Cervical Spondylosis

It is defined as the normal wear and tear process of the bone with the aging process. It affects the spinal disks between the cervical vertebrae of your neck. It can mostly affect the people with age more than 60 years.

Symptoms

Signs and symptom may vary person to person which include:

Stiffness in neck
Pain
Tingling sensation
Weakness due to the spinal nerve compression
Lack of coordination

Causes

The main cause of cervical spondylosis is aging, due to which wear and tear process become slow, and the cartilage and bone which make your backbone repair slowly after any injury some types include:
Bone spurs
Dehydrated disk
Herniated disk
Stiff ligaments

Complications

Complications due to cervical spondylosis is the compression of nerves root which produce complications like muscle weakness, lack of coordination and bladder function impairment.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis can be made by:

Physical examination to check the movement of neck and stiffness.
Check the reflexes and muscles strength
Nerve conduction test
Check the gait of patient
Imaging test like MRI and x-ray to check the images of vertebrae.

Treatment

Treatment depend upon the severity of signs and symptoms. Treatment options include:

Corticosteroids for pain
NSAID’s to relive pain
Anti-epileptic drugs
Muscle relaxant for muscle stiffness
Antidepressant
Physical therapy to strength the muscles
Surgical option includes removing of herniated disk and removing a part of vertebra

Lifestyle and home remedies

Exercise daily
Apply heat or ice on neck muscles
Take pain killers
Worn neck brace

Cervical Spondylosis