Cervical Spondylosis and Its Potential Complications

Cervical spondylosis is a prevalent condition that can be ameliorated through various modalities such as massage, hot compresses, regular physical activity, and, in severe instances, medication prescribed by a physician. This ailment poses a risk of ten significant complications that threaten human health. Consequently, individuals suffering from cervical spondylosis should seek prompt and targeted treatment while avoiding prolonged maintenance of the same posture.

1. Cervical Vascular Diseases

Annually, nearly 1 million cases of cerebrovascular disease are diagnosed nationwide, with 26% of these attributed to cervical spondylosis. This stems from compression of the vertebral-basilar arteries, resulting in inadequate cerebral blood flow. Prolonged exposure to this state may manifest as dizziness, limb numbness, unsteady gait, and even cerebral thrombosis or infarction, potentially leading to hemiplegia. Timely cervical spondylosis treatment can prevent severe consequences like stroke or hemiplegia.

2. Cervical Breast Pain

This condition frequently affects middle-aged and elderly female patients with cervical spondylosis. Initially, they may experience pain in one breast or pectoral muscle, characterized by intermittent or episodic stabbing sensations. The pain intensifies when turning the head to one side and can become unbearable. Misdiagnosis as angina pectoris or pleurisy is possible due to compression of the sixth and seventh cervical nerves by bone proliferation.

3. Cervical Vertigo

Patients with long-standing, untreated "hypertension" may discover that their condition is actually due to cervical spondylosis. This ailment can cause fluctuations in blood pressure, with hypertension being more common. Such patients often exhibit cervical spondylosis symptoms like neck pain, stiffness, and upper limb numbness. Hypertension treatment may be ineffective, but controlling cervical spondylosis symptoms typically leads to blood pressure reduction. This is linked to dysfunction of the vertebral-basilar artery blood supply and sympathetic nerve stimulation caused by cervical spondylosis.

4. Cervical Vision Disorders

Some cervical spondylosis patients may initially present with vision disturbances, including decreased vision, intermittent blurred vision, ocular pain or discomfort, photophobia, tearing, unequal pupil sizes, and even reduced visual field or acuity. These symptoms exhibit a clear correlation with changes in neck position. Vision disturbances are often noticed when the head and neck are in certain prolonged or awkward positions. These disturbances are associated with autonomic nervous system dysfunction and inadequate blood supply to the occipital lobe visual center caused by cervical spondylosis.

5. Cervical Angina

Patients experiencing "angina pectoris" symptoms unresponsive to standard medication should consider whether cervical spondylosis may be the underlying cause. This can occur due to irritation and compression of cervical nerve roots innervating the diaphragm and pericardium by bony protrusions in the cervical spine, or due to cardiac sympathetic nerve stimulation. Symptoms may include precordial pain, chest tightness, arrhythmias like premature ventricular contractions, and ECG ST segment changes, leading to misdiagnosis as coronary heart disease. Pressing tender areas near the cervical spine can elicit pain, and symptoms may worsen with specific head positions or postures but improve with positional changes. Cervical spondylosis treatment can effectively alleviate these symptoms.

6. Cervical Dysphagia

Some patients may initially experience throat itching or a foreign body sensation, followed by intermittent dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) of varying severity. A minority may also experience nausea, vomiting, hoarseness, dry cough, and chest tightness. Many of these patients are suspected of esophageal cancer but have normal esophageal endoscopy results. Cervical spine X-ray examination reveals cervical spondylosis with visible bony protrusions or other degenerative changes on lateral X-ray films. This is caused by rapid bone proliferation at the anterior edge of cervical vertebral bodies, compressing the posterior esophageal wall and causing esophageal stenosis. Alternatively, it may be due to autonomic nervous system dysfunction caused by cervical spondylosis.