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 Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
1min 33sec home-news-image

What should I do about cervical spondylosis?

Having cervical spondylosis is not a big deal as long as you understand two things, which basically suffices. The first point is to determine the specific type of cervical spondylosis, as the treatment depends on the type, and different strategies are adopted for different types. The second point is to have a clear concept that once cervical spondylosis occurs, it is basically incurable. Therefore, it is essential to understand the concepts of healthcare and prevention. Let's discuss the types of cervical spondylosis. Clinically, cervical spondylosis is categorized into six types: cervical type, nerve root type, spinal type, sympathetic type, vertebral artery type, and mixed type. Cervical type cervical spondylosis generally does not require surgical treatment. The nerve root type responds best to traction. The spinal type generally requires surgical treatment. Vertebral artery type treatment involves treating both the cervical spine and arteriosclerosis. The mixed type involves the coexistence of two or more types of cervical spondylosis, and they are treated together. As for prevention, which is crucial for cervical spondylosis, it is important to pay attention to rest, maintain good sitting and standing postures, protect the cervical spine from cold, and perform appropriate cervical spine exercises to strengthen neck muscles. If cervical spondylosis episodes occur, remember not to self-medicate and seek proper treatment plans from a hospital.

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 Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
55sec home-news-image

Symptoms of cervical spondylosis of the nerve root type.

Cervical radiculopathy is the most common type of cervical spondylosis encountered in clinical practice. Clinically, it presents as partial or complete pain and numbness in the area innervated by the compressed nerve root, which is related to body posture. Firstly, the cause of cervical radiculopathy is compression of the nerve root. Secondly, compression of different nerves leads to numbness and pain in different regions. Thirdly, changes in posture, such as sneezing or tilting the head back, can exacerbate the symptoms. In clinical examinations, two tests are generally performed: the Spurling's test and the traction test. If both tests are positive, the disease can generally be diagnosed. Additional diagnostic aids such as X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs can also be used to make a definitive diagnosis of the specific nerve root compression.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Liu Yan Hao
Neurology
54sec home-news-image

Cervical vertigo characteristics

Dizziness is a typical symptom of cervical spondylosis, usually exacerbated when the patient turns their head to one side. In a normal person, when turning the head to one side, the vertebral artery on that side might be compressed, but the opposite vertebral artery can compensate by increasing blood flow, preventing cerebral insufficiency and dizziness. Conversely, in a patient with cervical spondylosis, due to osteophyte formation or changes in the curvature of the cervical spine, the vertebral artery on one side may be compressed. When the patient turns their head to the other side, the compressed vertebral artery cannot compensate by increasing blood flow, leading to insufficient cerebral blood supply and an increase in dizziness or the onset of dizziness symptoms. This explains the characteristics and mechanism of dizziness caused by cervical spondylosis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Cheng Bin
Orthopedics
55sec home-news-image

What should I do about cervical spondylosis?

In clinical practice, the incidence of cervical spondylosis is relatively high, including vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis. Usually, for such patients, it is necessary to actively apply treatments such as cervical hot compresses, acupuncture, massage, traction, massages, and electrotherapy. Additionally, it is necessary to use vasodilator drugs to improve the blood supply to the vertebral artery. Furthermore, cervical spondylosis of the spinal nerve root type also has a high incidence. Patients often experience numbness in the limbs, making it necessary to actively apply nutritional neurotrophic drugs and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics for treatment. When cervical spondylosis is severe and cannot be improved through conservative treatment, it becomes necessary to proceed with surgical treatment actively.