Cervical osteoarthritis

By: Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD
November 2, 2006

Pain from cervical osteoarthritis

Just as in the lumbar spine, the facet joints in the cervical spine can degenerate and lead to osteoarthritis of the cervical spine. The pain associated with osteoarthritis tends to:

• Radiate to the shoulder or between the shoulder blades

• Be worse first thing in the morning, and then improves after getting up and moving around

• Gets worse again at the end of the day

• Feels better with rest

Osteoarthritis conservative treatments

Treatments for osteoarthritis are usually conservative and may include:

• Rest and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s) to relieve the pain from osteoarthritis and inflammation

• Traction and/or chiropractic manipulations to help control chronic symptoms or provide relief for more severe episodes of pain from osteoarthritis

Although osteoarthritis tends to be chronic, the symptoms are rarely progressive and rarely require surgery.