Cervical spondylosis is roughly defined as a combination of cervical disc degeneration itself and a series of secondary pathological changes such as (destabilization and loosening of the vertebral joints; herniated or prolapsed nucleus pulposus; bone spur formation; ligamentous hypertrophy and secondary spinal stenosis, etc.), which stimulate or compress the adjacent nerve roots, spinal cord, vertebral artery and cervical sympathetic nerves, and cause a variety of symptoms and signs. Therefore, the disease is also called “cervical spine osteoarthropathy” and “cervical spine syndrome”.
Since the cervical spine is located between the head, chest and upper extremities, it is the smallest of the spinal vertebrae, but has the greatest flexibility and frequency of activity, and is the segment that carries the most weight. Therefore, since birth, as the human body grows, develops and matures, it is susceptible to degenerative pathological changes due to various loads, strains and even trauma. It is generally believed that degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs of the spine begin after development into adulthood, but the degenerative changes vary greatly from person to person, and become more pronounced with age, and induce or promote degenerative changes in other parts of the cervical spine. From a biomechanical point of view, cervical 5-6 and cervical 6-7 are under the most stress, so cervical spondylosis occurs more frequently in these segments.
The clinical symptoms of cervical spondylosis are complicated, mainly including neck and back pain, upper limb weakness, finger numbness, lower limb weakness, difficulty walking, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and even blurred vision, tachycardia and difficulty swallowing. The clinical symptoms of cervical spondylosis are related to the location of the lesion, the degree of tissue involvement and individual differences.
Who is prone to cervical spondylosis?
I. In terms of age
With the growth of age, excessive chronic strain on the cervical spine can cause degeneration of the intervertebral disc, weakening of elasticity, formation of bone spurs at the vertebral body edge, disorder of small joints, thickening of ligaments, calcification and a series of other degenerative pathological changes, therefore, more middle-aged and elderly people suffer from cervical spondylosis.
Second, from the occupational point of view
Long-term low desk workers or head and neck often turn in a certain direction is prone to cervical spondylosis. These occupations include office workers, typists, scribes, computer operators, accountants, embroiderers, operating room nurses, long-term microscope viewers, traffic police and teachers. Although the workload and work intensity of these occupations are not great, improper work posture and long-term head down cause strain on the posterior cervical muscles, ligaments and other tissues (when the head is down, the internal pressure on the intervertebral disc is greater), or the head and neck are often tilted to one side causing local strain. Therefore, the incidence of cervical spondylosis is higher among the staff of these occupations.
Third, in terms of sleep posture
When the pillow is too high, too low or pillow parts are not appropriate, bad sleep posture for a long time, sleep time and can not be adjusted in time, easy to cause the vertebral muscles, ligaments, joints balance disorders, the side of the tension is easy to fatigue and produce varying degrees of strain injury. Therefore, people who like to lie on high pillows and have repeated “pillow” history are prone to cervical spondylosis. In addition, lying reading, watching TV when the head for a long time a single posture and other people in daily life, too much bad posture, also prone to cervical spondylosis.
Fourth, patients with a history of head trauma
Cervical spine injuries caused by traffic accidents and sports injuries often induce the occurrence of cervical spondylosis. Post-traumatic cervical spondylosis is more common in young people. Such as inappropriate exercise in sports activities, more than the amount tolerated by the neck; accidental trauma to the neck caused by a mishap in military training, etc., often leads to the onset of the injury after the intervertebral disc and ligament cannot be repaired.
Fifth, there are congenital deformities of the cervical spine
such as congenital spinal stenosis, congenital vertebral fusion, cervical ribs and hypertrophy of the transverse process of the 7th cervical vertebra, etc., are prone to cervical spondylosis. Inflammation of the throat can sometimes be the cause of cervical spondylosis symptoms.
How to prevent and treat cervical spondylosis?
If you have cervical spondylosis, first of all, you should set up the correct concept, actively cooperate with the doctor, correct the bad sitting and lying posture, develop good living habits and pass the attack period, and once the new mechanical balance is established in the internal and external environment of the cervical spine, its condition will naturally tend to stabilize.
Treatment methods for cervical spondylosis are divided into two categories: surgical and non-surgical. Some research data show that only 5% of cervical spondylosis patients need to receive surgical treatment, so 95% of cervical spondylosis patients can apply non-surgical methods to relieve their pain.
Non-surgical treatment methods for cervical spondylosis include internal and external use of drugs, manipulation, acupuncture, physical therapy, traction, etc. Each method has a certain effect. Each method has a certain effect, and generally two or more methods need to be used together to receive a good treatment effect.
I. Advantages and disadvantages of common treatment methods for cervical spondylosis.
Drug treatment: advantages: pain relief and anti-inflammatory mainly, the treatment of cervical cervical spondylosis has a certain effect. Disadvantages: toxic side effects, long-term use of drugs on the gastrointestinal liver and kidney function are damaged.
Physiotherapy: advantages: massage, traction, acupuncture, fumigation and other methods can accelerate blood circulation, relieve muscle fatigue, muscle tension and spasm. Disadvantages: long-term persistence is effective, and the treatment effect is not obvious for spinal cervical spondylosis and severe cervical spondylosis.
Cervical brace treatment: Advantages: proper restriction of excessive cervical spine activities and control of cervical spondylosis development mainly. Disadvantage: Only as an auxiliary treatment, it cannot eradicate the disease.
Minimally invasive treatment: advantages: percutaneous endoscopy, PLDD, percutaneous excision and suction, collagenase, radiofrequency targeted ablation are less invasive and without pain such as general anesthesia. Disadvantages: Among them, percutaneous endoscopy (which can be performed through anterior and posterior approaches) to surgically remove the herniated disc under direct vision is currently the best minimally invasive procedure to treat herniated cervical discs. The latter four: PLDD, percutaneous excision and suction, collagenase, and radiofrequency targeted ablation all indirectly achieve treatment by partially removing the central nucleus pulposus of the disc, thus decompressing the periphery of the disc, which is effective for inclusive cervical disc herniation but not for patients with cervical disc herniation and free, cervical spinal stenosis. Overall, the risks of minimally invasive cervical spine surgery are greater compared to open surgery.
Open surgery: Advantages: open surgery is a method that can completely cure spinal cord type cervical spondylosis and other more serious types of cervical spondylosis, with complete decompression, little trauma, and less risk compared to the risk of minimally invasive surgery. Disadvantages: the posterior cervical spine tendons and soft tissues are more damaged, which can easily lead to muscle atrophy and postoperative cervical spine axial (i.e. mechanical neck and shoulder back pain, which is aggravated after activities, especially in cold and humid environment, the pain is aggravated significantly).
Second, the prevention of cervical spondylosis.
1.Correct bad posture and avoid keeping the cervical spine in a fixed position for a long time.
2, to avoid cold neck, including sweat and rain, wind and cold, etc.
3, choose the correct sleeping position and a suitable pillow, the general height of the pillow should be slightly higher than their shoulder width, the texture of the pillow should be soft and flexible; when sleeping on your back, the pillow should be padded under the neck as far as possible; when sleeping on your side, avoid pressing the pillow under the shoulder. Do not use a pillow with a hard texture and a fixed shape when sleeping.
4.Avoid trauma, such as emergency brakes, lifting heavy objects, etc. caused by acute neck injury.
5.Prevent infection and actively treat neck infection and other neck-related diseases at an early stage.
6.Cervical spine health exercises.
(1), neck muscle exercise. The main practice: the hands crossed fingers on the neck, the head force backward, the hand force block, against the force, although the head did not move, but through the two directions of the force of the contest to let the corresponding neck muscles contraction; the same, we can use the hand against the left side of the head, the head to the left, the hand and the head resistance, the right side of the same. You can also rotate the neck left and right, and rub the neck muscles with your hands. This exercise can relax the tense muscles of the neck, which has a good protective effect on the neck.
(2), “rice” exercise. The way is to use the head as a “pen”, repeatedly write “rice” in the following order: first write a horizontal, head as far as possible from left to right to draw a horizontal, head back to the right position; and then write a vertical, head and neck as far as possible to stretch forward above, from top to bottom to draw a vertical line, head back to the right position; head and neck as far as possible to Stretch the head and neck as far as possible to the upper left into a 45-degree angle, the head back to the right position, the same method to write the right point of the word rice, the head back to the right position, the head and neck as far as possible to the upper right stretch, to the left below the drawing of an apostrophe, the head and neck back to the right position; head as far as possible to the left before the upper stretch, to the right below the drawing of a press, restore the head and neck to the right position. The action should be gentle, do not force too hard, do 1 to 2 times a day, to feel light and comfortable head, neck and shoulders.
(3) Lift your chest and head, look to the right and left. When flying a kite, lift your chest and look left and right to keep the muscle tone of cervical vertebrae and spine. When swimming, the head is always lifted upward, the neck muscles and lumbar muscles are exercised, and there is no burden on people in the water, and it will not cause any damage to the intervertebral discs.