Cervical Spondylosis
It is a general term for age-related wear and tear affecting the spinal disks in your neck. As the disks dehydrate and shrink, bone spurs and other signs of osteoarthritis develop. It’s very common and worsens with age. Cervical Spondylosis is a kind of Arthritis that affects cervical vertebrae and is characterised by pain at the back of the neck (radiating towards the upper limbs) and vertigo while bending downwards. There might be sensory loss and numbness in the upper limbs. There are some degenerative changes in the cervical vertebrae. This, when coupled with trauma or incorrect posture while sitting or sleeping leads to the manifestation of Cervical Spondylosis. It is a health complaint which is increasing day by day in the young adults.
According to Ayurveda the Vata, the principle of movement is the predominant function with the skeleto-muscular system and the nervous system. Problems relating to these systems are predominantly caused by vitiated Vata. Vatavyadhis comes under a group of diseases which manifest by dhatu-kshaya or margavarana and those are classified according to hetu, sthana and lakshana. In the classification of dhatukshayajanya vatavyadhis, many degenerative conditions are considered. Cervical spondylosis can be considered one among them and can be compared with ‘Vishwachi’. The neck bone structure consists of bones stacked one over the other with sandwich of disc cartilage in between. The triangular – circular aperture within these neck bones (cervical bones) paves way for the nerves from the brain to pass through. The branches of these nerves (nerve roots) arising from through the back and sides of these bones form plexus (merge and divide) and form different nerves. This complex arrangement of nerves is called cervical plexus. These nerves spread on the sides to supply to neck, face, back of the head, ears, shoulder and the full length of the arms.
Hernia of the Disc– Slipped Disc
It is more commonly found in males of middle age group. People who are under exertion, frequent travellers and weight lifting can end up with trauma on neck bones, leading to spondylosis. Increase in Vata leads to depletion of body tissues. (For example, with ageing Vata increases and body tissues start degenerating.) The dryness and degeneration caused by Vata leads to decrease of Kapha Dosha. Sleshaka Kapha is responsible for cushioning in between bone joints. Hence disc degeneration sets in leading to spondylosis.
Causes of Cervical Spondylosis:
- As you get aged, the bones and cartilage that make up your backbone and neck gradually develop wear and tear. These changes may include:
- Herniated disks – Age also affects the exterior of your spinal disks. Cracks often appear, leading to bulging or herniated disks — which sometimes can press on the spinal cord and nerve roots.
- Dehydrated disks – Disks act like cushions between the vertebrae of your spine. By the age of 40, most people’s spinal disks begin drying out and shrinking, which allows more bone-on-bone contact between the vertebrae.
- Bone spurs – Disk degeneration often results in the spine producing extra amounts of bone, sometimes called bone spurs, in a misguided effort to shore up the spine’s strength. These bone spurs can sometimes pinch the spinal cord and nerve roots.
- Stiff ligaments – Ligaments are cords of tissue that connect bone to bone. Increasing age can make spinal ligaments stiffen and calcify, making your neck less flexible.
- Other Causes: Intake of dry, cold/ frozen, light and untimely intake of food
- Fasting for long period leads to depleted nourishment and increase of Vata Dosha.
- Junk food, prepared preserved food and cold-drinks
- Less intake of water/liquids
- Suppression of the urges
- Smoking, Stress and Insomnia,
- Traveeling for long distances and Late night work schedules
- Having more of sour, bitter, and astringent foods
- Heavy exercises or completely lack of exercises
- Weight bearing in the head, shoulder or neck and bad posture sitting habits
- Stress, Fear, Grief, Anger,Loss of interest in work etc
- Lifestyle involving overindulgence in physical, mental, and sexual activities.
Clinical features of Cervical spondylosis:
- Pain in the neck & shoulders
- Difficulty in the usual functions of the neck like rotation, flexion, extension etc
- Radiating pain to the shoulder, forearm or arm
- Muscular spasm, Numbness, Tingling & Numbness in arms
- Headache and Stiffness in the neck
- Joint stiffness and Fatigue
- Tingling sensation, numbness, weakness in the arms
- Difficulty in walking, lack of co-ordination
- Any cervical spine injuries.
Treatment for Cervical spondylosis:
Cervical Spondylosis treatment in Ayurveda works on the root-cause by balancing the doshas and strengthening the bones. Ayurveda can treat spondylitis in safe and simpler way. Treatment in Ayurveda is aimed at restoring the equilibrium through correction of the underlying functional in-equilibrium. The treatment for Cervical Spondylosis is comprehensive and may include Ayurveda internal medicines & external applications for mild cases and along with these, Panchakarma therapies in severe cases. Diet and lifestyle modifications are applied in both the scenarios. Average duration of therapy may range between 4 – 6 weeks and most of the cases experience high recovery. The heated oil helps to improve the space between the two neck bones, leading to relief from disc herniation. The oil, along with oral medicines help to improve nourishment of disc cartilage and bone, reversing the degeneration process. It’s very beneficial to relieve pain, inflammation of muscles and ligaments and to improve flexibility of neck bone joints.
- Snehana (Oleation): Both internal and external oleation are very beneficial
- Swedana (Sudation): Mild to moderate sudation to the affected area
- Mridu shodhana (Mild purgation) for normalise the vitiated vaata dosha
- Greeva basti (Retaining the medicaments in the nape of the neck) In this procedure, a compound is created around the back of the neck with black gram paste. Medicated oil (Ksheerabala oil, Bala Ashwagandhadi oil etc) is heated and is retained within the compound for a few minutes time.
- Abhyanga, Shirodhara, Pinda Sweda and Shastika Sali Pinda Swedam
- Pizhichil (pouring of warm medicated oil)
- There are plenty of heabs that helps in cervical spondylosis
- Nasyam, Shirovasti , Sarvangadhara, Navara or mamsa kizhi and Basti etc.
Yoga And Exercises: In the beginning stages, Yoga exercises to strengthen neck muscles and ligaments with Asanas. If you apply pain relieving oil such as Mahanarayana taila, 10 minutes before practising Asanas. Soorya Namaskara, Ardha Naukasana, Makarasana, and Marjariasana can help. But, you will have to seek expert advice for following these yogasanas.
Instruments that help:
- Cervical collars: recommendations are only to wear only 2-4 hours, otherwise you can alter hours eq. wear one hour then 2hours rest etc. Must not use for longer time. It helping by restricting the movement of neck. It reduce the pain and heal the ligaments faster, as lesser neck movements.
- Cervical pillow: It keeps the neck in a comfortable position during sleeping time.
Advice on Diet and habits:
- Warm water, Red rice, Milk, Butter, Ghee and Wheat
- Rest the neck as much as you can, rather than to do continous work
- Get a good night’s sleep
- Proper position while sitting and lying down which we called specially sukhasan
- All causative factors mentioned above should be avoided
- Avoid too much exposure to cool breeze, AC, fan.
- Avoid constant down face posture.
- Avoid lifting heavy weights and works that pressurise neck.
- Avoid physical and mental exertion.
- Do a regular gentle body massage with lukewarm sesame oil before shower.
- Avoid white rice, refined flour, kidney beans, and other foods that cause flatulence.
- Increase intake of oily and foods that are easily digested, sweet things, purified butter, vegetable soups, milk and almonds etc
- Exercise regularly: Neck rotation in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction, bending and stretching of neck is very helpful
- Use of garlic, ginger, turmeric, sesame seeds in daily diet helps in reduction of Vata.
Note: This all above described therapies, asanas, medicines and oils are for information. Only an expert Ayurveda physician will be able to help you after consultation. Contact us 0411114403/ 0380156343 or email on rejoice.ahc@gmail.com.
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