Cervical Spinal Stenosis: Symptoms, Diagnosis, And Treatment

Do you have a cervical problem? Do you have any pain in arms, neck, or shoulder? Do you find any irritation in and around the neck and arms?

Then it's time you gave it a thought. Cervical spinal stenosis also has similar symptoms. The pain and any sensory abnormalities in shoulders, arms, neck; difficulty while grasping things, and weakness in arms and shoulders causes cervical spinal stenosis.

Spinal stenosis is a very common disorder. Both males and females can face this problem. People who are over the age of 50 years are more prone to spinal stenosis. Wear and tear on the spine along with age are among the reasons for spinal stenosis.

Spinal stenosis can be either Lumbar or Cervical. However, for the purpose of this article, we will discuss cervical spinal stenosis.

Cervical Spinal Stenosis symptoms: Cervical Spinal Stenosis develops slowly and gradually. The main reason is the degeneration in later life. Any severe injury or accident, or a herniated disc increases the chances of cervical spinal stenosis.

If you develop a problem while walking, it might be a sign of cervical spinal stenosis. This problem originates from the neck. The constricted spinal cord affects the nerves and muscles in the legs, which changes your style of walking. You tend to walk jerkily, and lose power in the leg muscles. This is known as spasticity.

People often complain about pain in hands. They also experience numbness in their hands. The grip from hand goes away as it becomes difficult for muscles of palm to move, and causes weakness in fingers.

Apart from that, patients also suffer from weakness in their shoulders. This develops because the spinal cord narrows down in the upper part of the neck. The top and the outer portion of the shoulder is mostly affected by shoulder blade muscles and the deltoid muscle.

Cervical Spinal Stenosis diagnosis:

How is cervical spinal stenosis tested?

1. History: The doctors examine the patient by asking the patient's problem, symptoms, how he/she has treated the problem, which medicine he/she has taken so far, etc. 2. Physical examination: Any problem in neck, spine, shoulder, and arm movement, and signs of pain. Any weakness, sensation, or abnormality faced by the patient. 3. Medical Tests: Apart from the above mentioned test, the body can be examined from inside by doing the following tests:

* X-rays

* MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

* CAT scan (computerized axial tomography)

* Myelogram

Cervical Spinal Stenosis treatment: What are the ways to cure the problem? Different ways to treat cervical spinal stenosis are:

1. Non-surgical * Medication

* Rest

* Physical therapy

* Corticosteroid injections

2. Surgery * Laminotomy

* Cervical Corpectomy

* Laminoplasty

* Anterior Cervical Discectomy and fusion

* Foraminotomy

If the case is severe, then doctors recommend undergoing a surgery. Usually, surgery is avoided by doctors. They prefer to treat patients suffering from cervical spinal stenosis with with non-surgical methods. That is because surgery has its benefits, but side effects as well.

Degenerative Spine