Cervical Spondylosis

I am an Australian retired Naval Officer and veteran of WW2 from 1939 to 1945.  In 1971 my doctor diagnosed that I had Cervical Spondylosis, but our Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) has decided that my condition is not related to my operational service. (My date of birth was 5 Nov 1920).

I have claimed that the onset of Cervical Spondylosis was caused by a succession of minor traumas to my neck, sustained between 1939 and 1948; but the DVA has concluded that for an injury to cause degenerative joint disease, that injury must be a twisting, penetrating, or crushing injury, causing immediate and severe symptoms at the time of the injury, and requiring immediate medical attention.

According to the NYU Dept. of Neurosurgery (Internet 27 Jan 1996) " spondylosis is a chronic, slowly progressive process".

I would be most grateful for any information you can offer which might support my claim, and which might refute the DVA's conclusion.

With apologies for bothering you,
Sincerely,  John M Cowling

[Forum-M.D.-DT]

Dear John,

I hope I can be of some assistance to you here.

Cervical spondylosis refers to common age-related changes in the area of the spine at the back of the neck. With age, the vertebrae (the component bones of the spine) gradually form bone spurs, and their shock-absorbing disks slowly shrink. These changes can alter the alignment and stability of the spine. They may go unnoticed, or they may produce problems related to pressure on the spine and associated nerves and blood vessels. This pressure can cause weakness, numbness, and pain in various areas of the body. In severe cases, walking and other activities may be compromised. (from the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine).

Now, according to the DVA's definition, it would appear that unless your injury was "twisting, penetrating or crushing and resulted in immediate medical attention" this would not be considered service related.

Let me give you an anecdote here. I have seen several young men in my office with cervical spondylosis and neck pain. These men were in their 30s and 40s. The spondylosis/arthitis was far worse than what one would expect for men of their age. What was causing this spondylosis and what caused the presence of this advanced arthritis in these young men was weightlifting. With heavy weights and repeated minor trauma to the neck and cervical spine, they developed the presence of arthritic changes in their cervical spine (far worse than what one would expect for their given age). Now, none of the trauma here was "penetrating, twisting or crushing" ... nor did it require "immediate medical attention".

If you had repeated minor trauma to the neck, it is my feeling that although the spondylosis may have been there to some degree, it is quite likely that it is worse due to the repeated trauma you may have experienced.

I hope this helps.
Dean M. Tomasello, M.D.
Board Certified Family Physician