What is myelopathy of the spinal cord, its symptoms and treatment?

Quite often when performing magnetic resonance imaging of the patient revealed a disease such as cervical myelopathy. Many patients do not know what is this disease and is it possible to learn to live with it.

General concept

Cervical myelopathy – a disease of the spinal cord, arising from the influence of various factors. Major are injury, inflammation, compression, and multiple problems associated with the circulation of the spinal cord.

When myelopathy of the spinal cord caused by disease, it is called with the appropriate prefix (diabetic, ischemic, etc.). Some doctors called cervical myelopathy spinal.

According to the international classification of diseases 10 revision components of myelopathy can be:

• acute embolic spinal cord infarction;
• embolicescie spinal infarction;
• nepovinny phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of spinal cord;
• spinal swelling;
• subacute necrotic myelopathy;
• undiagnosed spinal compression.

Vertebrogenic myelopathy, and spinal cord infarction

Vertebrogenic myelopathy includes spinal ailments. To spinal cord injuries with the further development of myelopathy include:

• with the appearance of bone fragments, hematomas, or inflammatory processes of the brain can occur spinal cord compression;
• with vascular damage to the spinal division you can appearance and development of ischemia;
• injury provokes spinal damage.

When purchasing a chronic vertebrogenic myelopathy symptoms may develop very slowly, getting acute and retreating. If you experience at least one symptom requires immediate therapy. However, during decompression (sudden withdrawal symptom spinal compression) all the symptoms are able to emerge and evolve at lightning speed.

Spinal cord infarction is not localized in a particular area, it can happen anywhere in the spinal Department. It depends on the reasons for its emergence and development. In this disease, the limbs weaken and partially lose their sensitivity, the feeling of stiffness in the muscles, gesture and speech become difficult. Well-known that the factor of occurrence of spinal infarct is the presence of thrombosis, which receives the blood to the spinal cord. To prevent other myelopathy or confirm its presence, use magnetic resonance imaging.

Vascular disorders

Vascular disease called myelopathy caused by degenerative disc disease, trauma, impairments of the vascular system. Promotes vascular myelopathy less sensitivity of the hands and feet, can also occur paralysis.

Vascular myelopathy leg includes muscle fatigue and weakness. This happens due to the absence or lack of neurotrophic action of brain cells. Serve this circulatory disorders in the CNS and PNS, as well as age-related changes and osteochondrosis. Concomitant diagnosis may be vertebrogenic sciatica (lumbar pain is manifested by the spread of pain in the leg or both legs).

Cervical radiculopathy of the spine

Radiculopathy cervical spinal division affects the function of the spinal cord. The feeling of muscular stiffness of limbs of the elderly is a symptom of this disease. This disease causes the withdrawal of water from the disks, causing them to change shape and shrink. The beginning of this disease occurs in the semi-liquid part of the spine where there are connective fibers. Sometimes occur destructive action, the cause of which can serve as a separation of the bone fibers, resulting in the formation of cracks.

Cervical cervical vertebral myelopathy is the most complicated symptoms. It can cause dangerous consequences, leading to disability.

Chronic spinal cord compression is also very dangerous. Symptoms of muscle weakness spread to all the limbs, and further compression may result in reduced sensitivity, involuntary muscle contractions and muscle atrophy.

Compression of nerve structures

Thoracic myelopathy is very rare, because mostly its cause is the herniated disc in the thoracic spinal Department. All intervertebral hernia this type of diseaseaccounts for only 1%.

But because of this structure the therapy is also complex, with thoracic myelopathy requires surgical procedure. Often the diagnosis happens that a tumor or inflammation take the myelopathy of the thoracic spine is a serious medical error.

Thoracic myelopathy occurs because of a hernia. The reason is to reduce the diameter of the channel of the spine.

Lumbar myelopathy localized in the lumbar region of the spinal unit.

Features:

1. When compressed the spinal cord in the lumbar spine, hips and lower leg have pain, paresis of feet, a feeling of weakness in the lower extremities, the sensitivity of the foot and leg susceptible to severe land degradation.
2. When there is compression (compression) at the level of lumbar vertebra 2 develop a syndrome of cone, resulting in rectal and urinary disorders. Disappears partially or completely anal reflex, rapidly arise bedsores.
3. When compressed 2 of the lumbar spine and discs occur severe pain in the lower part of the body, which give in the limb. There can be paralysis.

With the progression of ischemic disease of the spinal cord occurs degenerative myelopathy caused by hypovitaminosis or avitaminosis of vitamins such as B12 and E. For this regress of myelopathy or stop the progress of the attending physician treatment is multivitamins.

Compressive myelopathy occurs due to many diseases, but most often the reasons are: reducing the diameter of the spinal canal, spinal tumor, abscess, hemorrhage, internal bleeding, indentation of the intervertebral disc in the vertebral canal, serious injuries and fractures.

To Serve this disease can and age-related changes, and congenital inflammation of the spine, and a puncture of the spinal cord, all kinds of bleeding, tumors, disc indentation and more.

Spondylogenic occurs due to a permanent injury to the spinal cord and its roots. She provokes the wrong position of the head, occurs age-related changes of gait, and patients with cerebral palsy experience a significant worsening of health status. Discirculatory myelopathy is expressed by weakening of the muscles of the arms and legs, sometimes there is an involuntary contraction of the muscles, always reduces the sensitivity.

Often, because of the similarity of symptoms, doctors astray in the formulation of correct diagnosis, the confusing dyscirculatory myelopathy with meningomyelitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, funicular myelosis by.

The Feeling of numbness of the feet, people often give out for the usual "imprisoned" feeling, not leaving for a long period of time. This may cause hypoesthesia, which is required serious treatment. The patient suffering from paresthesia, a feeling of "flowing" only in the area of the foot. Discogenic myelopathy the spinal called. It is an independent disease resulting from complications of disc herniation because quite a long period of degeneration. Disk herniation of solid forms are a product of the burgeoning bony parts of the vertebrae that compress the spinal arteries, and brain.

Other types of pathology

Alopecia is caused by the irradiation and irradiated in the body. Its symptoms depend on the affected places. PTSD occurs due to a spinal injury and has the following symptoms that accompany the patient throughout life:

• decreased sensitivity
• paralysis
• pelvic dysfunction or disorders.

Causes of chronic myelopathy are spinal combined degeneration, syringomyelia, multiple sclerosis, syphilis, focal infection, affecting the spinal cord completely. All kinds myelopathies ailments are chronic only when they are not progressive, in other cases they are called progressive myelopathy.

Progressive may contribute to the cross-section defeat of the spinal cord, becoming a consequence of the paralysis affected side of the body or weakening of this part of the muscle. Within a few weeks reduced the sensitivity of the body. The progress of the disease can vary from few weeks to several years.

Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

High body temperature, feeling of fever and malaise – these are all symptoms that can appear gradually, initially you may experience slight soreness in the backs. The localization of these symptoms depends on the location of the point of development of inflammation. Then rapidly progressing diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Do MRI to diagnose spinal cord and brain, computed tomography, electromyography and all blood tests.

Treatment depends on the affected the condition of causes, PTSD is the relief of pain and correction of the spine. Then patients undergo a full rehabilitation course, including massages, physiotherapy exercises and physiotherapeutic procedures. When the division or fragmentation of the vertebrae dooperation. Early treatment helps to eliminate myelopathy.

Cervical cervical myelopathy treated with the cervical collar, spinal traction, exercises to strengthen the muscles of the back and neck, the use of non-steroidal groups of drugs. The disease in all cases requires surgical intervention.