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    • Lumbar Stenosis
    • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
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UCLA Spine Center

Conditions

Conditions

Conditions

  • Adult Scoliosis
  • Adult Tethered Cord
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Basilar Invagination
  • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Cervical Disc Herniation
  • Cervical Fracture
  • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
  • Chiari Malformation
  • Facet Joint Arthritis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Idiopathic Scoliosis
  • Lumbar Disc Herniation
  • Lumbar Stenosis
  • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
  • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
  • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
  • Osteomyelitis
  • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
  • Platybasia
  • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
  • Spinal Compression Fractures
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Spinal Cord Tumors
  • Syringomyelia
  • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
  • Thoracic Spine Fracture
  • Trochanteric Bursitis
  • Adult Scoliosis
  • Adult Tethered Cord
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Basilar Invagination
  • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Cervical Disc Herniation
  • Cervical Fracture
  • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
  • Chiari Malformation
  • Facet Joint Arthritis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Idiopathic Scoliosis
  • Lumbar Disc Herniation
  • Lumbar Stenosis
  • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
  • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
  • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
  • Osteomyelitis
  • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
  • Platybasia
  • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
  • Spinal Compression Fractures
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Spinal Cord Tumors
  • Syringomyelia
  • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
  • Thoracic Spine Fracture
  • Trochanteric Bursitis
  1. Home
  2. Conditions
  3. Osteoarthritis of the Spine

Osteoarthritis of the Spine

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What You Should Know About Osteoarthritis of the Spine

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the degenerative form of joint arthritis. It is a progressive joint disease associated with aging. In the spine, OA can affect the facet joints, the intervertebral discs, and the ligaments supporting the spine.

Symptoms

Back pain is the typical symptom associated with OA of the spine. The pain is typically felt deep in the muscles. Being upright aggravates the pain, and lying down typically helps. The first symptom of spine OA is intermittent low back pain that is usually most severe in the morning or after inactivity. Other symptoms depend on the disease stage and may include: stiffness and limited motion of the lumbar spine; pain and limited chest expansion; arthritis involving the shoulders, hips, and knees; kyphosis (curvature of the spine) in advanced stages, sometimes caused by the tendency for these patients to assume a stooping posture in an attempt to reduce their symptoms; hip deformity with limited range of motion; and tenderness over the inflammation site. These symptoms progress unpredictably, and the disease can disappear temporarily or permanently at any time.

Diagnosis

Physical examination is typically not very specific in this illness. X-rays and MRIs show narrowed or collapsed disc spaces, and sometimes there is forward slip of one vertebra versus the other. The MRI sometimes shows a tear in the outer layer of the disc and may even show edema in the bone adjacent to the arthritic level.

Treatment

Most OA of the spine will not need surgery. Physical therapy, weight loss, and anti-inflammatory medications are the first line of treatment. If surgery is needed, fusion of the spine or disc replacement arthroplasty could be an option.

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