Back disorders are of many types and all are equally as painful and hard to deal as others and need the attention of spine and back doctors. Here are all the causes, symptoms, and treatments for spondylitis. To find out more about spondylitis, keep on reading.

What Is Spondylitis?

Spondylitis is a disease where the cartilage and tendons surrounding the bones wears down over time and becomes weak. This might cause disks in the spinal cord to become dislocated, or your muscles to ache a lot. It also causes a lot of neck pain and general pain around the bones in your body. This is an age-related bone disorder and you need to see a doctor immediately if you feel any discomfort or excruciating pain in your bones, neck and back.

What Are The Different Types Of Spondylitis?

Spondylitis is of two types which are discussed as follows:

Cervical Spondylitis

As the name suggests, cervical spondylitis is a disorder which affects the ligaments and cartilage in your cervical spine, which is located in your neck. This can cause a lot of neck pain and you will also experience difficulty in craning and moving your neck around. To move your neck in a complete circle will be painful and extremely difficult for you.

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis is very similar to arthritis. This type of spondylitis affects your back. You will feel a lot of stiffness in your back and you will not be able to maneuver and move your back too much. The cartilage and tendons in your back are becoming too weak to support your column and it causes the back to stiffen in the end.

Causes Of Spondylitis

Now that you know what spondylitis is and what are its types, let’s talk about the causes of spondylitis.

• It is mostly caused by age. It is very common to occur in older people than in younger people.
• It can be caused by a serious injury which doesn’t allow the cartilage to heal properly.
• It can be a genetic disorder. The presence of a specific gene allows the production of a protein which is medically known as HLA-B27, which can compromise your immune system.
• People with osteoarthritis or degenerative bones are more prone to this disorder.

Symptoms Of Spondylitis

Here are some very common symptoms of spondylitis.

• You will feel your back becoming stiff and you will have trouble moving it.
• You will feel pain in your neck and surrounding area.
• You will feel your eyesight becoming blurry and this usually happens in worse cases, but the nerve endings are causing your eyesight to become altered.
• There might be evidence of physical bone dislocation on your back or around the neck. Because the cartilage and ligaments are weakening, they will let go of the bone and the bone might get dislodged from place even on the slightest impact.
• You might feel dizzy spells taking over your body.
• You will feel headaches.
• Muscle spasms are also very common to occur.
• A very audible clicking, popping, or grinding sound can be heard from your neck and back if you try to move too much.

What Are The Treatments For Spondylitis?

Now that we have the causes and symptoms of spondylitis covered, here are some treatment options for this disorder.

• The best form of treatment for spondylitis is physical therapy. It helps to open up your tense back and beck and some exercises can help to get your body back on track.
• To help with the pain, you can take oral pain killers and this will help a lot to alleviate the pain.
• You can also ice and massage the affected area. This will help to loosen up your tense muscles and you will feel a lot better afterwards.
• If your neck is in too much pain, then you can wear a neck collar or brace for support.

There you have it! Now you know everything there is to know about spondylitis. You need to see a back pain doctor Woodbridge immediately if you are feeling any of the symptoms which are mentioned above. You can save yourself from a big hassle if you act quickly and follow the instructions of the doctor.