Symptoms of thickening of the ligamentum flavum of the cervical spine

If the yellow ligament of the cervical spine becomes thicker and longer, it will cause the patient to have more acute symptoms of cervical spondylosis. It will occur between the fourth and fifth lumbar lamina. When this phenomenon occurs, the cauda equina will be compressed, which will cause low back pain, intermittent claudication, etc. The harm is relatively large, so it must be treated in time. The main treatment methods are surgical and non-surgical treatment.

Symptoms of thickening of the ligamentum flavum of the cervical spine

The course of ligamentum flavum hypertrophy is long and may have acute exacerbations. It often occurs between the L4 and L5 vertebral lamina, causing compression of the cauda equina and nerve roots. The nerve roots may be affected bilaterally or unilaterally. Clinical symptoms are similar to those of lumbar spinal stenosis. The main symptom is lower back pain, which can be relieved or disappear after rest, and there may be neurogenic intermittent claudication.

The yellow ligament is a ligament on the inside of the spinal canal that runs through the vertebrae. Its thickness directly causes spinal stenosis. If you have symptoms of spinal stenosis, you should go to a specialist hospital for treatment. If you have no symptoms, try not to lower your head for a long time or exert excessive force on your neck, as this will aggravate the condition.

Causes

The cause of ossification of the ligamentum flavum is still unclear. It is generally believed that it is closely related to many factors such as local mechanical factors, metabolic abnormalities, and family inheritance. Various factors that abnormally increase the load on the bony attachment of the yellow ligament may cause ligament injury, and repeated injury and reactive repair process will lead to ossification of the ligament. Similar to the incidence of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, ossification of the yellow ligament is common in areas such as Japan and Southeast Asia where people mainly eat foods with high sugar content (rice and cereals) and in people with diabetes. This shows that ossification of the yellow ligament is related to sugar metabolism. Many authors have suggested that ossification of the yellow ligament is actually part of the ossification of the spinal ligaments, while others have suggested that the disease is related to genetic factors, such as the HLA antigen system and racial differences.

treat

1. Non-surgical treatment

For those with mild symptoms, non-surgical treatment can be used, including neck immobilization, neck brace, physical therapy, and drug therapy. However, non-surgical treatment often does not work well in most patients.

2. Surgery

When symptoms of spinal cord or nerve root compression are obvious, posterior cervical surgery should be performed to completely remove the ossified and thickened yellow ligament. This is an effective measure to relieve compression and restore spinal cord function. Surgical methods include simple laminectomy and laminoplasty. Since the ossification of the yellow ligament is often continuous with the edge of the vertebral lamina and adhered to the dura mater sac, the surgical operation must be performed very carefully to prevent spinal cord injury and cerebrospinal fluid leakage. If the dura mater sac is damaged, surgical repair should be performed.