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What Is Cervical Spondylosis Without Myelopathy?

Cervical spondylosis is a condition in which your bones and cartilage wear down with age, resulting in a loss of normal spinal function. Also called cervical osteoarthritis, cervical spondylosis typically affects those over 40 and can include radiculopathy or myelopathy.

  1. Myelopathy

    • When bone spurs and other problems caused by cervical spondylosis reduce the size of the canal around the spinal cord it becomes known as cervical spondylosis.

    Radiculopathy

    • When cervical spondylosis compresses spinal nerves which branch out from the cervical vertebrae, it is known as cervical radiculopathy. This condition is cervical spondylosis without myelopathy.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms include neck pain and stiffness, abnormal reflexes, lack of coordination and loss of bladder or bowel control. You may experience pain, numbness, weakness or tingling in your shoulder, arms, chest, hands, legs or feet.

    Treatment

    • Treatment includes over-the-counter pain and anti-inflammatory medicines, neck braces, physical therapy, muscle relaxers, corticosteroid injections in affected joints, rest and hospitalization with traction to immobilize the neck.

    Surgery

    • Surgery is used if other treatments fail and your pain gets worse. A surgeon will remove bone spurs or a herniated disk, rearrange neck bones and put in an implant where bones or disks were removed.

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