The word “cervical spondylosis” refers to age-related damage to your neck’s spinal disks. Bony protrusion around the margins of bones are among the osteoarthritis symptoms that appear as the disks dry out and shrink (bone spurs).
The prevalence of cervical spondylosis increases with age. Cervical spondylosis affects more than 85% of adults over 60.
Cervical spondylosis typically has no symptoms. When symptoms do appear, nonsurgical therapies are frequently successful.
Causes
The bones that make up the neck and back gradually lose strength as people age. Changes like these might be:
- Dehydrated disks. Disks act like cushions between the vertebrae of the spine. By the age of 40, most people’s spinal disks begin drying out and shrinking. As the disks become smaller, there is more bone-on-bone contact between the vertebrae.
- Herniated disks. Cracks also appear on the exterior of the spinal disks. The soft interior of a disk can squeeze through these cracks. Sometimes, it presses on the spinal cord and nerve roots.
- Bone spurs. As the disks break down, the body may produce extra amounts of bone in a misguided effort to strengthen the spine. These bone spurs can sometimes pinch the spinal cord and nerve roots.
- Stiff ligaments. Ligaments are tissue strands that join one bone to another. Age-related spinal ligament stiffening can reduce the flexibility of the neck.
