It's hard to use chopsticks. Symptoms similar to stroke, prevention of cervical spondylosis?

It's hard to use chopsticks. Symptoms similar to stroke, prevention of cervical spondylosis?
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Recently, a man in his 60s was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis, a relatively unfamiliar disease, as a result of visiting the hospital because his family was worried that his hand movements were awkward and he had difficulty balancing when walking. This is a case in which hand movement and walking abnormalities can be confused with stroke because the initial symptoms are microscopic and nonspecific.

The cervical spine, which consists of a total of seven vertebrae, supports the head and enables sophisticated movement in various directions such as rotation, flexion, extension, and lateral bending. In addition, it acts as a branch path of peripheral nerves that go down to the arms, shoulders, and hands, and protects the spinal cord and nerve structures passing through the spinal canal inside the cervical spine.

The spinal cord is a core structure of the central nervous system and is a long, continuous nerve tissue that begins in the brain and descends along the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae. The spinal cord plays a central role in the motor neuronal pathway that transmits commands from the brain to the muscles, the sensory neuronal pathway that transmits sensory information to the brain, and the reflexes that make it respond quickly to stimuli.




Cervical spondylosis refers to spinal cord injury caused by compression of the spinal cord by various causes in the cervical spine. The main causes include degenerative changes in the cervical spine, intervertebral disc ejaculation (neck disk), posterior pharyngeal ossification, and yellow pharyngeal ossification.

Various structural changes can cause cervical spinal cord spondylosis, such as when the intervertebral disc, which acts as a shock absorption between the bones of the spine, escapes to directly compress the spinal cord due to various factors, narrows the spinal cord space due to thickening or ossification of the posterior ligament of the vertebrae, and compressing the spinal cord from the rear.

Initially, symptoms of neck, shoulder, hand, arm pain and numbness can be confused with neck discs. When spinal cord pressure intensifies, micro-movement disorders in the hands occur, resulting in poor chopsticks and writing ability, and uncomfortable movement to fill buttons or hold objects.




It can also be accompanied by walking disabilities, and there are cases where it is difficult to climb up and down the stairs due to narrow stride and difficulty in maintaining balance. If left unattended, it can lead to severe neurological deficits such as urination disorders and severe walking disorders.

Chung Dong-moon (neurosurgeon), head of the medical department at Daedong Hospital's Spine Center, emphasized "In modern society, neck disc is a commonly known disease, but cervical spondylosis is relatively unfamiliar, early symptoms are microscopic, and non-specific, so it is often mistaken for simple aging or neglected." In particular, symptoms of unnatural hand movements and unstable walking are similar to strokes, which can lead to delayed early diagnosis, so caution is needed."

He then advised that "spinal cord damage results in various neurological deficits depending on the site and degree of occurrence, and already damaged neural function can be limited in recovery, so accurate early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are very important.'




For diagnosis, the degree of spinal cord compression, disk changes, and spinal alignment are checked through physical examination, MRI, CT, and X-Ray, and additional neurological examinations are performed if necessary. Depending on the diagnosis, conservative treatments such as drugs and physical therapy are applied first, and surgical treatment is considered if spinal cord compression is severe or there is a progressive neurological defect.

In order to prevent cervical spinal cord spondylosis, it is important to maintain a posture suitable for spinal alignment in daily life, such as using computers and smartphones for a long time and driving, keep stretching, strengthening muscles in the neck, shoulder, and back, and reduce the burden on the spine through proper weight management.

▲Difficulty in sophisticated hand movements such as chopsticks and button filling ▲ I quickly gripped my fist Failure to stretch 20 times in 10 seconds ▲ Both arms, leg numbness ▲ leg weakness ▲ unstable walking ▲ finger tips numbness ▲ neck, shoulder pain ▲ difficulty moving arms, etc., it is recommended to visit a medical institution to check your physical condition, and regular spine evaluation is recommended for those in their 50s and older who are undergoing aging and degenerative changes.



It's hard to use chopsticks. Symptoms similar to stroke, prevention of cervical spondylosis?
Jeong Dong-moon, head of the Spine Center at Daedong Hospital


This article was translated by Naver AI translator.