Age Related Changes in Cervical Spine

There is great uncertainty regarding the relation between degenerative changes and age. This article aimed to summarize and quantify association between age and degenerative changes in the cervical spine by using the common imaging techniques. A structured literature search was conducted on medline (PubMed), Google Scholar and other databases. The search had no period or language restrictions. We searched PubMed and Embase from their inception till November, 2014 for population-based studies reporting the association between age and degenerative changes in the cervical spine. Degenerative changes in the cervical spine should be considered a biological phenomenon that begins in teenagers and progresses with a clear age association. In old age, everybody will have them. Cervical spondylosis is very common and worsens with age. There also appears to be a genetic component involved because some families will have more of these changes over time, while other families will develop less. The speed with which it develops is probably strongly genetically determined. However the severity and specific of the degenerative changes differ between the individuals. It has been found that degenerative changes in the cervical spine are normal phenomena that inevitably develop during life and advance with age.