Since the cervical osteoarthritis is caused by damage of the bones in the neck area, most patients that suffer from neck arthritis had a particular background that lead them to this illness at old age.
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| Neck arthritis causes pain in the neck area |
Some of them unrolled activities that overworked the spine and neck, due to heavy weight carrying, or by doing activities that imply using the hands in front of the body. A different category of patients is the ones that suffered from traumas in this particular part of the body.
The symptoms of the disease are minor in the first stages of evolution, as being insignificant or in-existent. When the illness progresses, the symptoms become more prominent.
Symptoms of Neck Arthritis:
- Stiffness and pain in the neck area start to appear, and the mobility of the neck decreases.
- In more severe cases, the pain is associated with pin and needles feeling, numbness or weakness in the neck is also felt.
- The pain can start to spread to shoulders, arms, hands or in the area of the upper back.
- Even headaches are often associated with this disorder.
Some symptoms may diminish if the patient lies down, with the condition of adopting a correct position, or if warmth is applied to the painful area, like warm bandages or showers.
Treatment of Cervical Arthritis:
- As medical treatment, anti-inflammatory drugs are often used to reduce the pain in the neck and its surrounded area.
- Also, Glucosamine supplements are widely used to rebuild damaged joints.
- Muscle relaxants are another part of the treatment for neck arthritis, as it relaxes the muscles for a lesser feel of the pain.
- Rest is a must in order to ease the pain.
- Also, there are special exercises that needed to be done by patients to diminish the load that this disease is putting over their bodies.
- A chiropractor can also help, by making the necessary adjustments to relax the bones and neck area.
