It’s time to reduce the burden on your cervical spine - what are the cervical spine killers in daily life?

The prevention of cervical spondylosis should start from daily work and life. There are many bad living habits that will cause excessive load on the cervical intervertebral disc, accelerate degeneration, and eventually lead to the occurrence of cervical spondylosis. Let’s describe them one by one below, and I hope everyone can avoid these pitfalls.

(1) Sleeping with a high pillow or lying on the sofa with your head resting on the armrest will cause the cervical spine to bend forward excessively, increasing the pressure on the intervertebral disc and accelerating the degeneration of the intervertebral disc. At the same time, it will tighten the back of the cervical dura mater sac and compress the spinal cord.

(2) Not having a pillow is also not good, as it will cause the yellow ligament at the back of the cervical spine to sink into the spinal canal, compressing and irritating the spinal cord. This is especially likely to happen to people with anteroposterior stenosis of the spinal canal.

(3) Reading or watching TV in a semi-recumbent position for a long time will cause the cervical spine to flex excessively, with the same consequences as in the first point.

(4) Not keeping the neck warm (using the cool air of an air conditioner or electric fan, not adding more clothes when the weather gets cold, etc.) will cause neck muscle spasms and nerve edema, thereby accelerating the degeneration of the cervical spine or causing a recurrence of cervical spondylosis. Especially during sleep and rest, the body's ability to resist wind and cold is reduced, which makes cervical spondylosis more likely to occur.

(5) When making a phone call, tilt your head to one side and hold the phone between your shoulder.

(6) Working with the head bent for long periods of time causes the cervical spine to flex forward, which increases the pressure on the intervertebral disc over time and accelerates the degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Once the compensatory limit is exceeded, the nucleus pulposus will inevitably move backward or even kyphosis, resulting in intervertebral disc herniation and cervical spondylosis.

(7) Dozing off on a table will compress the face and arms, affecting blood circulation and nerve conduction, causing the cervical spine to tilt to the side and bend forward for a long time, resulting in neck strain.

Are there too many things to remember? Then please remember the picture below. Whether you are sleeping with a high pillow or reading in a semi-recumbent position, all kinds of actions that cause cervical flexion are similar to bowing your head in disguise, which will increase the burden on the cervical spine. You should try to avoid these actions in daily life, especially avoid maintaining these actions for a long time. In order to avoid cervical spondylosis, it is time to reduce the burden on your cervical spine.

Author: Zhou Xiaogang, Lin Hong, Li Juan

Instructor: Dong Jian

Unit: Department of Orthopedics, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University

Institute of Medical Science Popularization, Fudan University

This article was funded by the following project: Shanghai Science and Technology Commission Science Popularization Project

(No.: 20DZ2312000)

Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Outstanding Academic Leader Project

(No.: GWV-10.2-XD11)