06 Jun Treatments for Cervical Spondylosis
Do you have shoulder and neck pain? It could be a condition termed Cervical Spondylosis in medical parlance. To know more about this disorder and its treatment, read the post below.
What is cervical spondylosis?
The backbone (or spine) is a very long and complicated part of the entire musculoskeletal system. Medically, the bone of your back is divided into four major parts as follows: Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, Sacral, and Coccyx. The segmentation is from top to bottom.
Here, the cervical part is the bone in your neck. When this part of your backbone comprising the neck bone wears down with age, it causes neck pain. Medically, this neck bone damage or degeneration is termed Cervical Spondylosis or Osteoarthritis of the neck.
Causes
This is an age-related degenerative disorder. It happens as a natural part of ageing and the accompanying wear and tear. However, external traumas like road accidents or falls can speed up the process.
Can we treat cervical spondylosis permanently?
If you mean the reversal of the degeneration changes, it is impossible. However, medical intervention will help with pain, inflammation, and motion-related disabilities.
Treatments
The following are the options to alleviate neck pain and manage the condition up to a considerable extent.
- Painkillers
- Physical Therapy
- Traction
- Neck Braces or Collars
- Injections
- Surgical interventions
The first option is pain management. Your doctor will offer you several medicines to relieve you of intense pain and inflammation issues.
Physiotherapy helps with muscle stiffness and pain because it involves exercise, massage, and ice-heat temperature.
Traction is also part of physiotherapy in which mild to moderate stretching is used to alleviate the condition of pain around the neck area.
Neck braces and collars help keep the inflamed neck in place and it makes sure that the situation doesn’t get worse and thus, the pain doesn’t flare up.
Corticosteroid injections are used to reduce inflammation if the ongoing pain is too much.
When these medicines or conventional options fail, surgical treatments can be introduced to correct the situation.
If you are looking for an experienced specialist, click on the best doctor for cervical pain in Delhi.
Can we prevent cervical spondylosis?
No, it cannot be prevented altogether. This is because it is age-related. As you cannot prevent ageing, you cannot prevent CS.
Yet, not taking care of certain things can speed up the degenerative process of the cervical spine. Consider the following advice.
Nutritional Deficiency: If you avoid home-cooked nutritious meals and prefer junk foods, you might be at a higher risk of getting CS as it will make your cervical bones and discs weak and thus, prone to speedy wear and tear.
Chronic Dehydration: Drink enough water or chronic dehydration will cause a deficiency of fluid contents within your vertebrae and intervertebral discs of the cervical spine. It will expedite the wearing down process.
Osteoporosis: Not taking enough calcium and vitamin D is one of the major risk factors for osteoporosis. And, once this condition has set in, you are always at a higher risk of developing cervical spondylosis.
External Traumas: If you have been recently involved in road accidents or any such traumas causing injuries to the cervical spine, it will make the degeneration process happen faster.
Lack of Mindfulness: Suppose you are on your morning run listening to music. And, all of a sudden, you trip over something you didn’t notice on the way, hurting your neck bones and muscles. If injuries are not given medical attention in time, it will get worse and make the wear and tear faster than otherwise.
Emotional Stress: Emotional stress and tension are linked to causing degenerative changes to happen faster because tense people are more prone to alcoholism and smoking. Junk food consumption is also associated with putting you at a higher risk of getting cervical spondylosis.
How to prepare for surgical intervention
If cervical spondylosis has occurred to the cervical spine and you need to go through any surgical procedure to correct the condition, here are a few tips for you to get better prepared for the process.
- Stop smoking.
- Avoid alcohol consumption.
- Don’t drink too many carbonated drinks as they contain high sugar levels.
- Educate yourself on the procedure as much as possible. It will help you get over irrational and pointless fears.
- Go and talk to people who have already gone through the same situation before you.
- Prepare yourself emotionally.
- Stay positive as emotional stress or resistance might complicate things as you won’t be able to get relaxed as expected for a complication free outcome.
Conclusion
Cervical Spondylosis is a condition of the cervical spine where vertebrae and intervertebral discs become damaged because of normal functioning or use. It is part of ageing.
However, it doesn’t mean you don’t have any solution at all. Degenerated bones cannot be made like they were before. But, the doctor can do several things to manage pain, muscle stiffness, and inflammation to alleviate discomfort and promote quality of life.
In case the damage is severe, the doctor will suggest some surgery as per the circumstances of cervical spondylosis.
Before consulting an orthopedic doctor in Delhi, make sure that they are well-qualified and experienced enough to ensure the best treatments.
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