If your hands and feet often experience tingling and pain in the neck area, it could be a sign that you have cervical spondylosis. This disease is usually experienced by people who are elderly.
However, it can occur in young adults, especially those with a history of neck and head injuries.
However, most sufferers do not realize it because they do not experience any symptoms and only feel it when they are elderly. For more details, here is information about understanding, symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment.
The waist is also a part that is very prone to joint pain problems, read this article to find out the causes of back pain and how to deal with it.
It is a term that is often used to describe the damage that occurs to the spine in the neck area, usually due to age. When the discs (the cushions or parts located in each vertebra) are dehydrated and shrink, this is a sign that disc inflammation has occurred in the organ.
Cervical spondylosis often does not cause any symptoms. This is because the damage that occurs to the cushion and cervical spine does not press on the nerves in the spine.
But when the damage causes the spinal canal to narrow. Then, there are several symptoms felt by sufferers, including the following:
1. Neck stiffness.
2. Neck pain that gets worse when sneezing or coughing, even when sitting and standing.
3. Pain that progressively spreads to the head, shoulders, arms, and may extend to the fingers. Sometimes these symptoms are accompanied by headache or vertigo.
4. Tingling sensation, numbness, stiffness, and weakness in the hands, arms, legs, and feet.
5. The appearance of movement in the limbs that occurs suddenly without realization (involuntary).
6. Difficult to coordinate movements and difficult to walk.
7. Loss of bowel or bladder control making it difficult to resist the urge to urinate or defecate.
The structure of the backbone and neck as we age will gradually deteriorate, causing several changes, including:
When reaching the age of 40, most will experience shrinkage in the discs due to reduced fluid flowing in each segment. This condition makes the contact that occurs in each vertebra increase.
In addition to dehydration, the disc also protrudes (herniates) due to the neck bones that begin to become brittle and crack with age. The hernia in the bone cushion of the bone is what ultimately presses on the nerves in the spine, causing a pinched nerve in the neck.
When the discs degenerate or the bone cushion becomes thinner, this causes the cervical vertebrae to form calcifications (bone spurs or osteophytes) to protect the integrity of the cervical vertebrae. However, the increased bone tissue can press on the spinal nerves, causing them to become pinched in the neck.
The increasing age factor will also make the ligaments or connective tissue between the neck bones become stiff and the flexibility of the neck decreases.
Apart from age, there are several other factors that can cause cervical spondylosis, including:
1. Frequent activities with a lot of repetitive neck-centered movements that put a lot of pressure on the neck.
2. Genetic factors because those whose family members have a history of this disease have a high potential risk of developing the same disease.
3. Bad habits such as smoking can trigger the onset of various serious diseases, one of which is vertical spondylosis.
4. Having experienced an injury to the neck and surrounding areas is also more susceptible to this disease. This is because the injured neck can accelerate the aging process.
Now that you know the causes and symptoms of cervical spondylosis, it's time to find out what medical measures can be taken. In general, how to treat it depends on the severity of the symptoms experienced.
If the symptoms are mild, you can take painkillers or compress the painful neck with ice or warm water. In addition, you can also use a neck brace (collar neck or brace). However, this method should not be used for the long term because it can weaken the neck muscles.
If the symptoms are more severe, the doctor will usually advise you to undergo physical therapy or even be referred for a surgical procedure. If this happens, it is best to ask to be referred to Neurosurgery Clinic Persada Hospital as it has professional neurologists as well as medical equipment with advanced technology.
To be able to diagnose a pinched nerve in the neck, a medical interview is usually conducted first about the complaints and medical history. Then, a physical nerve examination and supporting examinations are carried out to confirm the diagnosis, such as:
1. X-ray of the spine to detect calcification as well as to rule out other diseases such as fractures, infections, or tumors.
2. CT scan followed by an injection of contrast fluid; the function is to see a more detailed picture of the spine.
3. MRI to determine more specifically which nerve tissue is compressed.
4. Electromyography (EMG) to measure the electrical activity between muscles and nerves, both at rest and during contraction.
5. Nerve conduction test to measure the speed and strength of nerve signals.
For the layman, many people think that these two disease terms are the same. In fact, each disease has a different meaning.
If cervical spondylosis is a condition of damage to the bone cushions of the back neck, then cervical radiculopathy is the pinching of the patient's nerves because of damage to the bone cushions.
That is why there is a medical term spondylosis with radiculopathy. It is a disease in the form of a pinched nerve disorder due to pressure on the nerve roots of the spine.
Based on the experience of a patient at Persada Hospital, the Anterior Micro Discectomy (AMD) surgery was performed live and witnessed by his family. After the operation, the pain that often radiates from the arm to the back and tingling that has occurred for decades finally disappeared instantly.
In fact, there is also the recognition of Mr. Woan Fat Min who had difficulty walking for one year finally recovered after undergoing Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) surgery performed by a team of doctors at Persada Hospital.
Based on the experience of patients who have been treated at Persada Hospital, it proves that this hospital is able to provide integrated services supported by the best technology and experienced medical personnel to be able to handle various problems related to cervical spondylosis.
A pinched nerve is also a problem that really needs to be avoided, read here about the symptoms of a pinched nerve.
So, immediately visit Neurosurgery Clinic Persada Hospital to conduct further checks if you experience symptoms such as the points above. Don't forget to check the practice schedule before consulting a neurosurgeon! For more information, contact us!
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