How Chiropractic Care Can Ease Neck Pain from Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
- Julian Simpson
- 16 minutes ago
- 2 min read
How Chiropractic Care Can Ease Neck Pain from Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy
Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is a clinical syndrome characterized by progressive compression, torsion and/or friction of the cervical spinal cord
Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) Involves :
ligamentous ossification, and/or vertebral and disk degenerative changes that progressively compromise the spinal cord
Who is likely to get degenerative cervical myelopathy
Global prevalence is estimated to be 2.3%
two-thirds of cases occur in females, with a mean age of 40 years
Depending on the location of the compression, symptoms can include pain in the neck, shoulders/arms, sensory deficits, motor weakness, impaired gate, and/or bladder dysfunction
When white matter is involved, DCM mainly manifests as an upper motor neuron syndrome with spasticity and hyperreflexia.
What are the symptoms of degenerative cervical myelopathy and when do they occur ?
(1) Hand numbness | Early | |
(2) Hand paresthesia | Early | |
(3) Upper extremity symptoms | Middle | |
(4) Gait impairment | Early-Middle | |
(5) Hand clumsiness | Middle | |
(6) Upper extremity numbness | Middle | |
(7) Lower extremity numbness | Late | |
(8) lower extremity paresthesia | Late | |
(9) Upper extremity weakness | Middle | |
(10) Upper extremity paresthesia | Middle | |
(11) Lower extremity weakness | Late | |
(12) Neck and/or shoulder pain | Early | |
(13) Upper extremity pain | Middle | |
(14) Radicular/radiating pain | Middle | |
(15) Bladder dysfunction | Late | |
(16) Hand fine motor disturbance | Early | |
(17) Bowel dysfunction | Late | |
(18) Back pain | Middle-Late | |
(19) Lower extremity pain | ||
How do we as Chiropractors assess for degenerative cervical myelopathy ?
the Hoffmans sign, Tromner sign, Babinkski sign, Romberg’s sign, deep tendon hyperreflexia and the inverted supinator sign
Gait changes seen in DCM cases include reduced cadence, increased step width, decreased step length, and longer stride time
Stages of Degeneration and the warning signs to look for in degenerative cervical myelopathy
Non surgical treatment of degenerative cervical myelopathy with Chiropractic :
The overall principles of musculoskeletal interventions
involve ROM and mobility exercises,
flexibility training,
stabilisation exercises of deep neck flexor muscles,
gentle strengthening of upper quarter muscles,
activity modification,
postural awareness,
balance training,
and the implementation of home exercise programs
For more information about how we can help YOU with your neck pain and improve your underlying dysfunction so the problem doesn’t come back . Please call Health Wise Chiropractic 03 9467 7889 or book online to see one of our Chiropractors in Sunbury or Melton/Strathtulloh Today!
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