surgery is the main treatment method for spinal cord cervical spondylosis, and postoperative use of traditional Chinese medicine and neurotrophic agents can improve nerve function and enhance the efficacy of surgery. Overall, the surgical efficacy of spinal cord cervical spondylosis is ideal, but the efficacy of the disease is closely related to the age of the patient and the duration and degree of spinal cord compression. The younger the patient is, the shorter the spinal cord compression time and the lighter the degree, the faster the postoperative recovery and the better the result; conversely, the longer the recovery time, the worse the result. Therefore, once the diagnosis is confirmed, surgery should be performed promptly.  The main preventive measures for cervical spondylosis are to change the lifestyle that is not friendly to the cervical spine and to carry out the necessary cervical spine health care. Such as the correct use of computers, sleep with the right choice of pillow, do not drive fatigued, control the time of playing mahjong, Internet, computer games, do not overuse air conditioning, etc. Exercises such as cervical spine health exercises, kite flying, badminton and swimming are beneficial to the health care of the cervical spine and are worth advocating.