Spondylosis early symptoms, Physical Therapy treatments

Spondylosis refers to degeneration of the spine. Most often, the term spondylosis is used to describe osteoarthritis of the spine, but it is also commonly used to describe any manner of spinal degeneration. Symptoms of spondylosis can include:

Localized pain in the area of back or neck. Pain may shoot up to the limb if a herniated disc causes the pinched nerve. A large disc herniation in the region of the lumbar spine may cause nerve compression and pain that starts in the low back and travels down the leg into the foot. This is called sciatica.

Back pain due to a bulging disc is typically worse with prolonged standing, sitting, and forward bending and is often better with changing positions frequently and walking. Back pain due to osteoarthritis of the facet joints is typically worse with walking and standing, and relieved with forward bending.

Numbness or tingling may be felt if a nerve is pinched. If it is severely pinched, weakness of an affected extremity can occur. If a herniated disc pushes on the spinal cord, this can cause injury to the spinal cord. This is termed myelopathy.

Symptoms of myelopathy include numbness, tingling, and weakness. For example, a large herniated disc in the cervical spine could cause cervical myelopathy if it is large enough to push on the spinal cord with resulting symptoms of numbness, tingling, and weakness in the arms and possibly the legs.

Acute symptoms of Spondylosis:

• Numbness, abnormal sensation, or weakness
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Impaired coordination & balance
• Loss of sensation in limbs
• Muscle weakness in the arms or legs

Surgery & medication are usually recommended as treatments for spondylosis. Physical Therapy is widely recognized for its non-invasive procedure in pain management.