Who is at risk for cervical spondylosis?

Anyone reading about cervical spondylosis wants to know whether it applies to them, and age is only part of the answer.

Short answer: age is the factor a source names

OrthoInfo (AAOS) says cervical disk degeneration usually happens in people age 40 and older. It adds that more than 85% of people over the age of 60 are affected.

Disk degeneration, spondylosis and your own neck

Those figures are about disk degeneration, which is a different label from spondylosis, so ask your clinician how the two relate in your case. A figure for a whole age group cannot say whether your neck hurts because of it. For wider context, read a list of neck pain causes, the public health library's page on neck injuries and neck disorders, a clinic overview of common neck pain causes and treatments, and a consumer pain management center. Be wary of any program that uses age statistics to sell a fix.

Notes about your age and neck pain to bring along

Write down your age, when your neck pain began, and what makes it better or worse. Take that to a licensed clinician, in Totowa or wherever you are seen, and ask whether the findings fit your symptoms. Ask what independent research supports any treatment they suggest.

A group figure and your own risk

A group figure describes people in general, and only an exam describes you. Read this as background rather than a diagnosis, and only a licensed clinician can tell you about your own risk.