The prognosis for spinal osteoarthritis is as follows
Osteoarthritis of the spine is a progressive disease whose progression cannot be stopped over the years. However, the progression can be slowed and/or temporarily halted. Overall, the increasing pain usually leads to a decrease in mobility.
As a result, the quality of life decreases. The arthrosis itself does not limit the life expectancy of affected persons. However, falls due to low mobility as well as cardiovascular diseases (due to years of pain-related lack of exercise) can be life-shortening consequences of spinal osteoarthritis.
Course of the disease
Spinal osteoarthritis usually develops over years before it causes symptoms for the first time. After that comes the so-called early stage. Pain usually occurs at individual vertebral joints during this time. The lumbar spine is much more frequently affected than the cervical spine, since it carries more weight. As a rule, a lot of protective cartilage is still preserved, but there is also slight damage to the vertebral bone.After several years to decades with increasing cartilage and bone damage, the disease finally reaches a late stage in which virtually no cartilage is preserved and massive bone changes occur.
What degree of disability does one get for spinal osteoarthritis?
The degree of disability (GdB) one gets for spinal osteoarthritis depends on how restrictive the disease is. Mild symptoms without functional limitations provide the conditions for GdB 10, while GdB 20 to 40 is awarded for slight functional limitations. Moderate restrictions lead to GdB 50 to 70 and functional losses as well as a highly progressive disease are the basis for GdB 80 to 100. Applying for GdB is often laborious, and applications are usually rejected at the beginning. However, those who stubbornly file an objection usually succeed.
Causes of spinal arthrosis
The term spinal arthrosis always describes a degenerative disease, i.e. a disease that occurs due to wear and tear. Arthrosis is therefore in most cases age-related. In addition, however, there are risk factors such as hard physical work or so-called high-impact sports, in which the spine has to carry a lot of weight and absorb many shocks.
This leads to a faster wear and tear of the intervertebral discs. These can no longer perform their protective buffer function adequately. As a result, a higher pressure is placed on the cartilage layer, which additionally protects the vertebral bone.
After a certain period of stress, this too is worn down, now the bone itself is stressed. This is usually the reason why, after a course over several years, the vertebrae themselves rub against each other, because all the protective layers have already disappeared. In addition to wear and tear due to age and physical strain, injuries to the spine can also promote the development of spinal osteoarthritis. Especially traumatic injuries in accidents, which are accompanied by bone fractures and thus may cause malpositions in individual vertebral joints, lead to the development of spinal osteoarthritis. In most cases, the joints around the affected vertebral body are initially arthrotically altered, but later the arthrosis also spreads to the other joints, since the malalignment also leads to an altered load situation.
