Are you experiencing pain in the back? Arthritis of the spine can be very devastating and the pain can be unbearable sometimes. This condition often affects people age 40 and above. If ignored, it can develop psychological problems like depression and anxiety. Being kept in bed and not be able to do your normal activities can result to depression. Let us try to see then what are the causes and symptoms of spinal arthritis and its possible treatment.
Causes of Arthritis of the Spine
The keyword here is imbalance. Imbalance can happen in your system like hormonal imbalance, stress levels as well as nutritional levels. Muscle imbalances can happen too and when it does it badly affects the posture which often leads to back and neck pain. The causes for muscle imbalances differ from one person to another but the usual cause is the deteriorating bones and calcium build-up. Other cause might include past injuries or even past surgeries. Nerves become compressed resulting to severe pain or numbness.
Symptoms of Arthritis of the Spine.
Symptoms might vary from one person to another as well as the severity and the frequency of the attack too. Some parts of your body might experience pain and just fine in other times. But the most common symptoms include numbness and pain in the neck, shoulders, back and head. Other parts of the body may also experience numbness like the legs and arms.
Diagnosis of Spinal Arthritis
Physical exam is one way of diagnosing the condition of spine arthritis. Your doctor will do physical exam of you and you will be ask to perform simple exercise just to check if your range of motion has been affected or not. Just to rule out other spinal conditions, your doctor will request for different tests that usually include x-rays and blood tests.
Treatments of Spinal Arthritis
- First thing to do is to limit movement of the back as well as the neck with use of cervical collar or brace.
- Use of pain relievers like acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Non-drug treatments like therapeutic exercises, hot packs, electrical stimulation and ultrasound. Alternative treatments like massage, yoga and relaxation therapy.
- If all else fails then surgery is your last option.