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Cervical Spondylopath

1. Overview and Causes
2. Symptoms
3. TCM Effectiveness and Evaluation
4. Common Syndromes and Treatments in TCM
  a. The Wind-dampness type
   b. The Wind-phlegm type
5. Healing by Other Therapies
  a. Qigong and other
  b. Medicated diet
  c. Life style
6. Psychological Adaptation


1. Overview and Causes

It is also called the degeneration of the neck bones, which is happened in the middle or old age patients.

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2. Symptoms

The nerve root or spinal cord of the neck can be pressed or vertebral artery is getting narrow since:

a. There is disc’s atrophy since it lost a lot of water and become harder and less compressible.
b. There is the spur called hyperplasia and degeneration of cervical vertebrae.
c. There is the hyperplasia of the longitudinal and yellow ligament in the vertebral canal.
d. The injuries of the neck could lead to all different kinds of the neck disease.

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3. TCM Effectiveness and Evaluation

a. The nerve root type:
-- There are the pain, stiffness in the neck , which can radiate to the shoulder and arm.
-- There is click when the head turns over to the lateral -posterior aspect or there is a hard mass along the neck muscles and ligaments.
-- There is flaccidity of the upper arms and weakness in holding objects.
-- There is the numbness of the fingers.

b. The vertebral artery type:
There is neck and shoulder pain, dizziness, nausea, earring, blurring of the vision and sudden falling to the ground, dysfunction in holding objects.

c. The sympathetic nerve type:
There are neck pain, headaches, dizziness, palpitation, and chest distress, feeling cold and feverish sensation in the palms and soles.

d. The spinal cord type:
There are the numbness and flaccidity of the extremities, quivering or trembling of the neck and shoulder, staggering gait. There is clonus of the patella and ankle.

d. The X-ray or CT can show:
-- Abnormal changes as disappearance of the physiological lordosis;
-- Lateral curvature of the cervical vertebra;
-- Narrowing of the intervertebral space and sclerosis of the edges of the intervertebral facet joints;
-- Backward and downward sliding excursion of the inferior articulator Process.
--Vertebral arteriography and film of subarachnoid cavity are necessary.

a. It is very effective to relieve the neck and shoulder pain by promoting the qi and blood of the collateral’s, eliminating the phlegm and dampness and wind from the muscles and legaments.
b. It can nourish the yin and yang of the kidney and liver, so it can slow down the process of degeneration of the bones and discs.

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4. Common Syndromes and Treatments in TCM

This ailment, according to TCM, has different syndromes. The treatment for these syndromes using herbal medicine and acupuncture is shown below.

Syndrome (a)
The wind-dampness type

Neck and shoulder pain, stiffness, headaches, numbness of the fingers, fatigue, sleep disorder, feeling cold, pale tongue with white fur, and floating pulse.

To treat by Herbal medicine
Therapeutic principle: Dispelling wind-dampness, arresting pain by invigorating qi and nourishing the blood.

Prescription/Formula: Pubescent Angelia and Loranthus Decoction. Pubescent angelica root 9g, Loranthus mulberry mistletoe 6g, Eucommia bark 6g, Achyranthes root 6g, Ledebrouriella root 6g, White peony root 6g.

  

To treat by Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Prescription/Formula: Bl 10, Bl 20, Si 11, Li 15.

  

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Syndrome (b)
The Wind-phlegm type

Neck and shoulder pain, phlegm, headaches, dizziness with ear ring , sleep disorder and fatigue.

To treat by Herbal medicine
Therapeutic principle: Drying dampness to resolve phlegm, calming the liver to tranquilize the endogenous wind.

Prescription/Formula: Decoction of Pinellia, Bighead Atractylodes and Gastrodia. Pinellia tuber 9g, Gastrodia tuber 6g, Tuckahoe 6g, Tangerine peel 6g, Bighead atractylodes rhizome 15g.

  

To treat by Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Prescription/Formula: Ashi point on the neck, Gb 21, Sl 13, Li 11.

  

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5. Healing by Other Therapies

(a) Qigong and other therapies

For effect of Qigong on the Nervous System Function, click here.

Generally, Qigong can relieve pain as it improves the circulation of qi and blood. Results won't be visable right away, however it takes less time for Qigong to heal pain than other ailments.

The following types of Qigong may help:

For the information of different types of Qigong ,just click a link above.

This information is for education purpose only. We strongly advise you seek a licensed Qigong master to learn the correct ways to conduct these exercises before attempting them.

(b) Medicated diet
1) Lily Bulb 20g, Dahurian Angelica Root 6g, Pig Tail three, 3 liters of water. Cook them as the soup for one- week supply; Take it twice a day.

(c) Life style
1) The daily neck exercise can increase the blood circulation for the neck and head.
2) Two to three times a day of self-neck massage will reduce the stiffness of the neck. So the occurrence of headaches and dizziness will be less.
3) Reduce the frequency of sex to keep the Qi of the kidney, so that the bone's metabolism will be better.
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6. Psychological Adaptation to a Chronic and Severe Illness
One encounters different health problems in the course of one's life. Some problems are acute yet minor and often improve by themselves or yield to simple self-management. Severe and acute conditions often necessitate the help of health professionals who may provide fast relief with specific interventions. However, when the condition is chronic, the management required is quite different.

Please click the following button to learn "Psychological Adaptation to a Chronic and Severe Illness".

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Acknowledgments:
Healthphone.com greatly acknowledges the support and dedication of our
Healing Centre Panel, without whom this section would not be possible.

We also greatly acknowedge Ms. Najaf Munir, MBBS, for her editorial support. Ms. Munir simplified the highly technical medical documents into easy-to-read documents, for the enjoyment and education of our numerous visitors.