Arthritis causes joints to swell up. There are about a hundred different types of arthritic conditions. Arthritis caused in the neck is known by many other names: Neck Osteoarthritis, Cervical Degeneration, Spinal Degeneration and Cervical Spondylitis.
The main causes of arthritis in general are wear and tear of the joint and the bones. Ageing, coupled with the wear and tear results in the bone getting damaged. Wear and tear usually means the joint starts to dry out. Drying out is the decrease in lubrication of tissue and fluid around the joint. This process puts additional pressure on the bones of the joint, weakening the bones. Because of the unavailability of adequate lubrication, the ends of the corresponding bones rub against each other and wear each other out. The weakened joints lead to decreased bone height, thickening of bone and bony spurring.
This change in the bones of the spine eventually leads to the symptoms of neck arthritis.
The symptoms of this form of arthritis appear only when the condition exacerbates. Mild neck arthritis patients will not have any symptoms.
Strenuous activity or sitting in the wrong posture will aggravate the symptoms. The symptoms are generally relieved when the patient is lying down or relaxed.
Some of these symptoms are simple and sometimes mistaken for some other conditions. A proper diagnosis is very important. A physiotherapist will usually do a detailed examination. Diagnosing neck arthritis is a long procedure and will require you to undergo a lot of tests. For starters, an X-ray will be very helpful. Sometimes a CT scan or an MRI is also ordered. All these tests are important to identify the severity of the condition.
There is no real treatment for arthritis. Arthritis involves pain management and strengthening bones and muscles with exercises. The key to arthritis treatment is to improve the quality of life by improving the intensity and correctness of everyday activities.
The symptoms can be managed with physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is very effective and helps patients remain active. The exercises aim to keep the patient active and perform everyday activities without needing assistance.
When the symptoms aggravate, patients should first follow the Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation methodology. These steps involve alleviating the pain from the aggravating symptoms. Once these symptoms are under control, then the longer term physiotherapy goals can be undertaken.
Some of the physiotherapy techniques that can be done are:
Medication can also be prescribed to manage the pain better. Arthritis usually uses strong pain killers to help manage pain.
You can also try exercises like shoulder blade squeezes, neck rotations, chin tucks along with trying some yoga poses or asanas. Chiropractic care is another alternative therapy that has shown positive results for patients of neck arthritis.
In some cases surgery is also recommended. It is usually suggested only in extreme cases and with the understanding that it might not be successful. Laminectomy is one suggested surgery. Spinal fusion is also a surgery that is sometimes recommended in serious cases of neck arthritis.
Reference