My right elbow hurts, what's wrong?

If you feel pain in your right arm, there are many reasons. It may be caused by a cold or a joint disease. It may also be caused by cervical spondylosis or periarthritis of the shoulder. If you have had trauma before, it may be a sequelae. If there is no trauma, it is more likely to be caused by a disease. If it is caused by a disease, it needs to be taken seriously. It is best to find out the cause in time and then treat it symptomatically.

Ways to prevent cervical spondylosis include:

(1) Strengthen the neck and shoulder muscles during breaks or after work. Do flexion, extension and rotation exercises of the head and upper limbs. This can not only relieve fatigue, but also develop muscles and increase toughness, which is beneficial to the stability of the cervical spine and enhances the ability of the neck and shoulders to adapt to sudden changes in the neck.

(2) Keep your neck and shoulders warm, avoid putting heavy objects on your head and neck, avoid excessive fatigue, and don’t doze off while riding in a car.

(3) Treat soft tissue strain of the neck, shoulders and back as early as possible and thoroughly to prevent it from developing into cervical spondylosis. Avoid sprains and bruises when working or walking.

(4) Keep your head, neck, shoulders and back straight, avoid tilting your head or shrugging your shoulders, look straight ahead when talking or reading, and keep your spine straight.

(5) When the climate changes, in addition to being careful to prevent catching cold when resting outdoors in early summer or late autumn, as the temperature is changeable and it is easy to catch cold, which may cause neck muscle spasms or rheumatic changes, you should also avoid cold air continuously blowing towards the body, especially the head and neck, in an air-conditioned environment, as this can cause imbalance between the inside and outside of the cervical spine and induce or aggravate symptoms.

The hazards of cervical spondylosis:

1. Swallowing disorder: Patients with cervical spondylosis may experience difficulty swallowing and a foreign body sensation in the esophagus. A few patients may experience nausea, vomiting, hoarseness, dry cough, chest tightness, etc. This is mainly due to the direct compression of the posterior wall of the esophagus by the front edge of the cervical vertebra, causing esophageal stenosis. In clinical practice, it may also be caused by bone spurs that irritate the soft tissues on all sides of the esophagus.

2. Visual impairment: Clinically, cervical spondylosis can cause decreased vision, eye pain, photophobia, tearing, pupil size differences, and even severe patients can experience reduced visual field and sharp decrease in vision. Clinically, this is mainly related to the autonomic nerve disorder and vertebral basilar artery insufficiency of cervical spondylosis.

3. Cataplexy: Patients with cervical spondylosis may suffer from cataplexy due to frequent standing or sudden turning of the head while walking, which may lead to loss of support. However, they may collapse very quickly after falling to the ground. Clinically, there is only disturbance of consciousness and generally no sequelae. These patients may experience autonomic nervous system dysfunction such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sweating, etc. Clinically, this is mainly due to compression by cervical bone hyperplasia.

Patients with cervical spondylosis need to pay attention when choosing a pillow. The key to preventing cervical spondylosis is to maintain the normal physiological curvature of the cervical spine. It is best to use a round pillow behind the neck when sleeping. For people who are accustomed to sleeping on their backs, the pillow height should be the distance between the apex of the rear edge of the physiological curvature of the neck and the line connecting the head and back, that is, the height from the bed plane to the apex of the rear edge of the physiological curvature of the neck when a person lies flat.