Cervical spondylosis: Q and A from a patient and healthcare worker

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Hello all,

I am a 25 year old male nurse with cervical spondylosis or cervical arthritis. This was due from a weight lifting accident that led to the loss of cushion between my vertebra. For the past 2 years, I have been in fairly debilitating pain but have managed through a few techniques.

First thing is first, only consider surgery if you are young, healthy, and able candidate for elective surgery. But I will employ, do not allow the pain to overtake your life and have you addicted to narcotics.

For one, narcotics may dull the pain but they are not slowing the progression of the process itself. Arthritis or anything with the word (itis) of any type means inflammation. No narcotic or pain reliever is going to have anti inflammatory properties unless you take for instance, Vicoprofen. Which is the analgesic (pain reliever opioid Vicodin) with an anti inflammatory (ibuprofen).

Surgeries used to help on areas can be anything from a laminotomy, foraminotomy, kyphoplasty, decompression, or all of the above. The goal of the surgery is to fix the underlying cause of pain. If you have tingling and numbness, maybe they will perform a laminotomy if the nerve that is be compressed is in the lamina portion of the spine, which is creating spinal stenosis and has caused that nerve to become impinged. Maybe you are suffering from constant burning/throbbing pain, crackling neck sounds, headaches that start from the neck, and pain all the way in your shoulders. Possibly a cervical decompression and fusion. Basically taking away that bone that is starting to fuse with the second lower vertebra, lifting it up to create space and placing some of a graft taken from your bone marrow (typically from the hip) and placing that in to create a new disc (the cushion needed that has been lost) and fusing the two bones back with a metal plate.

Those are all just examples of surgeries and what could take place.

What I am here to do is give helpful hints of what makes me feel better whenever I have a flare up.

-Keeping warm and not cold.

-Maintaining an upright posture.

-Plenty of fluids

-Limiting my intake of calcium. Calcium is vital for us but too much ingestion leads to higher concentrations and a faster rate of bone growth. We are trying to slow the progression those osteophytes or bone spurs.

-Anti inflammatory medications. In low dosages. No popping them like candy. Ibuprofen should be taken as prescribed on the pill bottle.

-Glucosamine/Chondrointin has been helpful. I've noticed it works best for me at night.

-Stretches 3x daily. I will publish on here the stretches and my methods that work best.

-Working out. I will give more information on this also.

Thanks for the read and hope everyone starts to feel better soon!

2

Good to read. Has anyone tried yoga.

3

Yoga is very helpful. Tomorrow I was going to post about some stretches and exercises to help with compressed nerves. Thank you for the comment on the read! It is very much appreciated.

4

I look forward to your next installment.  Hope you don't mind if I question some things critically ,  if I see the need ?

5

thanks for that insite its always good to know what helps others with simular problems to yourslef. I have osteoporosis in neck lumber and hip also spondylosis  had that now for about 47 years. i struggle with ani inflamatories they affect my stomach very quicklie so tend to avoid them. I feel you do tend to get used to the pain after a while. I also feel its good to have some pain as it tends to remind you you are limited in what you can do safely. Just my opinion and it seems to work for me. 

6

Thank you, Gerry! It should be posted sometime tomorrow. And of course. We are all here to help each other and learn, so any criticism is always constructive in my books.

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i also went and will start again to a wellness centre which is a 0 impact excersize the machines do the work and you work against them good for muscle tone and weight control i found it built up the muscle round the spine which helped against flairups. 

8

Hi Patricia. I understand completely what you mean about experiencing some sort of pain to let yourself aware of your own limitations. Anti inflammatory medicine does have that side effect. I just want it to be known to by anyone who reads my discussions that I am not a practicing physician, can not give medical advice, and only can work in my scope of practice. All of the things I write have been addressed with my general practitioner and if you wish to try the activities out, I employ you seek your provider and instruct them if that is safe or of best interest for you. Any medication that I post is strictly a remedy I have tried and advised to my primary. Thank you all for the love and comments! Will keep everyone posted.

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Hi Patricia.

I agree with what you're saying there.  Some of us 'long termers' get used to seeing pain as a limitations marker,  rather than as a sign of negative progression.  It's a different mindset almost, which evolves naturally according to the experience.  In fact,  the more expectations we have to have a 'normal' lifestyle just goes against the grain ,  and makes the aches and pains feel worse.  Whereas,  living within the limitations offers up a less complicated mindset.

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To all that have read my threads, thank you. Sorry that I have been absent from my installments. I sustained a freak gym accident. I over worked myself because of stress and caused pretty bad trauma on my lower spine. I was squatting 185 lbs and lost my balance on the re-rack machine and had the weight tumbling down. Central disc protrusion/herniation on L5-S1 and an annular tear (the tough outter ring part of the disc itself) and will require surgery. So sorry again and much love to everyone!

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I couldn't agree more with the OG poster's words of keeping warm. That help's me immensely. Hot yoga is to die for ... if you can handle it.