I was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis at the age of ...

Bones, joints and muscles
1

I was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis at the age of about 35 after suffering from pain in my left upper arm and could not lift this arm or really use it very well.

The treatment i have received is physiotherapy and pain killers, also tried accupuncture. The physiotherapy and pain killers help. There have been a number of times that I have pulled my neck by either sneezing or just moving about and been in agony for a few days and it then seems to mend and go back to normal until the next time.I have found that my posture plays a big part in my condition. If i sit and stand correctly then the symptons are not as bad.

Lately I have been getting headaches at the top of my head, towards the front and bad aches and pains in my hands. Will have to go back to doctor to see about some more physiotherapy.

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2

My husband is now 48 years of age. He has been diagnosed with advanced cervical spondylosis of neck and spine for 3 years. He has had to retire from his job, he takes blackouts, now walks with a stick.

You are very lucky that you can go to physio, he has been told there is nothing else they can do for him, its too advanced.

Good luck with your treatment.

3

I was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis 12 months ago at the age of 45.

Having been to see my GP with what i thought was a trapped nerve in my neck and right arm i was sent to have physio, which made matters worse, i was then sent for MRI scan which showed i had cervical spondylosis.

Since then matters have got alot worse i cannot move my neck without being in a great deal of pain, my right arm goes numb and i get alot of pain which makes me drop things without warning and also find it hard to stand or sit without discomfort, also walking and really bad head aches.

I have now been off work 12 months, waiting for yet more pain clinic treatment, and living off pain killers!

Good luck to anyone with cervical spondylosis and their treatment.

4

Hi

I was diagnosed with CS at the age of 36. I am now 43. The CS has affected my upper body strength very badly - I no longer work, drive, dance or swim. I cannot lift heavy things, or garden. I cannot make a bed, and I cannot hoover, or iron. (No great loss there then!!). Some days, I struggle to open packets, or peel potatoes.

I too suffer from pins and needles and numbness in both arms, sometimes pain in the legs.

I have CS in the left side of my neck, it is my right side that feels the pain, demonstrates pain, etc. I also have a mirrored weakness in my lower back - right side of course. This pain is real - it stops me from doing things = sleeping, moving etc. I am imbalanced.

You work as a whole - if something does not work properly, then the effects will be felt somewhere else. Muscle pain can be incredibly painful in its own right. It also needs to be looked after.

I have had a lot of physio, (18 months) and a lot of chiro, (4 years +),

Physio did a lot - I had lost 50% of all movement Some of which I did get back even if it is limited. Chiro does maintain movement. It is not a cure however. It wlll never provide a cure for me.

I have had an MRI, X-Rays, I have seen 3 Ortho Consultants, 1 Neurologist, 1 Rheumotologist, 3 Pain Management Consultants

I have also recently been on the long term pain mangement programme at St Peter's Hospital.

This I found difficult. I wanted to go on this programme, because I had run out of answers. I struggled with what I found - CS is a chronic condition - the truth is that you have to learn to live with it and manage it accordingly. This has messed with my head, because all the methods I had been using to manage this condition, were really not doing me any favours - loss, depression, for starters. They are saying you have to learn to live with, and manage this condition - there is no cure. The choice is up to you - if you really want to do somehting, you will do it, but you will pay a price. The rest is about managing your life, and accepting your limitations. That is very difficult, and is a long term solution.

This is not the solution for everyone - this is just the conclusion that I have reached.

I hope that this helps.

Regards

Juniper

5

I am now 51 and first went to my doctor with pain in my right arm and hand in 1995. At that time, he told me it was a straightforward case of osteoarthritis and advised me to buy a wrist brace for my hand. The pain steadily worsened and spread to my neck and back but, fortunately, I worked for a friend who was willing to accommodate my bad phases and who gradually reduced my working hours. I have twice been referred to physiotherapists, both of whom came to the conclusion that physio was doing me more harm than good. I was prescribed Meloxicam but did not notice any beneficial effect. My friend/employer retired about a year ago so I have been left without any income. I needed my GP’s help to try and pursue the benefits route. At first, he was unwilling to do so - in fact, he told me to find work despite my protestations - but, via a referral, an MRI scan in January showed that I have severe degeneration on the right hand side of my neck which is causing some compression in my spine and is sending a burning sensation down my back and right arm. My GP’s attitude changed from that moment although I do wonder why he did not send me for an MRI scan previously. It is only in the past two months that he has attached the name ‘cervical spondylosis’ to my condition. I am a single man and have to rely, to some extent, on friends to help me. Many of the symptoms reported on this forum ring a very loud bell. For instance, carrying or holding items in my right hand is a problem and, as you may guess, I am right handed. If I write for 10-15 minutes, my right arm goes dead and, eventually, I lose the function of that hand for a time. I wake up each morning with stiffness and a certain amount of discomfort in my neck, back and right arm but I find that, by just sitting on the couch for several minutes, it eases. It does not go away but becomes more manageable. Then, I have a bath which can be very relaxing. I was due to undergo a cervical epidural at the hospital a few weeks ago but the specialist decided against it. Instead, he performed a series of ‘trigger spot injections’ which seem to have changed the character of the condition without making it either better or worse. Since those injections, I have kept a diary of my aches and pains which show that, in a period of just over a month, I have had only two uninterrupted night's sleep. The injections introduced a deadening effect to the right hand side of my neck with the result that, when a doctor examined me two weeks ago, I could not even sense his fingers touching my neck although my arm and back were in some distress. A sudden intermittent intense shooting pain has returned to my neck in the past few days. The hospital has now discharged me so it seems that I am not back at the end of the queue and will have to see my GP in the next few days. Needless to say, I am not a happy bunny.

This is my personal experience so far of cervical spondylosis. So, please do not allow my comments to influence any decisions that you may have to make in your own treatment.