Cervical Spondylosis
The term Spondylosis simply means progressive degenerative diseases affecting intervertebral discs, facet joints, Ligamentum Flavum of your cervical spine.[1] It commonly results from natural aging process and seen in majority of population after 5th decade.[2] Advancing age is major contributory factor for development of cervical spondylosis. Besides age related wear and tear, spinal trauma, narrowing of vertebral canal since birth or sports like Rugby, Soccer and Horse riding may also lead to this condition.
Common Symptoms that You Might Experience
- Continuous neck pain
- Stiff neck
- Symptoms of cervical radiculopathy i.e. tingling and numbness in a part or whole of the upper extremity depending on the nerve that is getting compressed
- Sudden electric shock like pain felt in spine and upper limb when you move your neck in certain directions (Lhermitte’s sign)
- Loss of balance and difficulty in walking
- Loss of grip strength and weakness
How Physical Therapy can Help You
Physical Therapy plays crucial role in effective management of cervical spondylosis. In our initial assessment, we will evaluate your pain type, frequency, duration, intensity etc. and positions or activities that aggravates or relieves your symptoms. Besides that, assessing strength of you neck muscles, available range of your neck movements, assessment of sensations will reveal the severity of the condition. Certain special tests will help to rule in or out cervical spondylosis.
Pain reduction is our first goal as pain will not allow you to perform full range of movements. Use of Interferential Current (IFC) helps in reducing muscle spasm and thus mitigates pain. Hot pack also serves the same purpose by removing waste products at faster rate and providing increased flow of oxygen. Other than this, cervical collar can also be used in initial periods to assist in reducing pain.[3] During initial periods when there is severe pain which is restricting you to perform any movements, Isometric exercise of Deep Neck Flexors naming Rectus Capitis Anterior, Rectus Capitis Lateralis, Longus Colli and Longus Capitis muscles helps in maintaining their property and provide greater stabilization to your spine.[4] When pain subsides, isotonic and resisted exercises of these muscles along with scapular muscles namely Serratus Anterior and Rhomboid muscle can also be done.
In addition to this, Maitland Mobilization of cervical and thoracic spine helps in mitigating pain and improves your neck mobility.[5] Cervical Spondylosis results in Forward Head Posture which can be corrected by selective stretching of Upper Trapezius, Sternocleidomastoid and Levator Scapulae muscles.[6]
If you are suffering from cervical spondylosis, then here are some tips for you:
- Avoid prolog sitting
- Avoid heavy weight lifting
- Avoid using thick pillows
- Avoid smoking
References:
1) Kuo, D. T., & Tadi, P. (2023). Cervical spondylosis. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
2) Kumar, Y., Sinha, A. K., Kumar, R., & Kataria, C. Soft Vs Philadelphia Collar: A Short Term Effect on Pain, Gait and Balance in People with Cervical Spondylosis.
3) Sadeghi, A., Rostami, M., Ameri, S., Karimi Moghaddam, A., Karimi Moghaddam, Z., & Zeraatchi, A. (2022). Effectiveness of isometric exercises on disability and pain of cervical spondylosis: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 14(1), 108.
4) Afzal, K., Sajjad, A. G., Memon, S. I., Tariq, R., & Sulaiman, M. (2022). Effects of Maitland s segmental mobilization and general spine mobilization in patients with cervical spondylosis. Rawal Medical Journal, 47(4), 940.
5) Chen, Q., Wang, Z., & Zhang, S. (2023). Exploring the latest advancements in physical therapy techniques for treating cervical spondylosis patients: A narrative review. Biomolecules and Biomedicine, 23(5), 752.
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