Symptoms of cervical spondylosis are so contradictory that in the early stages of the disease, people often make an incorrect diagnosis and treat a completely different disease. But over time, clearer signs appeared and it became clear that the cause of the disease was damage to the spine. Cervical spondylosis progresses silently due to its gradual progression, so many patients do not suspect that they are at risk for the disease for a long time.
The disease can be caused by congenital or acquired trauma, genetics, physical overload, poor posture and being overweight. Each case has its own reasons for the formation of this disease.
Stages of development of cervical spondylosis
Symptoms of cervical spondylosis depend on the stage the patient is in. At each stage of spondylosis, they manifest differently. There are four stages in total.
- Early stage. There is initial destruction and loss of elasticity of the intervertebral discs. It may be accompanied by neck pain, but sometimes it's just a temporary feeling of discomfort that few people pay attention to.
- Second stage. The spaces between the vertebrae are narrowed and the annulus fibrosus is destroyed. Severe pain becomes constant due to nerve root compression. Symptoms of the disease become evident and treatment of cervical spondylosis symptoms often begins at this stage. It is necessary to start performing exercises to treat cervical spondylosis.
- Third stage. Complete destruction of the annulus fibrosus is observed. Hernias between the vertebrae and significant deformities of the spine appear. Migraines, nausea, dizziness, and numbness of the extremities are commonly observed.
- Fourth stage. Symptoms of cervical spondylosis become more severe and manifest as sharp pain when moving. Bones form and develop, restricting movement.
Main symptoms of cervical spondylosis
Cervical spondylosis symptoms and treatment will largely depend on the stage and neglect of the spondylosis as well as the patient's health status; At all stages they are completely different.
The most typical manifestations of cervical spondylosis are:
- severe headache in the back of the head, temples, top of the head;
- dizziness, fainting;
- severe pain spreading down the arm and shoulder;
- impaired coordination and vision;
- sharp pain in the forehead and temples;
- change in voice tone, hoarseness, snoring;
- pain spreading to the chest;
- heart attack similar to angina;
- toothache;
- numbness of face and fingers;
- difficulty breathing, nausea, eye and heart pain;
- memory loss and decreased intelligence;
- pain in the neck, forearm, arm;
- noise in the ears;
- tingling in extremities, weakness, chills.
Main syndrome of cervical spondylosis
Cervical osteonecrosis can occur in many different forms in different patients. Doctors have combined those symptoms into a clinical syndrome.
Heart syndrome
It has similar symptomatic characteristics to angina. Because of this similarity, there is a serious risk of not treating ischemic heart disease instead of cervical spondylosis. Characterized by irritation of the nerve roots of the thoracic region or phrenic nerve. This syndrome is accompanied by prolonged paroxysmal pain. Tachycardia and extrasystole are observed. But the electrocardiogram did not show any abnormalities.
Reflex excitatory syndrome
It is always accompanied by a burning sensation and uncomfortable pain in the neck-occipital area, especially acute when moving. Symptoms of cervical spondylosis, manifested by this syndrome, include severe pain in the shoulders and chest.
Nerve root syndrome
Better known as cervical sciatica. It appears when the nerve endings of the cervical spine are compressed. When the nerve root is compressed, the pain threshold gradually decreases from the neck to the shoulder blade, moving to the shoulder, forearm and fingers. There may be flabby, tingling, goosebumps sensations.
Vertebral artery syndrome
The patient begins to feel severe headaches, throbbing pain in the forehead, top of the head, back of the head and temples, which can be continuous or paroxysmal. If the immune system is weakened, dizziness, nausea, and fainting may occur. Visual acuity is reduced, the ears hear noise, and the activity of the vestibular apparatus is disrupted. Sometimes there is a significant decrease in vision.
Degeneration of the cervical and thoracic spine
Symptoms of cervical thoracic spondylosis are very similar to cervical spondylosis. But the special feature of this complication is that the wrong diagnosis is often made. It is often confused with angina or vegetative-vascular dystonia. Unfortunately, many patients have to take useless medications until it is discovered that the cause of the serious illness is thoracic osteoarthritis.
It is characterized by pain similar to intercostal neuralgia, myocardial ischemia, cholecystitis or gastritis. Moving the body is very difficult, the patient is afraid of taking deep breaths.
Symptoms of cervical osteoarthritis
Symptoms of cervical thoracic spondylosis also have their own characteristics, and the treatment differs little from the general treatment principles for this disease. The main manifestations of this disease:
- asthenic syndrome;
- migraine;
- hypertension;
- lack of coordination;
- double vision or stars in the eyes;
- dizzy;
- neck, chest, heart pain;
- numbness and coldness in the fingers;
- pain in the arms, shoulders, along the ribs;
- constant noise in the ears.
Many patients think that the symptoms of the disease are just constant pain, but that is not the case. Dangerous complications leading to disability may occur. Progressive osteonecrosis leads to cervical spine protrusion, herniation, intercostal neuralgia, radiculitis, and complete deformity of the fingers.
Therefore, if you periodically feel pain of various types or the symptoms listed above are familiar to you, immediately seek professional help.