Hi, I'm Dr. Tony Mork, an endoscopic spine specialist and orthopedic surgeon. Today, I'd like to talk about a term that's commonly discussed and that you may see in your radiology reports. It's a term I don't like very much because it doesn't have much meaning and is not very specific. That term is "spondylosis."
Spondylosis refers to general osteoarthritic changes of the spine, whether it be cervical, thoracic, or lumbar, but it doesn't really have anything to do with where you hurt, which is the main reason people are getting X-rays, CT scans, or MRI scans. It really only has to do with the radiology report and gives a general reflection of wear and tear. Osteoarthritis essentially means wear and tear changes, just like parts in our cars wear out with time. That's the basic concept of spondylosis. It's a very non-specific term that means things are wearing out.
Let's talk a little bit about what it means more specifically. In this picture, spondylosis can mean that there's narrowing of a disk space. Here is an example of a disk space that's still intact. We've got some space here, it's a little narrow in the back, but not too bad. As we move up to these other levels, we have a significant loss or complete loss of the joint space or the disk space. Not only that, there's also calcification of what used to be the soft tissues, and we can even see some subluxation or even vertebrates moving backward on this one. We've even got some spurring. This does not tell us anything about pain; it really just tells us that we've got some osteoarthritic changes, which may or may not be a problem or even contribute to a problem.
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I'm Dr. Tony Mork and I run an Endoscopic Spine Surgery practice in Irvine, California and Naples, FL. I avoid a fusion when possible (which is most situations) and provide treatments that actually address the pain without taking an invasive approach.
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