If you are looking for an articles about the symptoms of cervical myelopathy, then you are in the right place. This article is very helpful to anyone who is looking for general information and also the symptoms of this condition that is commonly found among the old people.
Old age normally brings about many degenerative changes in our bodies. These changes affect many body parts and organs including the spinal cord. When the spinal cord is affected, it becomes nearly impossible to carry out certain daily activities because there is no proper body coordination. The spinal cord may experience narrowing in the neck region, a condition mostly referred to as cervical stenosis. Cervical stenosis may be as a result of disc hemiation,spondylosis or degenerative disc disease. This condition where the spinal cord compresses or is dysfunctional as a result of spinal stenosis is called cervical myelopathy.
Other causes of cervical myelopathy include: bone spurs, fracture or dislocation of the neck, autoimmune diseases, tumors which develop inside the spinal cord and finally severe injury to the spinal cord. Several risk factors are associated with development of this condition. These factors include: History of cancer in the family, regular straining of the spinal cord either through work or sport, history of bone problems in the family, ischemia and certain types of infections.Some people may be born with a spinal canal that is narrow.In such a situation, the spinal cord becomes exposed and vulnerable to compression. This degenerative disease leads to the spinal cord narrowing further.
This disease has several symptoms. The most common ones include: Development of extreme pain in the arms or shoulders, muscle weakness, lightheadedness, irregular movements, bladder or bowel problems and also problems when balancing or when walking. The affected person may experience numbness in the legs and also in the arms, flexing of the neck becomes difficult, buttoning or unbuttoning of the shirt becomes also difficult and also a person may experience general muscle weakness in all the four limbs or in the area below the waist. After a nights rest, a person may have some stiffness on the neck. Headaches are also common. These headaches are known to start at the back just above the neck and to spread all the way to the forehead.
When faced with this situation, regular exercise and also rest for a day or more is very important. You should do several movements on the neck each day as this will help in avoiding neck stiffening which is very painful. It is also very important that you visit a doctor who will do further tests on you using advanced equipment such as X-ray, MRI scan, electromyography, CT myelogram. Other tests that focus on muscle weakness,reflexes,mental state and also vision may also be performed. Depending on the severity of the problem, the doctor will recommend the best treatment for you. He can decide to treat the cause of the disease, teach you on ways of reducing injury and pain or just recommend surgery. Although it is difficult to prevent this condition, utmost care should be taken to ensure that accidents and strains are prevented.