Cervical spinal stenosis
Cervical spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck.[1] Its symptoms can included pain, numbness, tingling, weakness and other symptoms seen in cervical medullary syndrome.
Fibromyalgia[edit | edit source]
A study of 270 patients with fibromyalgia found that 46% had cervical spinal stenosis and 20% chiari malformation.[2] A significant improvement in physical and mental well-being was found in patients with cervical stenosis who received surgery.[3] A second study found that 71% had cervical spinal cord compression.[4]
There are some cases of cervical stenosis that may not be apparent when the neck is in the neutral position, but may be quite severe in extension.[5] Andrew Holman describes these cases as "positional cervical spinal cord compression." He argues that some symptoms of fibromyalgia may be an inflammatory response to intermittent cord irritation which may not be severe enough to cause more overt symptoms.[4]
ME/CFS[edit | edit source]
A 2018 case study published by Peter Rowe found marked post-operative improvement of symptoms in three patients with severe myalgic encephalomyelitis, orthostatic intolerance and cervical spinal stenosis.[6]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Spinal stenosis - Symptoms and causes". Mayo Clinic. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
- ↑ Heffez, Dan S.; Ross, Ruth E.; Shade-Zeldow, Yvonne; Kostas, Konstantinos; Shah, Sagar; Gottschalk, Robert; Elias, Dean A.; Shepard, Alan; Leurgans, Sue E. (April 9, 2004). "Clinical evidence for cervical myelopathy due to Chiari malformation and spinal stenosis in a non-randomized group of patients with the diagnosis of fibromyalgia". European Spine Journal. 13 (6): 516–523. doi:10.1007/s00586-004-0672-x. ISSN 0940-6719. PMC 3476600. PMID 15083352.
- ↑ Heffez, Dan S.; Ross, Ruth E.; Shade-Zeldow, Yvonne; Kostas, Konstantinos; Morrissey, Mary; Elias, Dean A.; Shepard, Alan (September 2007). "Treatment of cervical myelopathy in patients with the fibromyalgia syndrome: outcomes and implications". European Spine Journal. 16 (9): 1423–1433. doi:10.1007/s00586-007-0366-2. ISSN 0940-6719. PMC 2200733. PMID 17426987.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Positional Cervical Spinal Cord Compression and Fibromyalgia: A Novel Comorbidity With Important Diagnostic and Treatment Implications". The Journal of Pain. 9 (7): 613–622. July 1, 2008. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2008.01.339. ISSN 1526-5900.
- ↑ Zeitoun, Delphine; Hajj, Firass El; Sariali, Elhadi; Catonné, Yves; Pascal-Moussellard, Hugues (April 1, 2015). "Evaluation of spinal cord compression and hyperintense intramedullary lesions on T2-weighted sequences in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy using flexion-extension MRI protocol". The Spine Journal. 15 (4): 668–674. doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2014.12.001. ISSN 1529-9430. PMID 25485484.
- ↑ Rowe, Peter C.; Marden, Colleen L.; Heinlein, Scott; Edwards, Charles C. (February 2, 2018). "Improvement of severe myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms following surgical treatment of cervical spinal stenosis". Journal of Translational Medicine. 16. doi:10.1186/s12967-018-1397-7. ISSN 1479-5876. PMC 5796598. PMID 29391028.
