Cervical Lordosis

Straightening of Cervical Lordosis – If the term is new to you and you aren’t suffering through this, should you even read this article ahead? Well, the following points might intrigue you to know more about this cervical spine condition:

  • SCL can adversely affect the biomechanics of the entire spine.
  • Such a spine may become more vulnerable to injury.
  • The spine’s ability to support the weight of the head is compromised, putting additional pressure on the spinal discs.
  • It can result in harmful muscle and joint tension.

What is Cervical Lordosis?

Before understanding this cervical spine medical condition, we must understand the anatomy or part of the spine that is affected.

Cervical Lordosis can be defined as the two healthy inward C-shaped curves that are characterized at the cervical and lumbar spine (upper back and the neck). These are natural lordotic curves and are normal.

These inward bent curves help your cervical spine to behave like a coiled spring giving it immense flexibility to bear weight and distribute it evenly, maintain balance and posture, protect the internal organs, and establish communication between the brain and the rest of the body.

What is Straightening of Cervical Lordosis?

As you may now comprehend what great significance curves have in our spine, you can now also understand the loss of even one curve can lead to serious cervical spine damage.

This natural curve disappears when a person has a straight neck (also known as a flat neck or military neck or Straightening of the Cervical Lordosis). So, what causes this occurrence, and how does it affect health?

What can cause Straightening of Cervical Lordosis?

Sudden injury to the head or neck

When your head or neck suffers sudden traumatic injury because of mishaps like a car accident, the surrounding tissue in your cervical spine may get ruptured, making your neck misaligned. As a result, a major change occurs in the vertebrae, making it straight and losing its natural curve or leading to a reverse curve.

Poor sitting posture

Poor posture can take long but can eventually cause cervical spine straightening. This majorly happens with working professionals as they need to sit in front of the computer monitors for long hours, which then causes a faulty hunched posture with a forward head position. This is also known as the straight neck or military neck.

Bad posture due to usage of electronic devices

Another burgeoning issue nowadays that routes to cervical spine issues is the excessive usage of mobiles or tabs. People keep checking their phones several times a day, which requires your neck to crane at 60 degrees every time. This increases stress on your neck by 5-6 times, thereby causing straightening of the cervical spine.

Symptoms of Cervical Lordosis

In many cases, there are almost no signs. However, if the lordosis gets severe, you may experience the following symptoms:

  • Neck and backache
  • Pain spreading to the legs and feet
  • Tingling or numb sensation

If you encounter any of the above symptoms regarding your cervical spine, feel free to consult our spine specialist Dr. Akhil Tawari without much delay. With over 15 years of experience, Dr. Akhil specializes in treating complex spinal and lumbar diseases. Even if you are not yet experiencing the full benefits of cervical vertebral straightening, it is only a matter of time before the results become apparent. Therefore, we recommend that you see our spine expert so that you may stay ahead of potential health problems.

A fact worth knowing

According to a research study in the Medical Science Monitor, straightening the cervical spine can disturb the entire body’s functioning. Patients in the study who had a straight cervical spine straightening issue did not have as much blood flow to the head. The research states that this can have a wide range of neurological consequences.

 

Good posture and an active lifestyle can protect the cervical spine by promoting proper alignment and keeping the muscles flexible enough. In addition, a spine with a healthy cervical lordosis is less likely to be affected by adverse spinal tension, disc degeneration, or further tissue damage.