Cervical spondylosis and spondylotic cervical myelopathy

[Julene]

Cervical spondylosis is osteoarthritis of the cervical spine causing stenosis of the canal and sometimes cervical myelopathy due to encroachment of bony osteoarthritic growths (osteophytes) on the lower cervical spinal cord, sometimes with involvement of lower cervical nerve roots (radiculomyelopathy). Diagnosis is by MRI or CT. Treatment may involve nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and a soft cervical collar or cervical laminectomy.
(See also Overview of Spinal Cord Disorders.)
Cervical spondylosis due to osteoarthritis is common. Occasionally, particularly when the spinal canal is congenitally narrow (lt; 10 mm), osteoarthritis leads to stenosis of the canal and bony impingement on the cord, causing compression and myelopathy (functional disturbance of the spinal cord). Hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum can aggravate this effect. Osteophytes in the neural foramina, most commonly between C5 and C6 or C6 and C7, can cause radiculopathy (a nerve root disorder). Sometimes the cord and nerve roots are affected, causing radiculomyelopathy. Manifestations vary according to the neural structures involved but commonly include pain.