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Cervical spondylosis and other problems related

  1. I have 30 years history of spinal wear and tear from 20s and I am now 54 female. Despite lots of pain and disability over the years I had no specific diagnosis for any part of the spinal problems until 4 years ago when my GP had x rayed for an ear problem and discovered I had 'done something rather worrying' to my neck. I was asked if I ever had a neck injury which she should have known as I had a whiplash 10 years previously and a frozen right shoulder in her care. 'This will get worse as you get older' she said. I have been waiting for the bomb to drop but no real enduring pain so far but I do have a series or even cycle of symptoms which might be related..can anyone say for sure? My right hand claws and gets stiff at night when I am laying down or resting. I have chronic tongue biting and teeth grinding day and night,my bladder retains urine on occasions and then starts working again when it is ready..same with bowel. I have had no follow up or further treatment so no opportunity to ask an expert what to expect but I am assuming the neck problem the Gp was describing was cervical spondylosis. I had an x ray report listing displacements in neck vertebra and some spinous processes c 2 - c4 I think.

    I recently went to a hand trauma surgeon about the hand and he never mentioned my spine yet offered surgery for my middle finger- I dont know why because I can bend the joint OK most of the time..until I get the spasm which can go from neck to right hand??? The doctors dont seem to be joining up the dots somehow and I feel confounded by that- I am very put off going to them as they seem to disregard my history.

  2. Hi yvonne

    I think you need to ask for a referral for an MRI scan which will show more definitely whether it is cervical spondylosis or not. Xrays are unreliable for this condition. Your GP or Physio should be able to refer you. The symptoms you describe are very possible with C/S and , as such, an op for your hand would be pointless, as the neck would be the source of the hand problem. Your hand symptom sounds like my own , which has resulted from trapped nerve in neck.

  3. OK Gerry thank you. I will ask asap for an MRI. My problem comes and goes and I try to forget it when I dont have it..will anything show on the MRI if I dont have the problem when the MRI is done?

  4. Hi yvonne

    Yes, it will show. Although the symptoms can come and go, an MRI will show any damage / wear and tear in neck. With a lot of long term C/S cases its not an actual trapped nerve which causes the symptom reactions. Mostly its the ' threat ' of a nerve being trapped and the symptoms result from protective reactions instigated by the neck to protect from such a threat. Where a nerve has actually been trapped, there are usually very specific unchanging symptoms (numb hand or leg / nerve pain hand or leg / bowel or bladder problems ). Most other related symptoms tend to come and go depending on aggravation or threat to nerves. A certain amount of symptom relief can be achieved by using a cervical ortho pillow, memory foam mattress or topper, and by adjusting sleeping arrangements....sleeping or napping on a sofa, for instance. You could try some of these methods whilst waiting for an MRI referral. There's some advice on C/S self management if you search this site, or on net.

    Gerry

  5. Hello Yvonne I had whiplash injury (car crash) in 1999 and a further 3 car crashes after this. My symptoms sound similar to what you have had. I had a frozen right shoulder in spasm and my right hand would continually go into spasm when say reaching money out of my pocket, i have weakness in my right tricep muscle andmuscle wastage in this area of my right arm. I had MRI scans which showed multi level disc protrusions and these were pressing (pinching) on my spinal chord. I had right sided surgery on my spine in 2007 where the offending discs were shaved back to lessen the pinching but the success was minimal with the spasms in my hand reducing by about 95% although all of the other symptoms remain, weakness, muscle wastage and pain and discomfort across my shoulders and down my right arm. I must say the surgery was a little scary as they go in through the front of your neck pushing the vital bits and bobs out of the way (i have a scar about 3 inches long running horizontally near to my crease in my neck close to my collar bones).

    I've recently seen my medical reports and found that i have 5 discs out of place (all in my neck) and these showed up on my MRI scan i had sometime after my surgery. Pain in the bum which results in me even struggling to wash the dishes without aching. I also regularly get a dead knee and sciatica when travelling anything other than locally.

    Ive recently seen my works doctor who had stated it may be worth me visiting my neurosurgeon again but i must say i dont wish to go under the knife again.

    Certainly sounds like you need the MRI scan which will clearly show where the discs are pressing. Ive no doubt that you will have clearly visible disc problems from what you are saying.

    Regards BOBBYBINGO

  6. dear Yvonne,

    your condition is evident of degeneration. the bone mass and the bone density decreases making it prone for pores, weak and fragile bones. in the case of cervical spine, the vertebrae are weak in comparison to lumbar vertebrae. in your case there is much possibility that the inter vertebral disc space has narrowed, the disc have glided upon each other (c3-c4, c5-c6 or c6 - c7), this has resulted in pressure on the cervical nerves, long term pressure results in inflammation and infection leading to neuritis. it will be localized in the start but later on turns to systemic and the entire nerve route comes under pain and agony. it will cause numbness, pain, swelling. in your case it has become worse since it is now spreading to the organs like kidney, bladder and colon. which means the pathology which was restricted to a couple of vertebrae have spread further and complications are building. allopathic system does not have any treatment to this condition. their line of management is pain killers - anti-inflammatory drugs and later to steroids, which make the condition still more worse. the treatment of this condition is diet regulating inflammation, exercise to bring the spine in alignment and strengthen the cervical bones and restore the intervetebral disc space. along with the same the inflammation in the spines and the surrounding structure of muscles, tendons, ligaments and infection + inflammation in the nerve leading to neuritis should be controlled through proper panchakarma treatment. Ayurveda treats this condition very well. the external therapies of abhyanga - ayurvedic oil massage and localized treatment of vasti helps in oleation of the spine and with exercise slowly and gradually normalcy in the spine is achieved. in terms of Ayurveda vata - vayu aggravates pain and hence basti panchakarma followed by virechan cures the condition. the entire cure does not happen in one go, but definitely it will stop further regression and stop inflammation.

  7. Just a comment on the last posting. I don't know whether Ayurveda techniques work or don't work, although I do think the prognosis of the condition, as described above, assumes a lot. Although its likely to degenerate, it doesn't necessarily do so. No point worrying about something which might not happen. What I do know is that the medicinal herbs used in Ayurveda are difficult to obtain in this country, and that creates its own problems. Also, there are no validation processes for these techniques. Everyone is entitled to try whatever they think might work, but its best to be wary of any unknowns. Another problem I've got with Ayurveda methods is the fact that I strongly believe that diet has absolutely nothing to do with this condition. To me, thats an assumption with no reasonable basis.

    Gerry

  8. Many thanks for all these replies Bobbybingo, Gerry and Dr Sunita. I appreciate the time it takes to give such in depth replies.

    I agree that I have almost identical problem to Bobbybingo the way it s described here. My latest affliction is extreme sensitivity to pressure on the inside of my right thumb. Any pressure sets off pins and needles and a

    very odd dull bruised feeling. I take on board the gneral drift of the Ayurveda etc but need to add that since age 17 I have been a devoted gentle exerciser and basic yoga fan. I believe that it is my muscle fitness which has held me together all these years but of course now in older age maybe I am losing a bit of muscle?

    My GP has now referred me to a neurologist as she thinks all my problems are coming

    from the spine. Considering the experiences of surgery here I am not sure much can be done to improve matters but it would help me to know exactly what is going on. Thanks.

  9. dear Gerry,

    ayurveda is the oldest system of medicines and the principles laid by ayurveda have unchanged through ages. today the research done and conclusion drawn do not sustain even for a week. we are what we eat, and out of the 3 important vital requirements of the body, air-water-food, food is an important aspect of health and it is an important factor causing ill health. when we eat, after sometimes food is converted into plasma, blood, flesh and more. we do not see this with our naked eyes, but neither can we say that it is wrong. how the system of ayurveda works, it may be difficult to show under microscope, but one can never challenge. the herbs described in ayurveda are more found in asian countries due to the climate and the researches of ayurveda were more from the asian continent.

  10. " it may be difficult to show under microscope, but one can never challenge". ?? Come again ! It's very important that it is challenged, and if it can prove itself under challenge, then it may be worth looking at. Unchallenged, its just snake oil ! Why would anyone with a chronic condition want to put their faith in untested therapies. I'm not saying that the treatments on offer in the West are much better, but at least they are put under scrutiny. The trouble with Eastern esoteric methods is that they require a quantum leap of belief systems and I don't see a need for that when the problem is a purely practical physical one. Diet has nothing to do with cervical spondylosis, unless you consider that an overweight person might experience worse symptoms than a person with average weight. But thats not the type of diet you're talking about, is it ?

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