Causes of Cervical Spondylitis
What triggers off the pain in the neck?
Long standing degeneration (wearing away) of the vertebrae and the intervertebral discs is the primary cause behind this disorder. Now this can be triggered due to a number of reasons such as:
Advancing age
History of neck injury in the past
Occupational trauma – lifting heavy loads on head, gymnastics, working on the computer for long hours
Sleeping in sitting position repetitively during journeys
Occupations requiring minute concentration wherein people work with bent neck for long time
Holding the telephone between the ears and shoulders for long durations repeatedly
Any kind of odd postures that put a strain on the neck – when these are taken up over and again, they can lead to progressive degenerative changes
Congenitally fused spine, Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome may be risk factors for developing cervical spondylitis
Genetic cause may be possible since cases running in families have been seen
Smoking may be one of the risk factors
Whatever be the trigger for cervical spondylitis, the common changes that are seen in the cervical spine are as follows:
Abnormal growths or 'spurs' on the vertebrae
Dehydration and subsequent loss of elasticity in the intervertebral discs
Bulging of the discs from between two vertebrae
Stiffness of neck ligaments (tissue connecting the neck bones and muscles)