How Does Cervical Spondylosis Occur?

spinal stenosis

For stressed and busy people, neck pain is very common. It can be due to many things you do and oftentimes, it is mostly related to your age. As you age, your intervertebral discs little by little degenerate just like other of the parts of your body. Usually, this leads to arthritis. Neck arthritis is also known as Cervical Spondylosis. It is the deterioration of the neck's joints, and is common in old. High percentage of people older than the age of 60 is at risk or is affected by this condition. Cervical spondylosis uncommonly becomes a disabling type, though it's a type of arthritis.

Loss of water content and disc degeneration of your spine can cause arthritis. When you were younger, water content is higher in your spinal discs. However, as you age, the discs start to weaken and dehydrate. This leads to a problem resulting from the decreased height and settling of the disc spaces.

Increased pressure in the surface joints can result to the degeneration and development of arthritis which also happen in hip arthritis or knee joint. The cartilage that wraps and shields your joints is destroyed. Complete destruction of the cartilage can lead in rubbing bones (bone colliding with another bone). Bone spurs may grow in the surface joints as a reaction of the body to the worn-out cartilage. This happens to better support the spinal cord. As time passes by, this overgrowth of the bone, which are called bone spurs, may constrict the gap for the nerves to cross. The narrowing of the space in between the spinal cord is called stenosis.

Cervical spondylosis can attack anyone, especially the elderly. If you're wondering if you are one of them, take a look at the following risk factors.

Genetics

Oftentimes, people who have family history of neck pain may acquire Cervical Spondylosis. A handful of studies show that the occurrence of cervical spondylosis increases with patients who has a family history of neck pain. Confirmation for this information is still pending with continuing research.

Smoking

Smoking cigarettes stimulates constriction of the blood vessels due to its nicotine content. This may cause you different symptoms, one of which is neck pain.

Occupation

What you do in your job affects your body. A job that uses many overhead work and strenuous movements involving the neck is linked with the development of cervical spondylosis.

Mental Health Issues

Not only strenuous physical activity can make you susceptible to cervical spondylosis. Even mental and emotional imbalances can result to neck pain. Anxiety and depression is highly associated with cervical spondylosis.

Trauma or Injury

The most common and immediate cause of neck arthritis is trauma or injury to the neck, head or trunk area. Some examples are car accidents, job injury and accidental fall from high places.

Chances of having cervical spondylosis increase if you have these symptoms. Assess yourself if you have these risk factors. If you think you are a candidate for this condition, take the initiative to change those things or activities that you can modify. It's never too late.