Will cervical spondylosis cause weak legs?

Cervical spondylosis is mainly caused by cervical solidification due to the patient maintaining the same posture for a long time. The main symptoms are cervical pain and lower abdominal distension, etc. However, cervical spondylosis can cause some complications, such as weak legs or numbness of feet. These symptoms have a great impact on patients. I hope everyone can receive timely treatment. Let us now understand what to do if weak legs are caused by cervical spondylosis.

1. Can cervical spondylosis cause leg weakness?

There will still be an impact, and you still need to treat the cause. You can try drug treatment first. Commonly used ones are analgesics, sedatives, vitamins (such as B1, B12), and vasodilators. You can also use Chinese herbal pain-relieving plasters for external application in combination with treatment. If the drug treatment is not effective, it is recommended that you choose traction therapy, massage, physical therapy and other methods of treatment.

What are the dangers of cervical spondylosis?

1. If the nerves and blood vessels (vertebral arteries) leading to the head are affected, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, blurred vision, etc. may occur.

2. If the spinal cord inside the cervical spine is affected, weakness in the limbs, weak legs, muscle stiffness, difficulty walking, and even paralysis of the lower limbs, incontinence and sexual dysfunction will occur.

3. Choking on water, hoarseness, unclear pronunciation, etc.

4. Injury to the nerve roots and spinal cord is likely to occur when the intervertebral disc is cut with a circular saw and the osteophytes on the posterior part of the vertebral body are scraped off.

5. Damage to the vertebral artery, especially when removing bone spurs, often causes massive bleeding and reduced blood supply to the brain, and sometimes affects blood circulation in the cervical spinal cord.

6. Damage to the middle thyroid artery and the superior thyroid artery may occur. These two arteries often accompany the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the superior laryngeal nerve to supply blood to the thyroid gland. They also participate in the blood supply to the cervical spinal cord. Therefore, damage to them may cause abnormal function of the thyroid gland and spinal cord, leading to a series of clinical manifestations.

7. If the nerves leading to the upper limbs are affected, pain, radiating pain or numbness in the neck and upper limbs may occur, and the skin may become insensitive and the upper limb muscles may become weakened.

2. 8 early symptoms of cervical spondylosis

Difficulty swallowing

The upper end of the esophagus is adjacent to the sixth cervical vertebra. When hyperplasia occurs in the sixth cervical vertebra, it will compress and irritate the esophagus, and even cause inflammation and edema around the esophagus, causing symptoms such as foreign body sensation and difficulty swallowing when eating. People who work in front of computers for a long time and suffer from neck and shoulder pain, if they have difficulty swallowing and a foreign body sensation, should suspect the possibility of cervical spondylosis.

Bloating and constipation

For some patients with cervical spondylosis, the adjacent cervical sympathetic nerves are stimulated and damaged, and the feeling of discomfort can be transmitted to the brain, causing the excitability of related nerves to increase, slowing down the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract controlled by them, and causing discomfort such as abdominal distension and constipation. Therefore, for patients with unexplained stubborn constipation, it is important to promptly detect clues and identify the cause.

Visual impairment

Some patients with cervical spondylosis experience decreased vision, eye pain, photophobia, tearing, unequal pupils, and even narrowed visual field and sharp decrease in vision. This is related to the autonomic nervous system dysfunction caused by cervical spondylosis and the ischemia of the occipital visual center of the brain caused by insufficient blood supply to the vertebral basilar artery.

Frequent stiff neck

Some people have very high requirements for pillows, beds and other sleeping environments. If they are not careful, they are prone to stiff neck. This is often caused by unstable cervical spine and insufficient neck muscle strength. Be careful not to develop cervical spondylosis.

Neck snapping

You always feel inexplicable discomfort in your neck, and you unconsciously want to turn your neck, and only feel comfortable after a "cracking" sound is heard. This is a typical manifestation of cervical instability. If you do not pay attention to conditioning and repair, the damage to the cervical spine will become more and more serious.

Tachycardia

Some patients may feel a noticeable acceleration in their heartbeat, or even experience discomfort such as chest tightness, when they turn their heads or twist their necks. This may be caused by stimulation of the fourth nerve root of the cervical spine, which is prone to occur when the position of the neck changes suddenly.

Sudden fall

If the cervical spine develops degeneration, hyperplasia or other lesions, it may compress or pull the vertebral artery, causing obstruction of the basilar artery blood supply, leading to cerebral ischemia, and symptoms such as dizziness and headache. In severe cases, the person may suddenly fall when turning the head or changing body position.

Increased blood pressure

Some people suddenly experience high blood pressure, which cannot be controlled even with antihypertensive drugs. At this time, attention should be paid to whether there are cervical spine problems, especially in young patients. This is because the dislocation and hyperplasia of the cervical vertebrae will compress the vertebral artery or cervical sympathetic ganglion, leading to vertebral artery spasm and insufficient blood supply to the basilar artery, which reflexively causes the vasomotor center to become excited.

Increased sex drive leads to increased blood pressure.