Cervical myelopathy is referred to as nerve compression of the spinal cord in the cervical spine area (neck). This condition is most commonly observed in adults and older people. Several factors include degeneration of cervical spine, slipped disc, traumatic cervical spine injuries, and tumours that contribute to this.
Cervical myelopathy is secondary to the predominant pressure on the anterior spinal cord resulting of the deformation of the cord. In the MRI scan there is compression and effacement of the normal CSF cuff present around the spinal cord. This cervical myelopathy if becomes chronic causes disability, and deterioration is seen in many patients. The cervical myelopathy varies per the severity of spinal cord compression and its location.
The symptoms of cervical myelopathy vary from one person to another. All the symptoms of cervical myelopathy involve a spectrum of disorders and they can give rise to ranging from complete incapacitation and loss of ability to walk to subtle loss of balance as the patient is walking. Sometimes the symptoms seem very nonspecific and vague.The earlier the diagnosis of cervical myelopathy, the better is the treatment results. Following tests are performed:-
The treatment of cervical myelopathy helps in relieving the different cervical myelopathy symptoms. To diminish the compression of the spinal cord and prevent further complications. This treatment also helps in avoiding the complications like immobilization of neck and wear and tear of neck bones.
Patients who come with symptoms of cervical myelopathy, the spine surgeon, will conduct a thorough examination and re-confirm the diagnosis. The orthopaedic surgeon specialist check for the severity of pain, numbness in arms and hands, Ability of the patient to carry on the day to activity, Gait, Ability to do work with the upper limbs etc. If the disability is severe, then the spine surgeon may recommend surgery.
Sometimes MRI scan may reveal myelomalacia or signal changes in the spinal cord which state that the problem is long standing in nature. Patients with such changes have to specially monitored as their condition is considered to be in an advanced state. Myelopathy treatment has the best outcomes if done before the appearance of the cord changes.
The treatment for cervical myelopathy has two ways:-
Spine decompression without fusion or Laminoplasty: It is a surgical process in which the surgeon will make incisions in the cervical spine area and inserts bone spacers or metal plates into the lamina to attain the ability of the cervical spine.
Spine decompression with fusion: Spine decompression surgery can be done in the anterior portion or posterior portion of the neck. During this process, the pressure from the spinal cord is removed along with other tissue, which affects the stability of the spine. After the removal of the tissue, all the affected portions of the spine will be fused. Posterior spinal decompression and fusion is done along with lateral mass or cervical pedicle screw fixation. If anterior decompression is done, discectomy or corpectomy at one or two levels is done with bone graft and plate fixation. This is almost same as ACDF.
The cost of cervical myelopathy treatment may vary depending on the factors like
Mostly it may take 6-8 weeks to return to normal activities after cervical myelopathy surgery. It may vary from person to person and depending on the severity of the injury and complexity of the surgery. Spine surgeons may recommend physiotherapy to strengthen your neck muscles and relieve neck pain.
Dr Abhinav Srivastava is an eminent Best spine surgeon in Lucknow who provides the best spine surgery treatments for the people who are suffering from different spine deformities and diseases. He has specialized experience in performing cervical myelopathy to achieve better cervical spine stability.