spondylosis, spondylitis, spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis

‘Spondy’ means spine and there are many ‘spondy...words’. They are difficult to spell, add nothing to our understanding and can readily be replaced by more precise and simpler alternatives. Spondylosis is wear and tear spinal arthritis. Spondylitis is arthritis of the spine due to inflammation – known as ankylosing spondylitis. Spondylolysis is a crack in the bone of the spine due to repeated stress.  Spondylolisthesis is a slippage of one bone in the spine on another – it may be due to spinal arthritis or a bad stress lesion or a congenital weakness of the bone.