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marycdickens01 avatar

Cervical myelopathy and cognitive dysfunction

Spine Health | Last Active: Jun 2 11:36pm | Replies (22)

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Profile picture for Ray Kemble @ray666

Hi, @michc56. The description of your symptoms matches mine to a T: "weak legs, wobbly 'drunken' gait … No serious falls, no serious pain … " When I first started meeting with a neurologist (4-5 years ago?), I was referred to a neurosurgeon to discuss whether cervical surgery might help with my gait. The neurosurgeon and I looked over my imagining, and in the end, he said that, while there was some "borderline encrochment" on my spinal cord, and that, while he could relieve the encrochment, it was highly unlikely that surgery would do anything to help with my gait. I went back a year later for a follow-up, and the neurosurgeon was a little surprised to see that the encrochment, rather than worsening, had actually lessened. I'm not sure, but the lessening might have something to do with neck and cervical spine stretches I do regularly, not for my gait, but to prevent what's sometimes called a "Dowager's hump." While I'm always all-ears for new and/or better approaches to improving my gait, I remain pretty firmly convinced that exercise––in particular leg-strengthening exercise––is my only hope for anything resembling "improvement" in my gait. In the meantime, I'll keep my cane handy! All the best to you, @michc56. 🙂 Cheers! –Ray (@ray666)

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Replies to "Hi, @michc56. The description of your symptoms matches mine to a T: "weak legs, wobbly 'drunken'..."

@ray666 Thank you for sharing. I started my analysis in 2020, did not have surgery or PT but initiated - walking, stretching, yoga, deep-tissue massage, acupuncture on my own. Things improved significantly, but I still had intermittent loss of balance. Then my legs weakened and I had pain at night in my neck. When seeing a non-invasion physician she directed me to the neurosurgeon for surgery due to the image of my C5-C6. They both addressed the need for surgery "necessary to protect you from paralysis or worse if you fall or are in an accident." I agree with you - serius approach to self-help and manipulations of associated muscles may be better, while it lasts, then surgery, when in my case, I was not in significant pain.