Kyphosis Of The Cervical Spine - Symptoms And Treatment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Kyphosis of the cervical spine

Kyphosis of the cervical spine is a rare pathological curvature of the cervical vertebrae. Kyphosis means posterior deflection of the neck. This condition cannot be ignored, since it entails disruption of the work of many organs, including the brain, which will experience oxygen starvation.

The development of this pathology in a person of any age and gender is not excluded.

Content:

• Causes of kyphosis of the cervical spine
• Symptoms of cervical kyphosis
• Diagnostics of the cervical kyphosis
• Treatment of kyphosis of the cervical spine

Causes of kyphosis of the cervical spine

The causes of kyphosis of the cervical spine can be as follows:

• Congenital anomalies of the structure of the cervical vertebrae. Their arches may not be spliced together, or there may be a defective atlantoaxial articulation between the occiput and the C2 and C1 vertebrae.
• Muscle paralysis, which is most often observed with cerebral palsy.
• Postponed rickets in childhood.
• Degenerative-dystrophic changes in the spinal column.
• Deformities of the vertebrae due to infectious diseases - tuberculosis or spondylitis.
• Senile age. Various diseases lead to kyphosis, which are exacerbated in people in old age. In orthopedics, there is such a concept as "senile back", which includes cervical kyphosis.
• Risk factors include ankylosing spondylitis and osteochondrosis.
• Spine injury.
• Herniated intervertebral discs.
• Malignant and benign neoplasms of the spinal column.
• Incorrect body posture while studying or working at the computer.
• Dorsal juvenile kyphosis.

Symptoms of cervical kyphosis

Symptoms of kyphosis of the cervical spine are associated primarily with the location of the pathology and are expressed by the following clinical signs:

• Decreased mobility of the cervical spine.
• Crepitation of the cervical vertebrae when trying to turn the head.
• If the vertebral artery is pinched, headaches with localization in the back of the head will be observed. Hearing and vision impairment possible. Problems with coordination of movements occur when the vestibular apparatus is damaged. Symptoms increase when you try to turn your head.
• Pain can occur as an electric shock, which is called the Lermitte pain phenomenon. The process involves the neck, both upper limbs and the spine.
• In the elbow joint, the flexion-extension reflex disappears.
• The skin sensitivity of the face (Zelder's zone) worsens, which will be associated with damage to the ternary nerve.
• Due to a violation of the blood supply to the brain, a person develops dizziness, darkening in the eyes, and fainting is possible.
• General performance suffers, thinking, memory, attention and other cognitive processes are impaired.
• Jumps in blood pressure with its fall and rise are recorded.
• Myelopathy with infringement of the vertebral artery, which saturates part of the brain with blood, is especially dangerous. Symptoms increase gradually. The patient begins to complain about the feeling of coldness in the hands, their numbness. Then the fascia tics join, muscle weakness increases.
• It is possible to develop paralysis, both central and peripheral, which occurs with strong clamping of the nerve roots. Sometimes this provokes urinary disorders.
• The patient begins to slouch, he forms a cervical hump, which occurs due to the bulging of sharp vertebrae.
• As the disease progresses, the thoracic region is involved in the pathological process, which entails problems with the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Diagnostics of the cervical kyphosis

Diagnosis of cervical kyphosis for an orthopedist is not difficult. As a rule, its presence can be assumed only on the basis of a standard examination and questioning of patient complaints.

Nevertheless, it is possible to clarify the degree of curvature of the spine, to reveal the force of compression of the nerve endings and the vertebral artery only with the help of such research methods as:

• Sighting radiography.
• X-ray of the cervical spine in two projections, you may need a picture of the entire spine as a whole.
• Undergoing MRI.

Treatment of kyphosis of the cervical spine

Treatment of kyphosis of the cervical spine should be based on the elimination of the cause that provoked the problem:

• To eliminate the kyphosis that was caused by poor posture, it will be necessary to train the patient to maintain the correct body position while walking and while sitting. There are specialized exercise therapy that makes it possible to correct posture. Corsets are not used in this case.

• With dorsal juvenile kyphosis, you will need to perform massage, undergo exercise therapy, the help of a chiropractor. Wearing a corset is possible. If it is not possible to correct the deformity angle by conservative methods, then surgical intervention with the obligatory presence of a neurosurgeon is indicated.
• Congenital kyphosis is treated mainly with the help of an operation carried out in childhood. It is important to reliably stabilize the vertebrae in order to prevent further progression of the disease. Often it is not possible to do without repeated interventions, since the child's spine is constantly growing and stretching.
• With kyphosis caused by cerebral palsy, poliomyelitis and other paralysis and muscle paresis, you will need the help of a chiropractor, exercise therapy, and physiotherapy. Surgical intervention is required if it is impossible to eliminate severe pain, or if the functioning of the brain, respiratory organs, etc.
• A fracture of the cervical vertebra is a very dangerous injury. It is she who most often leads to the formation of kyphosis and manifests itself in many other negative consequences. Situations in which the spinal cord is damaged are especially dangerous. Treatment is mainly surgical.
• With osteoporosis, osteochondrosis and other degenerative changes in the spinal column, they adhere to a conservative treatment regimen aimed at preventing the progression of the disease.

So, the main methods of treating kyphosis of the cervical spine are: physiotherapy exercises, massage, manual therapy, physiotherapy. Surgical intervention is required when the disease progresses and it is impossible to eliminate negative symptoms in a conservative way.

Author of the article: Sokov Andrey Vladimirovich | Neurologist

Education: In 2005 completed an internship at the IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and received a diploma in Neurology. In 2009, completed postgraduate studies in the specialty "Nervous diseases".