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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How To Manage Cervical Spondylosis?

I am 66 and have just been told I have cervical spondylosis. I am slightly overweight but very regular with my morning and evening walks. I have been put on Signoflam tablets twice daily and Volitra gel for a week. Hourly exercises involving my neck have also been prescribed. After a week, the orthopedist has said he will review if I should go in for physio therapy. I have a nagging pain in my left shoulder and sometimes the pain travels down my left hand. Both hands feel weak most of the time. I am not into full time work, so do not sit at one place for long. I work on my computer for a few hours a day, checking mails, blogging and doing surfing. What lies ahead and what precautions I can take?
Wed, 11 Feb 2015
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,
You are experiencing symptoms of cervical myelopathy where the cervical nerves which supply your hands and neck, get pinched by the growths near the borders of the vertebrae, which called osteophytes. If the symptoms are worsening, (and there is a scoring system for that) and the spine surgeon feels you satisfy the scoring system, you might need a surgery in the future. The exact type of surgery and approach are guided by the symptoms and what imaging shows. As for the precautions you can start with putting on a hard cervical collar which would restrict movement in the neck and alleviate the symptoms. For the initial few days it will be cumbersome and might seem to make the problem worse, though if you persist it should help. There may be skin maceration etc., due to continuous friction and sweat. Kindly discuss this with your physician before wearing a collar.
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How To Manage Cervical Spondylosis?

Hi, You are experiencing symptoms of cervical myelopathy where the cervical nerves which supply your hands and neck, get pinched by the growths near the borders of the vertebrae, which called osteophytes. If the symptoms are worsening, (and there is a scoring system for that) and the spine surgeon feels you satisfy the scoring system, you might need a surgery in the future. The exact type of surgery and approach are guided by the symptoms and what imaging shows. As for the precautions you can start with putting on a hard cervical collar which would restrict movement in the neck and alleviate the symptoms. For the initial few days it will be cumbersome and might seem to make the problem worse, though if you persist it should help. There may be skin maceration etc., due to continuous friction and sweat. Kindly discuss this with your physician before wearing a collar.