|
Back and neck pain
Spinal degenerative disease and related disorders
What other symptoms can develop?
Abnormal sensations
Besides pain, an individual may experience numbness or tingling in an arm or a leg, sometimes both. Such symptoms may be caused by compression of nerve roots, and can also help doctors diagnose the source of a problem, particularly if the abnormal sensation is confined to part of the limb or certain fingers or toes.
Muscle weakness
Occasionally a person will experience weakness in a muscle group in the arm or leg, which may affect hand or foot movement. This too can have a localising value for the doctor. It may also have implications for treatment, especially if more widespread and disabling weakness develops. Sometimes a person may feel as if a whole limb is weak when, in fact, muscle power is good. This is usually due to pain inhibiting limb movement.
Bladder, bowel and sexual function
When nerves are trapped by slipped discs or bony spurs it is usually only one nerve that is affected. Occasionally, however, a number of nerves are involved, or the spinal cord is compressed. In these circumstances there may be disturbance of normal bladder and bowel control or sexual function may be affected. There may be other explanations for such symptoms, for example women who have had children may often experience minor difficulties with bladder control later in life. Older men may also have bladder problems due to enlargement of the prostate gland. In general, however, doctors will prefer to investigate such symptoms as a matter of urgency, particularly when they occur together with other features suggesting trapped nerves.
Giddiness
There are many causes of giddiness which are unrelated to spinal problems, but sometimes wear-and-tear changes in the vertebrae can result in compression of one or both of a pair of arteries in the neck, known as the vertebral arteries. The problem is usually managed simply by avoiding those neck movements which bring on the giddiness.
Besides pain, an individual may experience numbness or tingling in an arm or a leg, sometimes both. Such symptoms may be caused by compression of nerve roots, and can also help doctors diagnose the source of a problem, particularly if the abnormal sensation is confined to part of the limb or certain fingers or toes.
Muscle weakness
Occasionally a person will experience weakness in a muscle group in the arm or leg, which may affect hand or foot movement. This too can have a localising value for the doctor. It may also have implications for treatment, especially if more widespread and disabling weakness develops. Sometimes a person may feel as if a whole limb is weak when, in fact, muscle power is good. This is usually due to pain inhibiting limb movement.
Bladder, bowel and sexual function
When nerves are trapped by slipped discs or bony spurs it is usually only one nerve that is affected. Occasionally, however, a number of nerves are involved, or the spinal cord is compressed. In these circumstances there may be disturbance of normal bladder and bowel control or sexual function may be affected. There may be other explanations for such symptoms, for example women who have had children may often experience minor difficulties with bladder control later in life. Older men may also have bladder problems due to enlargement of the prostate gland. In general, however, doctors will prefer to investigate such symptoms as a matter of urgency, particularly when they occur together with other features suggesting trapped nerves.
Giddiness
There are many causes of giddiness which are unrelated to spinal problems, but sometimes wear-and-tear changes in the vertebrae can result in compression of one or both of a pair of arteries in the neck, known as the vertebral arteries. The problem is usually managed simply by avoiding those neck movements which bring on the giddiness.
|
Page 4 of 19
Contents
- Introduction
- What causes spinal pain?
- Why do I experience different types of pain?
- What other symptoms can develop?
- How common are spinal problems?
- Could it be something serious?
- What will happen if the pain is not treated?
- What do the various words used by doctors mean?
- What tests can be performed?
- How is spinal pain treated?
- When is an operation necessary?
- What do you recommend, doctor?
- Who should perform my operation?
- What are the drawbacks of surgery?
- What is the recovery period?
- What is surgery fails?
- What advances are likely in the future?
- Conclusions
- Other organisations that may be able to help
