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i have cervical spinal cord compression

Spine Health | Last Active: Jun 3, 2023 | Replies (14)
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@jbr

I have stenosis of the cervical spine and will be operated on shortly. It has caused all kinds of problems like poor balance and falls, painful shoulders and numb arms in bed, and upper back pain.
Due to an earlier lumbar laminectomy numbness in the lower extremities was blamed on that area and no attention was paid to my neck. However a myelogram picked up on stenosis in the neck as well. The unsteady gait that was obvious to my family stems from my neck, according to the doctor. This caused me to fall down some stairs, snap off the quadricep tendon, and subsequent surgery and year long recovery.
My advice is that if you have stenosis anywhere, do remember that the neck may also be affected, and cause lower extremity problems which most docs would blame on the lumbar region.

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Replies to "I have stenosis of the cervical spine and will be operated on shortly. It has caused..."
wjh67 | @wjh67 | May 30, 2023

Hi jbr. How was your myelogram? I have heard horror stories about that procedure.

What type of surgery will you be having on your neck? Fusion, laminoplasty?

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Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | May 30, 2023

@jbr I am a spine surgery patient and also have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Having your arms go numb in bed when laying down could be a sign of TOS because it causes impaired circulation with different arm and neck positions which you could be doing as you lie in bed. For example, a military type salute arm position can cut off circulation in a patient with TOS and it isn't because of laying on the arm. I had that happen to me. If you are a side sleeper, it can be the arm on top that you are not laying on that goes numb. I know you have a lot going on that could cause overlapping symptoms. If your spine cervical issues are the result of a whiplash, it is possible that an injury like that could also have caused TOS.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988

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