Will injury to the lumbar spine effect the cervical spind

Posted by khunt @khunt, Nov 25 5:58pm

In 1981 I fell during basic training land on wood the struck my lower back and banging my head as well. I couldn’t move, I was taken by ambulance to the base hospital where I was examined and kept over night. I was told it was just a muscle spasm and it would go away. They were right it did go away but would return more and more over the years.
MRIs and X-rays show bulging, herniated and discs degenerated in my lower back. Over the past 20 years pain generates up and down my spine and in my neck across my shoulders and down my legs. Additional x-rays and mri shows mild to moderate degenerated discs in my cervical spine.
My question can that injury to my lower back be the cause of pain in my cervical spine.

Thank You

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Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Nov 26 1:44am

@khunt I think that the fall may have also injured your cervical spine and it wasn’t discovered at the time. A whiplash can also injure cervical spine and lower back if your body lurches forward during a collision. If you have spinal cord compression (stenosis) in your neck, it can cause pain in areas of the body below that. That was my situation with cervical canal stenosis and it caused pain all over my body. I had a C5/C6 fusion several years ago.

In your fall, you said you banged your head on the ground and that may have injured your neck and perhaps causing a twisting action.

Are you in the care of a spine specialist and perhaps considering surgery? What is reported from your imaging studies?

gently | @gently | Nov 26 10:54am

khunt, Jennifer is the best source of information.
Speculatively, an injury to the low back will always have effect on the cervical spine. The vertebra are stacked. so even positional compensation from any injury will effect the entire spine.