Cervical spondylosis is the technical term for ‘age-related wear’ to the spinal disks in the neck. This condition can cause some pain and discomfort, however in many cases it will actually remain asymptomatic with no obvious signs.
That said, it’s important to be vigilant when looking out for tell-tale signs. After all, this problem is rife: affecting over 85 percent of people older than 60, and potentially leading to other more serious problems such as pain, discomfort, numbness, weakness, or even loss of bladder control.
In this post, we’ll take a look at how you can spot those early warning signs of spondylosis, such that you might be able to get it addressed before it develops into something more serious that requires more urgent treatment or that negatively impacts on your way of life.
And of course, if you’re unsure, then it always pays to see your physician and find out.
Here are 8 signs of spondylosis.
1 Pain in the Neck
Spondylosis is caused by the normal degradation, dehydration, and damage that occurs to the discs (vertebral discs) in the neck, between each vertebra.
These discs have a range of different important roles, as we will see in a moment. One of the most important though is simply to help pad the vertebrae and to prevent them from chafing against each other and creating friction. When this happens, it can cause discomfort and damage to the neck over time.
Moreover, it can also lead to swelling, and it can irritate the nerves that live there. Thus, if you find yourself with regular neck pain, then it’s possible that spondylosis is responsible – especially if you can’t think of anything specific that you did that might have caused the discomfort.