Risk of weakness due to cervical spondylosis

Weakness due to cervical spondylosis is a condition of partial or complete loss of mobility of the arms and legs due to damage to the cervical spine causing compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots. This is a serious and dangerous complication of cervical spondylosis, occurring when the disease progresses over a long period of time without detection and treatment.

MSc. Nguyen Thi Anh Ngoc, Department of Musculoskeletal and Rheumatology, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi, said that when the cervical vertebrae degenerate, bone spurs or herniated discs can form, compressing the spinal cord and nerves, impairing nerve conduction function, causing some warning signs of weakness.

Neck pain spreads to the arms due to degeneration causing compression of the nerve roots coming out of the cervical spine. The pain originates from the lower neck and spreads to the shoulders, shoulder blades, arms and hands along the path of the pinched nerve. Patients may have increased neck and shoulder pain when turning their neck, bending their head or exercising vigorously. If compression persists without intervention, nerve function can be seriously damaged, reducing the mobility of the upper limbs and affecting the patient’s daily activities.

Numbness, paresthesia, and loss of sensation due to compression of nerve roots and spinal cord often cause symptoms of stinging, burning, and tingling in the hands and fingers, sometimes spreading to the legs. In some cases, there may be decreased sensation or loss of sensation in some nerve-controlled areas.

Weakness in limbs reduces mobility and makes walking difficult. Patients are clumsy or lose the ability to grasp and perform delicate movements such as buttoning a shirt, holding a pen, typing on a computer…

Urinary and urination disorders and loss of balance occur when the patient has severe cervical spondylosis. Developing bone spurs or herniated discs narrows the spinal canal space, putting direct pressure on the cervical spinal cord for a long time. The patient has difficulty maintaining balance when standing, falls easily, and even has bladder and bowel dysfunction, difficulty urinating, and incontinence. This is a symptom that requires emergency treatment to avoid the most dangerous complication, complete paralysis.

Dr. Ngoc recommends that to prevent weakness, people with cervical spondylosis should follow the treatment regimen and follow-up appointments. Adjust the correct working and living posture, exercise appropriately to avoid weight gain, strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles, and build a balanced diet to avoid worsening degeneration.

Patients should not crack their necks, forcefully adjust or stretch their necks at unsecured facilities, should not buy painkillers and take them for a long time to cover up neurological symptoms, should not delay examination when their limbs are weak, walk unsteadily or have bowel and bladder disorders…

When examined, the doctor does a general clinical examination, checks the neck, muscle strength, limb reflexes, electromyography (EMG), X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)… to diagnose the cause of weakness. Depending on the condition, medical treatment, physical therapy and rehabilitation may help alleviate symptoms. Neurodecompression surgery may be indicated when medical treatment is ineffective.