SUMMARY
Background- Cervical spondylosis(CS) is a broad term which describes the age related chronic disc degeneration which starts in the intervertebral disc with osteophyte formation and lead to physiological degenerative cascade that contributes to biomechanical changes that result in neural and vascular compression. Autonomic balance in the body can be influenced from this compression. Aim and objectives- The aim of this study was to assess the autonomic balance in response to stress in patients of cervical spondylosis. Material and methods- Heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded during valsalva maneuver(VM) and recovery period, in two groups comprising of thirty patients with CS and thirty healthy age and sex matched controls. The results were analysed in time and frequency domains by using student t-test (significance level at p 0.05). Observations and Results- There was an inefficient autonomic response during the period of stress, with increased sympathetic tone during the recovery period. Dicussion - HRV is as a simple, non-invasive measure of the autonomic activity which analyses beat to beat variation in the heart rate and VM further improves the sensitivity of its interpretation. Conclusion - CS patients have an altered autonomic response to stress and a higher sympathetic tone than controls.