Spondylosis is another word for osteoarthritis of the spine, a condition that usually develops with age, and is the result of normal “wear and tear” on both the soft structures and bones that make up the spine.
Although any part of the spine may be affected, spondylosis is more frequently seen in the spine’s highest and lowest sections – the cervical (neck) and lumbar (low back) areas, respectively. The condition is less commonly found in the thoracic spine (middle portion), possibly because the rib cage serves to stabilize this area and make it less subject to the effects of wear and tear over time.
Low back pain, leg pain and/or other signs of nerve compression are the most common symptoms. Pain or tingling symptoms that extend outward to the hip or down the leg can result from compression or inflammation of nerves, a condition referred to as lumbar radiculopathy. For example, a person may have pain in their knee and think it is injured, but later learn that this pain is caused by spondylosis that is compressing a nerve which extends down to the knee. Irritation of the sciatic nerve in particular, is quite common, and is commonly known as sciatica.
Treatment for spondylosis depends on the specific set of symptoms and findings that a patient is found to have and the area of the spine that is affected. Initial measures almost always include physical therapy to strengthen the muscles that support the spine and, in some cases, epidural steroid injections to reduce inflammation and pain. Short courses of oral pain medication, like anti-inflammatories, may also be prescribed.
Although non-operative treatment won’t change the structural effects of spondylosis – the wear and tear on tissues and the pressure on the nerves – it can provide relief while the nerve adapts to these changes in the spine anatomy. In many cases, this allows the symptoms to decrease without surgery.
