Arthritis Of The Spine

Arthritis of the spine, also known as osteoarthritis, causes lower back pain and stiffness. It can affect the joints within the cartilage and ligaments in the spine. Osteoarthritis can cause cartilage and joints in the spine to worsen, causing back pain.

The discs in your spine are made up of water. As you get older, the discs may start to dehydrate. This will cause pain and stiffness in your back. You may not feel much pain in the morning when you wake up due to inactivity overnight, but it will gradually worsen throughout the day.

Osteoarthritis can develop slowly and can gradually get worse over the years. The most common symptom of arthritis of the spine is back pain. Other symptoms may include joint tenderness, stiffness, and weakness in the legs or arms. Patients with osteoarthritis will have pain in different parts of the back. Arthritis in the cervical spine experience pain in the middle and upper back, neck, and shoulders. Arthritis in lower back symptoms in the lumbar spine experience pain in the lower back. Arthritis of the spine can be diagnosed by getting an X-ray or MRI to get a detailed look of your spine.

Arthritis in Lower Back Symptoms

There is no treatment that completely cures arthritis of the spine. There are treatments that can help reduce the pain in your back. If the pain is minimal, then treatment may not be needed. Treating osteoarthritis focuses on reducing the pain and improving daily functions. Exercises can help improve the patient’s range of motion and mobility. Proper spine care is important. Any pain or discomfort in your back shouldn’t be ignored. Your spine controls all body movements and needs the ligaments, cartilage, and bones to work together properly. At Orthopedic SpineCare of Long Island, our clinical staff are specialists in spinal care and will help you treat osteoarthritis.