Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints and it’s used to describe more than 100 different joint diseases. Symptoms can include pain, swelling and stiffness in joints or the inability to move a joint normally, unexplained fever, fatigue, weight loss and swollen lymph glands.
It is common in adults 65 and older, but it can affect people of all ages, races, and ethnic groups. In fact, about 1 out of every 5 adults in the United States — around 50 million people — has contracted some form of arthritis.
The most common forms of arthritis are:
Osteoarthritis is also called degenerative joint disease or degenerative arthritis. It affects about 33 million Americans. Osteoarthritis results from overuse of joints – as in sportspersons, but most commonly it is an aging phenomenon. Obesity, which places increased load on weight bearing joints. Is also a factor.
Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis. More than 1.3 million Americans are affected. According to the American College of Rheumatology, about 75% of those affected are women.
Cervical spine arthritis, usually a form of osteoarthritis, characterized by the breakdown and eventual loss of cartilage within a joint. When cartilage breaks down in the spine, the vertebral body’s facet joints can rub together, resulting in pain and inflammation.
Vulnerable groups
Athletes and people with jobs that require repetitive, and particularly heavy, motion have been found to be at greater risk. Older men, post-menopausal women, people who put more stress on weight-bearing joints and the spine; and those having a family history of osteoarthritis or congenital defects of joints, spine, or leg abnormalities
Other types of arthritis include gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, juvenile arthritis, scleroderma, infectious arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Treatment
There is no known cure for arthritis, and most patients will experience some long-term effects from this condition.
Options
Physical therapy, hot or cold therapy; avoiding activity that might exacerbate neck arthritis symptoms; anti-inflammatory injections, prescription pain killers; traction or non-surgical spinal decompression therapy, acupuncture.
Neck surgery
Surgery may be needed for certain patients with severe cases of spinal arthritis that leads to instability of the joint (degenerative spondylolisthesis) or nerve root pinching (spinal stenosis). Often both conditions run together as unstable joints tend to get bigger over time, eventually creating stenosis of the spinal canal.
Cervical laminectomy
Cervical stenosis can place pressure on the spinal cord. If most of the compression is in the back, the cervical stenosis can be treated with a posterior cervical laminectomy. The objective of this procedure is to remove the lamina (and spinous process) to give the spinal cord more room.
Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion
A cervical disc herniation can be removed through an anterior approach (through the front of the neck) to relieve spinal cord or nerve root pressure and alleviate corresponding pain, weakness, numbness and tingling.
