I. Overview.
Cervical spondylosis is a common disease today, mostly in middle-aged and elderly people. Those who are engaged in long-term low head and neck and shoulder weight, such as typists, office workers, IT workers, accountants, bank workers, writers and workers who operate with their heads down, are the high incidence group. Bad habits, such as playing mahjong, playing cards, sleeping on high pillows and lack of physical exercise are also important factors in the development of the disease. Wang Xinchun, Department of Rehabilitation and Pain, Qinghai Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Cervical spondylosis is a series of syndromes caused by the instability of the cervical spine, small joints and osteophytes, indirect stimulation or direct compression of its surrounding nerves, blood vessels and muscles after cervical spine degeneration. According to statistics, the incidence of cervical spondylosis in China is about 10%, while the incidence in Xining, Qinghai is about 13%. Nowadays, with the increasing pace of work and pressure of life, the incidence has a tendency to increase, and the age of onset has been advancing, and the disease has become more common among young people in recent years.
“As a result, many patients lose the opportunity of early treatment and the clinical treatment of the disease becomes more difficult. In fact, the prevention and early treatment of cervical spondylosis is precisely the key.
Second, clinical manifestations.
The common basic symptoms of cervical spondylosis are: cervical soreness and sleepiness, dizziness, night pillow discomfort, repeated pillowing, etc. The symptoms of cervical spondylosis are complex and diverse, and are divided into the following types according to the pathology.
1. Cervical type.
It is manifested as neck pain, uncomfortable activity, with shoulder and back pain, or with migraine, etc.
2. Nerve root type.
It may be accompanied by numbness or nociceptive sensation in the upper limbs and fingers, and loss of muscle strength, etc.
3. Vertebral artery type.
It manifests as sudden onset of vertigo, with repeated attacks, especially aggravated when turning the head or tilting the head, accompanied by headache, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, or even sudden collapse.
4. Sympathetic nerve type.
The symptoms include headache, migraine, nausea, eye swelling, blurred vision, tachycardia, precordial pain, increased blood pressure, abnormal sweating; or dry eyes, bradycardia, decreased blood pressure, gastrointestinal distension, etc.
5. Spinal cord type.
It manifests as weakness, soreness and numbness in the upper and lower limbs, unstable walking and holding, such as stepping on cotton, and tightness in the chest and abdomen. In severe cases, paraplegia may occur.
6. Mixed type.
The above two or more types appear at the same time.
III. Diagnosis.
In general, the diagnosis can be initially confirmed based on symptoms and signs, and if necessary, X-rays are taken. In a few special patients, further MRI, CT scan, cerebral hemogram, blood test, ECG, EMG, hearing test, etc. are required to confirm the diagnosis.
IV. Treatment.
According to statistics: without taking any measures there will be 70% of patients with cervical spondylosis with long-term symptoms. Therefore, symptoms should be treated at the hospital as early as possible, while delaying too long may aggravate the lesion, make treatment significantly more difficult, and even lose a good time for treatment and leave sequelae.
Usually, traction and massage are more effective and have fewer side effects, but caution should be exercised during the acute phase of cervical spondylosis. U spinal cord type cervical spondylosis is generally prohibited, special circumstances must be carried out carefully under the strict guidance of a specialist to avoid serious adverse consequences. The treatment methods of cervical spondylosis generally also include physical therapy, Chinese medicine, western medicine oral or intravenous drip treatment, acupuncture treatment, nerve block injection treatment, rehabilitation functional exercise treatment, etc.
V. Prevention.
Maintaining correct and good living and working posture and habits and insisting on long-term, moderate and reasonable physical exercise are the keys to preventing the onset and recurrence of cervical spondylosis. At the same time only pay attention to treatment and neglect prevention is often difficult to obtain good results.
1. Avoid working with your head down for a long time.
If necessary, do a few minutes of neck and shoulder relaxation activities every half hour, such as head turning, shoulder shrugging, chest expansion exercises, etc.
2. avoid high pillow sleep.
It is generally advisable to choose a buckwheat pillow is better to sleep when the pillow is shot into the middle slightly lower and slightly higher on both sides of the shape, the height of the middle 6 to 9 cm, the height of the two sides of about 15 cm. And sleep with your head on the back half of the pillow to avoid the neck overhang. In addition to take a flat, left-sided, right-sided posture alternate sleep, to avoid a long time a posture sleep.
3. Strengthen physical exercise.
Long-term reasonable physical exercise can reduce the incidence of cervical spondylosis and effectively prevent recurrence.
4. Develop good living habits.
Avoid playing mahjong, playing cards, using computer, watching TV while lying down, irregular work and rest, etc. often.