Possible C Spine issues?

Posted by tsquared1951 @tsquared1951, Feb 11 2:12pm

Thursday, I started having intense pain in both shoulders and between both shoulders. In front it was under the sternum. I went to the ER. Blood work including Cardiac Enzymes. EKG X 2. Chest x ray. Ultrasound of gall bladder, kidney and lower esophagus. All normal/negative. Morphine helped a little for a short time. GI cocktail had, maybe a little effect. It got worse when I leaned forward or bent over. ER Dr., mentioned possibly, musculoskeletal. Thinking back, I’ve had issues with arm and shoulder weakness for a long time. Leg weakness. Burning/tingling all over. I have Sjogrens, Fibromyalgia and Osteoarthritis. Also regarding L Spinr, Stenosis, Scoliosis and Spondylitis. Yea!!!! I know I threw a lot out here but all feedback is appreciated!!

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Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Feb 11 3:39pm

@tsquared1951 Welcome to Connect. You did the right thing by going to the emergency room. I'm glad they ruled out heart and other serious issues. Do you have plans to see other specialists?

I am a cervical spine surgery patent. I had spinal cord compression from a ruptured C5/C6 disc with bone spurs that produced symptoms all over my body. Can you tell me specifically what your spine diagnosis is?

Can you be a bit more specific about what your symptoms are, what body position are you in at the time, and how that changes when you change body position? Do you know how to provoke the symptoms and can you turn it on and off with neck positions?

Do you have muscle wasting?

I will try to help connect the dots if you can be more specific.
Jennifer

tsquared1951 | @tsquared1951 | Feb 11 3:53pm

I’ve had arm and shoulder weakness for several years but attributed it to Autoimmune Sjogrens and Fibromyalgia. I’ve only ever concentrated on L Spine as that’s where all my pain is. Mostly, Sciatica, Periformis muscle and IT Band pain. 23 degree scoliosis, L3-L5. Lumbar Stenosis and Spondylosis. Until this episode on Thursday, when everything other that musculoskeletal, was normal/negative. I’m 72 years and according to 3 sources, PCP, VA and Rheumatologist, my labs are perfect. So, C Spine makes sense. I have 2 appointments next week, Rheumatologist and Pain Management and will certainly speak with both about this.
Thanks for your response. Any other ideas are greatly appreciated!!

Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Feb 11 4:09pm

In reply to @tsquared1951 "I’ve had arm and shoulder weakness for several years but attributed it to Autoimmune Sjogrens and..." + (show)

@tsquared1951 It can get confusing trying to figure out what part of the spine is generating pain. For me that was just the C spine, and that caused pain all over my body and arm weakness to the extent that if I pushed a shopping cart at the grocery store for a half hour, I was so exhausted , I had to take a nap in the car before I could drive myself home. Driving was another exhausting exercise.

If you think you may have C spine issues, you could ask for an MRI. The C spine can generate pain lower down in the body.

With the scoliosis, that may be causing asymmetrical pressure on your pelvis which is connected to the spine, and there are muscular issue like that that do mimic spine problems, and that could be in addition to spine problems you do have.

This article describes Lumbar Plexus Compression Syndrome.
https://mskneurology.com/identify-treat-lumbar-plexus-compression-syndrome-lpcs/
Have you tried physical therapy? PT's are often good at figuring out where problems are that affect movement and function.

Jennifer