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 have lower limbs that do not follow the command, and a feeling of stepping on cotton; some patients have abnormal sensations such as headache, dizziness, loss of vision, tinnitus, nausea, etc. Some patients have abnormal sensations such as headache, dizziness, loss of vision, tinnitus, nausea, etc.; a few severe cases may have loss of control of urination and defecation and even tetraplegia. Not all manifestations are manifested in every patient, but often only some of the symptoms appear, and most patients have mild manifestations and a long course of illness.
Why do I get cervical spondylosis?
The pathophysiological process of cervical spondylosis is quite complex. There are various factors that contribute to its development. However, the following factors play an important role in the development and recurrence of cervical spondylosis.
1, the age factor: like a machine, with the growth of age, the wear and tear of the human body parts is increasing, the cervical spine will also produce a variety of degenerative changes, and degenerative changes in the intervertebral disc is the most basic and critical basis for the development of cervical spondylosis. In addition, the degeneration of small joints and various ligaments also have an important role to play.
2, chronic strain injury: is a variety of more than the normal range of excessive activities brought about by injury, such as poor sleep, improper height of the pillow or improperly padded parts, repeatedly fallen pillow also has a higher prevalence. 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, head and neck trauma is more likely to induce the generation and recurrence of cervical spondylosis. Patients often have sudden onset after minor trauma, and the symptoms are often heavy, and the combination of fracture and dislocation adds difficulties to the treatment.
4, developmental spinal stenosis: spinal stenosis is more likely to occur in cervical spondylosis, and the prognosis is relatively poor.
5, congenital deformities of the cervical spine: various congenital deformities, such as congenital vertebral fusion, skull base depression, etc. are easy to induce the occurrence of cervical spondylosis.
6, metabolic and rheumatic disease factors: due to various reasons caused by human metabolic disorders, 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.
What are the subtypes of cervical spondylosis?
The disease can be roughly divided into six types, namely cervical, radicular, spinal, vertebral artery, sympathetic and mixed.
1. 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, tightness and stiffness of the neck in the morning, and inflexibility of activities.
2.Nerve root type: It is the most common type of cervical spondylosis, accounting for about 60%. Neurogenic cervical spondylosis is a disease caused by cervical spine degeneration and hyperplasia, which stimulates and compresses the cervical nerve root. Patients often feel pain and numbness in the head, neck, shoulders, arms and hands, and the numbness mostly appears in the fingers and forearms.
3.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, the patient may experience unilateral or bilateral numbness, soreness and weakness in the upper or lower limbs, and in severe cases, symptoms such as difficulty in moving and unstable walking may occur.
4.Vertebral artery type: It is also a common type of cervical spondylosis, which is based on the degeneration of the cervical spine, causing insufficient blood supply to the vertebral artery, and causing a series of diseases. At the onset of the disease, patients have varying degrees of vertigo, and are also accompanied by nausea, vomiting, re
5, vision, tinnitus, deafness and other symptoms. Vertigo occurs whenever the patient tilts his head back, lowers his head to read a book, suddenly turns his head, or repeatedly turns his head from side to side. Sudden collapse is a characteristic symptom of this disease, often when the neck is turned, sudden occurrence of limbs
6, numbness, weakness and fall down, 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 referred to as mixed cervical spondylosis .
How to self-examine whether there is cervical spondylosis?
1.Long-standing headache or dizziness;
2.Pain or soreness in the neck and shoulders;
3, unexplained arrhythmia, angina-like symptoms;
4, untreated hypotension or hypertension;
5, unexplained acid reflux, eructation, nausea and vomiting;
6, numbness and weakness of the extremities, or strange sensations, such as pins and needles, burning, cold, ants crawling through the itchy feeling or as if wearing gloves as a sense of weakness;
7, buttoning, tying shoelaces, pinching pen writing such as movement is not coordinated
8.Sudden numbness of the whole body when lowering the head, or an electric-like sensation
9, unexplained repeated “pillow”.
If you have any two of the above nine, you should consider whether you have the possibility of cervical spondylosis. It is recommended to come to the clinic for further examination.