Every person’s body changes and withers with the passage of time. Neck arthritis is not too rare a disease that can abruptly affect an aging human being. How many times did your grandfather shout in pain every time he had to turn his neck towards you? As years go by, bones turn brittle and caterpillars learn to fly. So does one’s cervical spine undergo pitiful changes, hence limiting head turning ranges. We can’t erase the fact that as we grow old, our nerves and blood flow get affected. This loss of function may either be propelled by age-related degenerative change (osteoarthritis) or autoimmune disease (rheumatoid arthritis). Sometimes, calcium build ups and bony growths speed up the incidence of neck arthritis. One must not undermine the gravity of neck arthritis and take it lightly. It requires immediate medical attention. Alternatively called ‘cervical spondylosis’, this disease is treated with cervical collars or braces to restrict movement of the neck. Let’s take a look at some of the common symptoms revealed by the rising prevalence of neck arthritis.
Signs & Symptoms Of Neck Arthritis
Signs & Symptoms Of Neck Arthritis
- When turning around to catch even a quick glimpse becomes troublesome, then you or the concerned person has a lot to worry about. Neck pain and stiffness are the most obvious indications of neck arthritis and the good part is it can be treated with substantial effort and patience.
- Degenerative changes and development of bone spurs along the neck can be traced on X-rays and may even be asymptomatic for some time.
- The pressurized nerves tend to cause numbness in hands and fingers, disallowing the sufferer to efficiently use a mobile phone or any such device. There’s very often a tingling in the shoulders.
- Neck arthritis is often accompanied by excruciating pain in and around the shoulders making it extremely difficult to move them so as to execute day to day movements.
- Episodes of throbbing headaches are rather frequent for those inflicted with neck arthritis.
- The predominant stiffness curtails a person’s ability to even bend or turn their necks and heads from one side to another.
- Weakness is often exhibited in the arms of the sufferer, although the arms are indeed far from the neck. This weakness inevitably leads to clumsiness, making it hard for the concerned individual to handle delicate objects.
- To make thing worse, the pain and weakness from the arms may creep right down to the legs. Whenever, neck arthritis attacks, it is not unusual to experience an unhelpfully decreased level of sensation and vibration around the leg and foot area. They tend to get very unsteady while walking.
- Pain radiates up into the skull or down along an arm.
- People suffering from neck arthritis experience the pins and needles (paraesthesiae) sensation in their arms.
- Urination problems are another evident neck arthritis symptom. In some instances, patients urinate a little too often in comparison to before, while some cannot control their bladders and urinate right away.
- Neck arthritis limits the ability of the head and neck to rotate easily or bend the head toward the shoulder.
- Coughing and sneezing sends shooting pain in the neck, arms or shoulders or it may worsen the weakness in the legs.
