"Patients with RA have a 90 percent risk of cervical spondylosis, or advanced degenerative changes in the spine," Verma says. "In both RA and non-RA spines, cervical myelopathy develops as the spine ages. In RA, these changes occur more rapidly than in non-RA patients," says Verma, who is an assistant clinical professor of spine surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "The disc degenerates over time, causing a loss of disc height. This leads to a loss of the normal cervical spine curvature, called kyphosis."

Click here to read the full story!