Spondylosis

　　Osteophytes are known as osteoarthritis in medicine, also called hypertrophic arthritis or degenerative arthritis, mainly caused by cartilage wear due to unbalanced mechanical stress distribution or overloading. The articular cartilage of the human body bears various mechanical forces caused by various activities every day. After middle age, the muscle function gradually declines, which is prone to joint injury, cartilage damage, and the occurrence of osteoarthritis. Therefore, osteoarthritis is very common in the middle-aged and elderly. Some reports show that the incidence rate is about 40-50% in people over 45 years old, which is a common disease and a frequent disease in the elderly, seriously affecting the physical and mental health of the elderly.

　　Osteophytes are a chronic and progressive joint disease, mainly affecting the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints of the hands, the spine, and the hip, knee, and ankle joints, characterized by joint deformity, joint pain, degeneration, and limited activity. If the adjacent nerve roots are compressed, it can cause corresponding symptoms, such as local pain, stiffness, radicular neuralgia, numbness, etc. If the sciatic nerve is compressed, it can cause sciatic neuritis, leading to severe numbness and pain in the affected limb, burning pain, cramping pain, and pain that radiates to the entire lower limb.

　　1. Osteophytes:are smaller in volume, and only minor bony protuberances can be seen at the upper and lower edges of the vertebra, but they are not obvious. Osteophytes of the first degree begin in middle-aged people and generally have no significant discomfort.

　　2. Osteophytes:The volume increases, and the bony protuberances at the upper and lower edges of the vertebra continue to grow larger. Some of the hyperplastic bone grows horizontally. Since the shape of the horizontally growing bone is like a person's lips, people figuratively call it 'lip-like hyperplasia'. Patients with moderate osteophytes often have clinical symptoms such as lumbar and leg pain. If the osteophytes involve the spinal cord or nerve roots, the patient may experience neurological symptoms.

　　3. Vertebra bone:Continuing to develop on the basis of 'lip-like hyperplasia', they become larger, longer, and sharper, presenting as 'beak-like'. The osteophytes at the edges of adjacent vertebrae with a 'beak-like' appearance have a tendency to merge, but have not yet touched each other. The increased osteophytes are significantly larger and more numerous. Severe osteophytes are common in elderly patients, and they generally have a long history of lumbar and leg pain, which is difficult to treat for a long time.

　　4. Osteophytes of adjacent vertebrae:Based on the development of 'lip-like hyperplasia' and 'beak-like' hyperplasia, they continue to grow, merge, and connect to form bone bridges, making adjacent vertebrae connect into a single whole. At this time, the patient feels discomfort in lumbar movement and obvious pain in the waist and legs.

　　Firstly, the dietary and health preservation methods for bone spurs

　　1, Patients with bone spurs should eat more foods high in calcium, such as milk, dairy products, shrimp shells, kelp, sesame paste, and soy products, which are also rich in calcium. Regular consumption is also beneficial to calcium supplementation and attention should be paid to the nutritional structure.

　　2, It can also be used in combination with food therapy: Eucommia ulmoides 30g, Epimedium sagittatum 10g, Clematis 25g, Achyranthes 20g. Grind into powder, mix well, then take 8-12 pork kidneys (or sheep kidneys), cut open, wash off the blood, and add the powder; spread evenly, seal tightly, place in a bowl, add a little water, and steam over a stove for a long time. Eat the pork kidney, drink the soup, take one dose every two days, twice a day, on an empty stomach in the morning and evening, and can be used for 2-4 weeks (not for pregnant women).

　　Secondly, pay attention to the following points in diet and rest:

　　1, Increase outdoor activities appropriately and try to avoid long-term bed rest.

　　2, Consume high-calcium foods to ensure the normal need for calcium metabolism in the elderly. The intake of calcium in the elderly should be increased by about 50% compared to general adults, that is, not less than 1200 milligrams of elemental calcium per day, so it is advisable to eat more milk, eggs, soy products, vegetables, and fruits, and supplement calcium agents when necessary.

　　3, Individuals with overweight should control their diet, increase their physical activity, lose weight, and reduce the load on the joints.

　　4, The intake of protein should be limited; excessive protein in food can promote calcium excretion from the body.

　　5, Increase the intake of various vitamins, such as vitamin A, B1, B6, B12, C, and D, etc.

　　X-ray films are not only still the routine examination method for this disease, but some scholars also believe that it is the gold standard for tracking the changes in the disease:

　　1, Only minor bone spurs.

　　2, Definite bone spurs, accompanied by some vertebral plate anterior sclerosis.

　　3, Obvious bone spurs and vertebral plate sclerosis, accompanied by mild vertebral interspace narrowing.

　　4, Large bone spurs, with obvious vertebral plate sclerosis and obvious vertebral interspace narrowing.

　　The higher the level, the more severe the degree of spondylotic bone spurs in the patient.

　　Food therapy is an auxiliary therapy for cervical spondylotic bone spurs, and patients can adopt food therapy under the premise of receiving regular treatment:

　　1, Lotus Chestnut Glutinous Rice Cake

　　Material: 500g glutinous rice flour, 60g lotus seeds, 60g fresh chestnuts, 60g walnuts, 15g sugar osmanthus, 50g white sugar.

　　Preparation: Boil walnuts, lotus seeds, and chestnuts, peel them, and then crush them into paste; mix glutinous rice flour with boiling water, add the paste and sugar, and stir well; sprinkle with osmanthus powder, place in a bowl, and steam for 1-2 hours until熟透, then remove and serve.

　　2, Mutton Carrot Soup

　　Material: Lean lamb (280g), star anise (3g), green beans (50g), coriander (10g), yam (100g), carrot (150g), scallion whites (10g), ginger (4g), yellow wine (10g), pepper (1g), salt (4g), vinegar (15g).

　　Preparation: Clean the lean mutton, remove the tendons and membranes, and cut into small pieces; clean the peas, clean the carrots and cut into strips, peel the yam and cut into thin slices, clean the ginger and slice it, clean the scallion and cut it into sections, put the star anise seeds in a small gauze bag and tie it up; blanch the mutton in boiling water to remove blood and odor; put the mutton, carrot strips, yam slices, scallion whites, ginger slices, yellow wine, star anise bag, and pepper into the pot, add an appropriate amount of water, and boil with low heat; simmer the mutton until tender, remove the scallions, ginger, and star anise bag, add the peas and bring to a boil, season with salt, vinegar, and cilantro, and it is ready to eat.

　　3. Mackerel, Kudzu Root, and Pork Bone Soup

　　Ingredients: 640g of mackerel, 960g of kudzu root, 480g of pork backbone, 20g of honey dates, 5g of dried tangerine peel, 100g of peanut oil, and 5g of salt.

　　Preparation: Clean the fish and pork backbone, peel and cut the kudzu root, remove the seeds from the honey dates, and soften the dried tangerine peel; fry the fish with salt and oil until golden and cook for an hour, then add it to a pot of boiling water containing honey dates, dried tangerine peel, powdered kudzu, and pork backbone, and cook for another hour.

　　The pathogenic factors of osteoarthritis of the bones and joints are not single, and changes in collagen, proteoglycan, chondrocytes, cartilage, synovium, etc., can affect other components, so the pathological forms of degenerative changes in joint cartilage are also varied.

　　1. Ageing:Ageing is the strongest risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis. According to post-mortem data, about 5% of people have degenerative changes in their joints from the age of 20, and by the age of 40, almost 90% of weight-bearing joints have varying degrees of osteoarthritis changes. Professor Zhang Naijing and others conducted an epidemiological survey of knee osteoarthritis among 2063 adults in the suburbs of Beijing and found that among those aged 16-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, and over 60 with knee pain, the positive rates of osteophytes were 10.6%, 14.8%, 29.1%, 51.8%, and 78.5%, respectively, increasing with age.

　　2. Gender:According to the data analysis of Professor Zhang Naijing and others, the incidence rate of women is twice that of men before the age of 50, but it is basically equal between the two genders after the age of 50.

　　3. Occupation:Osteoarthritis is related to occupation. The long-term and repeated use of certain joints can increase the incidence of these joints. For example, the elbows and shoulders of foundry workers, the spine and knees of miners, the knee and ankle joints of loaders and unloaders, the shoulders of drivers, the wrist joints of repairmen and weavers, the metatarsophalangeal joints of ballet dancers, the cervical joints of those who engage in long-term embroidery, typing, and sedentary work, and the calcaneus of textile workers, salespersons, receptionists, and honor guards who work in a standing position for a long time. These parts, due to the long-term and repeated performance of a single action, cause the joints to be worn out frequently and lead to osteoarthritis. The 1994 edition of the 'Annals of Rheumatology' pointed out that a comparison of 109 male and female patients aged 50 or over with osteoarthritis with 218 people without osteoarthritis showed that those who spend more than 30 minutes a day in a squatting or kneeling position or climb more than 10 floors a day have a significantly higher incidence of knee osteoarthritis.

　　4. Genetic factors of race and ethnicity:The incidence rate is highest in the British and lowest in West Africa; the incidence rate in whites is higher than in blacks; for women with Heberden's nodes, their mothers and sisters are 2 to 3 times more likely to have the disease than the general population. Moreover, the detection rate of HLA-A1 and HLA-B8 in patients with osteoarthritis is increased.

　　5. Physiological factors:Weight gain makes the already worn-out and degenerated joints plus the additional burden even more likely to be damaged, so osteophytes often occur in areas with heavy load, such as the hip, knee, calcaneus, and lumbar spine. Additionally, due to joint pain, patients unconsciously limit their activities, leading to weight gain, which further exacerbates joint lesions. A study published in the American Journal 'Today's Arthritis' indicates that people who are 20 pounds overweight compared to the standard weight have a 3.5 times higher chance of developing osteoarthritis than those with normal weight. The most common sites are the hip and knee joints.

　　6. Poor posture:The incidence of cervical spondylosis in those who work at a desk for a long time, have poor sleeping posture, or use unsuitable pillows is particularly high. This is due to the imbalance of paravertebral muscles, ligaments, and joints, where the side with high tension is prone to varying degrees of fatigue, and due to the continuous tension of some muscles in the cervical spine, these muscles may eventually develop static injuries, leading to degenerative changes in the cervical spine and causing osteophytes. It is also related to the long-term uneven stress on the cervical spine joints, causing excessive stress on a certain part of the joint and damaging the joint.

　　7. Bone venous stasis and bone hypertension:Abnormal bone blood flow characterized by bone venous stasis and bone hypertension, which leads to a decrease in the difference between arterial and venous pressure, a reduction in the blood flow of nutrient vessels, and nutritional disorders that can cause the necrosis of trabecular bone, and the necrosis of bone cells may be one of the causes of arthritis.