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Spondylosis is a catch all term for degenerative changes in the spine due to disc bulging, arthritic changes in the bones, thickening of the ligaments and associated symptoms. For an overview, see: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1144952-overview

In the lower back, where there is no spinal cord, just spinal nerves, the symptoms are mostly aggravating. Occasionally it worsens into spinal stenosis (see that section). In the thoracic or mid-portion of the back, it rarely causes a problem, probably because the ribs prevent a lot of twisting and flexing in that part of the spine.

Spondylosis in the neck can compress the spinal cord and cause serious problems. The cord is like brain tissue and once it is damaged, it usually doesn’t recover well. Spinal cord compression in the neck can cause weakness and spasticity in the arms and legs, with hyperactive (jumpy) reflexes and sometimes an ominous sign of cord damage called a Babinski sign. If those are present, surgery is needed to prevent further damage, even if the patient isn’t in much pain. Sometimes an MRI scan will show changes in the spinal cord indicating cord damage and if that is present, surgery is also needed.

Usually, the cord compression is from in front of the cord and cannot be relieved by going into the back of the neck. The surgery needed is from the front. Actually, it is easy to get to the front of the spine by making a 2-3 inch incision in the front of the neck and going between the strap muscle and the windpipe. The procedure is called anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). It is described in a separate section of this web site.