Spondylosis is a common condition affecting many individuals. You can get spondylosis at any point in life, but it develops in middle-aged people and older adults. Spondylosis is a spinal degeneration condition that primarily impacts the neck. The degeneration occurs from abnormal wear and tear of the cartilage and bones in the neck area, which is the location of the cervical vertebrae in the spinal structure.
As you age, the bony structures that make up the spine and support the neck start deteriorating. This progressive degeneration gives rise to chronic neck pain. Over time, such degeneration can press down on nerve roots, which can even lead to the involvement of your spinal cord. Aside from gradual ageing, degeneration of the spine may occur due to several factors, such as:
- Poor posture
- Neck or spinal injury
- Incorrectly sitting
- Leading a sedentary lifestyle
- Partial disc dislocation
- Having a sedentary lifestyle
The vertebral bones in your spine contain discs that act as cushions between the cervical vertebrae and the joints. By the time you are 40, you can begin drying out your spinal discs and shrink. As the bones come closer, they rub against each other and give rise to neck pain and spondylosis. Spondylosis may also develop due to bone spurs, herniated discs, or stiffness of the ligaments. As a result, you start to experience the symptoms of spondylosis, including pain and stiffness in the neck.
While the usual symptoms of spondylosis may begin with stiffness in the neck and back along with pain in this region, you may be surprised to know that when spondylosis initially occurs, it may be asymptomatic. Thus, the symptoms usually appear often due to a nerve getting pinched due to a bone spur. You can check the following symptoms of spondylosis and compare them with your symptoms so that you can know when to seek treatment.
The common symptoms of spondylosis include:
- Pain in the arms and shoulders, lower back, and legs
- Difficulty in moving the neck and back
- Stiffness in the neck and back
- Headache and dizziness
Sometimes, when spondylosis progresses into cervical myelopathy, you may experience some additional symptoms, such as:
- Numbness and/or tingling in the limbs when the nerve is pinched
- Lack of coordination
- Difficulty in balancing or walking
- Loss of bladder and bowel movement, which is known as Cauda Equina syndrome
- Weakness in hands and foot muscles
When you experience these symptoms, you can find it difficult to perform your regular activities. Hence, you should not wait for your spondylosis symptoms to worsen before seeking medical attention. Plus, the good news is that your spondylosis symptoms can be treated with only four weeks of QI Spine therapy at QI Spine Clinic.
When you visit us with your symptoms, our QI spine specialists will perform a physical evaluation to assess the intensity of your pain, the range of motion in your neck and back, and the risk of nerve pinching. They may recommend getting a spine or neck X-ray to look for arthritis or other changes in your spine.
Your QI Spine care team at QI Spine Clinic comprises highly skilled and well-experienced spine specialists and physiotherapy experts who will guide you through a customised routine of spine rehabilitation. It consists of physical therapy and medications to manage your symptoms and cure your spondylosis condition. Backed by advanced spondylosis treatment at QI Spine Clinic, including our novelty Cell Repair Treatment and surgery in case your condition progresses to cervical myelopathy with spine compression in your neck, you can rest assured of getting access to best-in-class spine care treatment at the hands of qualified spine specialists with supreme medical expertise and compassion.
