If you have arthritis in part of the spine then there is a good chance it's in other parts too. We break the spine up into the neck, middle back, and low back. In other words: cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.
Arthritis is basically a break down or degeneration type effect. Not unlike an old car, our body's start to break down to. Lots of miles, wear and tear, that sort of thing. Or maybe a few fender benders occurred also; maybe some old soccer injuries.
The injured joints may breakdown a little faster than the unaffected ones. Or what about wear and tear from repetitive strain. Maybe one road you drive on daily always has construction on it to fix massive pot holes that keep coming back. In this example your body, as well as the car may get some shock.
Mostly in my office it's the daily grind of being on the computer every day. Perfect ergonomics and posture falter when you are working without taking periodic breaks.
Next, let's say that your car is notorious for having bad suspension. Well, this is analogous to our DNA. If everyone in the family has bad arthritis, it may be in your genes.
Ok, back to the question... Now we know how the spine is divided and some things that may be contributing or have contributed to faster breakdown. We divide the spine into these sections but the spine is all connected.
If we injured our low back it probably effected the neck too. Not only that, but if the lower back is injured for instance, you neck may have to pick up the slack. For example, since you can't bend or turn the lower spine, then the upper will do more of that.
Next, if our job is lifting bags of concrete daily, then your low back may get more breakdown then the neck. All that being said, motion is good because if we lead a too sedentary life, that may cause some arthritis build up to.
The key is motion and exercise, but to be careful with major strains or repetitive motion that may cause strain. In the office we end up seeing just as many real physical workers as one just typing on a keyboard all day.
Lastly, it sometimes can have to do with what kind of arthritis you have. I am thinking of one that really happens at the extremity joints versus the spine. It may be there also, eventually, or just not as bad or not causing as severe a symptom.
All that being said, if you start to correct alignment in one part of the spine it will help another part.
Picture Source: Health.com
Additional Reading Resources:
- 6 Things that Can Cause Neck Pain, that you May not always think of
- The Importance of a Neck Roll In a Pillow
- What to do if you have a stiff neck
- Neck exercises that work
- Choose the Best Neck Pillow for Sleep and Better Posture
