Cervical cord tumors cause sciatica
45-year-old Mr. Lin came to this clinic for treatment on July 6. He suffered from paralysis of his right foot and pain in his front thigh since October 2015. A few months later, he experienced alternating feelings of cold and burning in his feet. After physical therapy and acupuncture, there is not much improvement. The condition continued until May to June this year, the foot pain worsened, the left foot began to become weak, and the right foot became more numb. The front abdomen and low back were tight when sitting, and the feet and low back pain when lying down at night. At the end of June, He couldn’t defecate for 3-7 days, and it is difficult to urinate, his feet become weaker and needed to use crutches to walk.
After detailed questioning, it is obvious that Mr. Lin’s problem has caused cauda equina syndrome. There may be a tumor in the spinal cord or a severe lumbar disc herniation compressing the spinal cord. Immediately arrange the patient to take a full spine MRI, and immediately after 2 hours after reading the scans, it turned out that the patient had a 1.6cm tumor at the 6/7 spinal canal position of the cervical spine and severely compressed the spinal cord. He was immediately referred to a neurosurgeon on the same day and arranged to be admitted to the hospital that night, and the cervical cord tumor was removed the next day by surgery. After the operation, the patient’s foot pain and numbness gradually improved.
Because the tumor area is relatively large, the compressed spinal cord is more resistant to compression, so even after it is relieved, there will be some nerve damage. 7 weeks after the operation, the author arranged for him to come back for continued postoperative decompression treatment that helps the damaged nerves to .slowly recover the function
Case Analysis
Mr. Lin’s symptoms are generally considered to be sciatica. Although Lin’s foot pain and foot numbness are really similar to the symptoms of sciatica, but when the tumor is compressed against the spinal cord. This severe damage to the cord will lead to Mr. Lin’s severe fatigue in his feet and worsening pain at night, this indicated that the condition is not a normal condition of a sciatica. Although Mr. Lin’s tumor was on the cervical spine, he did not show symptoms of upper limb neuralgia or paralysis or weakness of the arms and hands. This kind of symptoms that a doctor can misdiagnosis as sciatica. Mr. Lin’s cervical spinal tumor is located outside of the spinal cord. When the tumor grows and large enough to compresses on the spinal cord, the following symptoms will appear:
1. Low back pain, pain may refers to other body
parts
2. Loss of sensation, possibly in the upper or
lower extremities
3. Weak feet, difficulty walking
4. Loss of feelings of pain, heat and cold
5. Affect urination or bowel function
6. Muscle weakness
There are many reasons for lower back and foot pain, ranging from muscle problems to tumors. Early and proper diagnosis and treatment can also prevent permanent nerve damage and restore normal body functions as soon as possible.