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Arthritis of the Spine
Runsheng Wang and Michael M. Ward
Abstract Arthritis is the common term used to describe pathological changes of
joints and adjoining parts of the bone. Several types of arthritis commonly affect the
spine. Osteoarthritis, a non-in
ammatory type of arthritis, most often affects
the cervical spine and the lumbar spine. Neck pain, limited neck and head motion,
low back pain, and limited
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flexibility of the low back can result from progressive
joint damage. Degeneration of the intervertebral disk may accompany cervical and
lumbar osteoarthritis, and can cause either nerve root or spinal cord compression.
Ankylosing spondylitis is the most common in
fl
ammatory arthritis that principally
affects the spine rather than other joints, and is characterized by slow development
of bony fusion among the adjacent vertebrae. Rheumatoid arthritis,
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the most
common type of in
ammatory arthritis, affects mostly the limb joints but can also
affect the cervical spine, causing neck pain and headache. Cervical spine arthritis
also often occurs in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Radiography is an
essential diagnostic tool in the evaluation of patients with spinal arthritis, but
provides limited information on the posterior spinal structures. Magnetic resonance
imaging can be useful for de
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ning abnormalities in the posterior spinal joints, the
nerve roots, and the spinal cord.
This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health.
