How to treat cervical spondylosis?

Written by Li Jin
Orthopedics
Updated on September 24, 2024
00:00
00:00

For the treatment of cervical spondylosis, it is necessary to consider various factors such as the patient's symptoms, the stage of disease progression, and imaging examinations comprehensively. Treatment for cervical spondylosis is mainly divided into non-surgical and surgical treatments. Non-surgical treatment includes cultivating good neck usage habits, avoiding prolonged sitting with the head down, and not sleeping on pillows that are too high. Performing neck exercises can also be beneficial in alleviating symptoms of cervical spondylosis. Additionally, when symptoms occur, symptomatic treatment can include the use of anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medications, nerve-nourishing drugs, and cartilage nutrition drugs, combined with hot compresses, physical therapy, and cervical traction, which can positively improve symptoms. In cases of severe nerve or vascular compression symptoms, surgical treatment may be necessary.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Su Zhen Bo
Orthopedics
1min 1sec home-news-image

What is cervical spondylosis and what are the symptoms of cervical spondylosis?

In clinical practice, cervical spondylosis refers to the condition where the cervical spine experiences growth and degeneration of bone tissues, along with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, exerting pressure and irritation on the spinal cord, nerves, and blood vessels. This results in a series of symptoms of nerve compression, which can be diagnosed as cervical spondylosis. After developing cervical spondylosis, a patient may exhibit increased muscle tone in the limbs and weakened muscular strength. Symptoms include numbness in the limbs, which can affect walking activities. When walking, there may be a sensation as if stepping on cotton, and pathological reflexes can appear in the lower limbs. Additionally, some patients may experience dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Diagnostic clarity can be achieved through electromyography, cervical spine X-rays, CT scans, and MRI.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Cheng Bin
Orthopedics
48sec home-news-image

Symptoms of cervical spondylosis

The symptoms of cervical spondylosis in clinical practice are relatively complex. Patients with cervical spondylosis typically experience neck pain and discomfort, or stiffness. Furthermore, the patients may suffer from headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, reduced hearing, and numbness, weakness, or swelling pain in the bilateral or unilateral upper limbs. Some patients might also experience palpitations, loss of appetite, unsteady walking, and a sensation of walking on cotton. These are the common clinical symptoms of cervical spondylosis. Usually, the diagnosis of cervical spondylosis requires the support of auxiliary examinations, such as CT scans and MRI of the cervical spine.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Jie
Orthopedics
1min 18sec home-news-image

Is cervical spondylosis serious?

Cervical spondylosis is a relatively common clinical disease that can be divided into many types. The more common types are localized cervical spondylosis and cervical radiculopathy. Other types include spinal cervical spondylosis, vertebral artery cervical spondylosis, sympathetic cervical spondylosis, and mixed cervical spondylosis. Generally, cervical spondylosis only manifests as local pain in the cervical spine, limited neck movement, and muscle tension in the neck. Sometimes there may be radiating pain in the upper limbs. These symptoms are not particularly severe and usually do not require surgical treatment. However, more severe cases, such as severe cervical radiculopathy or spinal cervical spondylosis, compress the local nerves and spinal cord of the cervical spine, causing symptoms like weakness in the hands and feet, tightness in the lower limbs, unstable walking, poor grip strength, numbness in the limbs, difficulty walking, incontinence or urinary retention, and limb paralysis, leading to being bedridden. In these cases, cervical spondylosis is considered serious and may require surgical treatment. Like all diseases, the severity of cervical spondylosis varies and should not be generalized.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Jin
Orthopedics
1min 2sec home-news-image

How to treat cervical spondylosis?

For the treatment of cervical spondylosis, it is necessary to consider various factors such as the patient's symptoms, the stage of disease progression, and imaging examinations comprehensively. Treatment for cervical spondylosis is mainly divided into non-surgical and surgical treatments. Non-surgical treatment includes cultivating good neck usage habits, avoiding prolonged sitting with the head down, and not sleeping on pillows that are too high. Performing neck exercises can also be beneficial in alleviating symptoms of cervical spondylosis. Additionally, when symptoms occur, symptomatic treatment can include the use of anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medications, nerve-nourishing drugs, and cartilage nutrition drugs, combined with hot compresses, physical therapy, and cervical traction, which can positively improve symptoms. In cases of severe nerve or vascular compression symptoms, surgical treatment may be necessary.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Yan Hao
Neurology
1min 6sec home-news-image

Does cervical spondylosis cause dizziness?

Not all cervical spondylosis will cause dizziness. Vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis can cause dizziness due to the hyperostosis of the cervical spine or changes in curvature that compress one of the vertebral arteries. When patients turn their heads to one side, the compressed vertebral artery cannot compensatory increase the blood flow, which does not lead to an increase in blood supply to the brain, resulting in insufficient cerebral blood supply and causing dizziness. A typical manifestation of these patients is that turning the head to one side intensifies the dizziness due to the reasons just mentioned, which is a typical symptom of dizziness caused by vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis. For treatment, drugs that invigorate blood circulation and improve cerebral blood supply are needed, along with cervical physiotherapy treatment. Generally, avoid sitting for too long, don’t use pillows that are too high, and pay attention to protecting your cervical spine. (Please follow professional medical advice for medication usage and do not self-medicate.)