For modern people who “keep their heads down”, if they suffer from cervical spondylosis, their necks may not necessarily hurt?

Modern people's cervical spine

It's really a bit stressful.

Sitting or standing, I often keep my head down.

Even when lying down

Those tall and lively pillows

I am also doing weight training for my cervical spine.

What? You said your neck didn't hurt much?

Is your cervical spine ok?

First, check if you have any of these symptoms.

Perhaps many people have this kind of psychological activity - working, studying or lying there playing with their mobile phones, and after a long time they feel pain in their necks, which can't be relieved for a long time, and then they start to worry:

"Oh no, I'm afraid my cervical spine is not good."

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Once the pain is gone and I feel fine again, I comfort myself:

"There is no such thing as cervical spondylosis. It's all an illusion. I'm in good health."

In fact, whether or not the neck hurts cannot necessarily be used as a criterion for diagnosing cervical spondylosis. Some symptoms of cervical spondylosis will manifest themselves in other places.

There are several common types of cervical spondylosis according to the cause: cervical type, nerve root type, vertebral artery type, sympathetic nerve type, spinal cord type, mixed type, etc.

Different types of cervical spondylosis have different symptoms:

1

Cervical spondylosis

● Neck pain;

● Tight and stiff neck muscles;

● Pain when pressing;

● Limited neck movement;

● More common in young people;

Note: Cervical spondylosis can be said to be the early stage of cervical spondylosis, which is caused by degenerative changes in the cervical spine. Some people begin to feel neck pain, which may be an early manifestation of cervical spondylosis.

2

Cervical radiculopathy

● Numbness or tingling in the back of your hands or fingers;

● Dull or severe pain in the neck;

● Symptoms worsen after exertion;

● Upper limb weakness;

● More common in middle-aged people.

3

Vertebral artery type cervical spondylosis

● Blurred vision;

● Frequent headaches and dizziness;

● Having symptoms of deafness and tinnitus;

● Feeling dizzy when turning the head.

4

Sympathetic cervical spondylosis

● Dry or tearful eyes;

● Frequent dizziness and headaches;

● Symptoms of abdominal distension and diarrhea;

● Often feel chest tightness and palpitations;

● Frequent cold sweats.

5

Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

● Numbness in the lower limbs, a feeling of walking on cotton;

● Often feel weak in the limbs;

● Weakness in the limbs;

● Bowel and bladder dysfunction;

● Can be induced by trauma;

● Common in middle-aged and elderly people.

6

Hybrid

● Contains two or more symptoms.

Among these symptoms, you should pay special attention to whether you have experienced numbness, headache and dizziness . Many people cannot associate them with cervical spondylosis, but in fact, at least 60% to 70 % of cervical spondylosis patients have suffered from these symptoms.

If you feel that these symptoms are particularly obvious in yourself, you should consider making an appointment to see the hospital.

When people feel pain in their back, waist or neck, many of them will subconsciously think of finding a massage parlor to relax their muscles.

"If you press it in the right place, it won't hurt."

This kind of thinking is unacceptable.

For patients with cervical spondylosis, random massage without knowing their condition may cause more serious consequences.

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If you think about it carefully, you will understand that cervical spondylosis is essentially damage to the cervical nerves, muscles or bones , and the cervical spine itself cannot withstand the damage.

If you massage it too hard, your condition may get worse immediately if you are unlucky.

Exerting too much force won't bring about miracles, but it may leave you with high-level paraplegia, so don't count on luck.

If you really feel uncomfortable, especially if you have numbness in your limbs or a feeling of walking on cotton , you should go to a professional medical institution as soon as possible.

Head and neck resistance: lift your head and chest, hold your head with both hands, look straight ahead, tighten your jaw, and feel a slight stretch in the muscles at the back of your neck.

Raise your arms: cross your fingers, raise your hands, palms facing up, look up at the back of your hands and hold for 5 seconds.

If you think this posture is a bit troublesome, then nodding or moving your head when you have nothing to do will also be good for your cervical spine. The worst thing is to sit in the same posture for a whole day.

In addition, some people may think that they hurt their cervical spine because they bury their heads in work every day, so when they go home to play with their mobile phones, they lie on the bed with their heads up to play , hoping to neutralize the cervical fatigue during the day.

This method is useless. In fact, looking up or looking down at your head for a long time can cause similar damage to your cervical spine, just in different directions.

If I really insist on continuing, my cervical spine will probably be injured even more seriously.

If you don't want to get cervical spondylosis, the key is to maintain a correct sitting and sleeping posture. Don't bend your back, don't sleep with a pillow that is too high or too hard, and give your cervical spine more space to relax.

Relying solely on remedial measures after the fact will probably only make you feel worse.

Statement: This article is a medical-related educational popular science article. It does not involve specific treatment methods or medical behaviors and cannot replace hospital visits.

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References

[1] Liu Xueli, Ding Jin, Liu Jing, et al. Study on the prevention and treatment of different types of cervical spondylosis by exercise therapy[J]. Medical Information, 2022, 35(17): 170-172.

[2] Xin Shijie. Investigation and study on TCM constitution types in adult patients with cervical spondylotic radiculopathy[D]. Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2021. DOI: 10.27368/d.cnki.gtzyy.2021.000229.

[3] Huang Gongyi. Common types and clinical characteristics of cervical spondylosis[J]. New Medicine, 1997, (05): 7-8.

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Editor: Zhang Fuyao

Map: Eastern Zhou Dynasty