Cervical Myelopathy

• Debilitating neck, arm, leg, or lower back pain
• Loss of dexterity and fine motor skills, such as the inability to pick up a pen
• Imbalance while walking or standing
• Neck pain
• Weakness in the limbs, particularly in the arms and hands
• Loss of bladder and bowel control
• Paralysis

Most patients will not experience all these symptoms. However, if patients are experiencing any of them or have nagging pain, they should visit the best-in-class spine specialist, Dr. Branko Skovrlj. He is a renowned neurosurgeon who specializes in spine treatments. He uses the latest technology and techniques for spinal diagnosis and treatment.

How Serious Is Cervical Myelopathy?

In the center of each vertebra is a continuous hollow longitudinal canal through which the spinal cord and nerve bundles pass. Cervical spine structural changes due to age or trauma can lead to spinal compression (cervical myelopathy).

To appreciate the impact this spinal disorder can have on a patient’s life, consider all the activities they cannot do when they are afflicted:

• Working may be too much, especially if patients typically spend a lot of time on their feet.
• Patients struggle to get comfortable with a painful neck.
• The pain and weakness radiate into the arms and hands.
• If patients do not treat this spinal dysfunction early, significant and permanent nerve damage may become a reality.

While cervical myelopathy is one of the least common spinal disorders, it requires treatment. All the symptoms of cervical myelopathy are serious and should be treated as so.

What Causes Cervical Myelopathy?

The gradual wear and tear of the spine with age is the most common cause of myelopathy in the cervical spine. Other causes of this spinal disorder include:

• Bone spurs
• A disc out of alignment
• A herniated disc
• Degenerative cervical spondylosis
• A dislocation, fracture, or other injury to the neck, such as whiplash
• Traumatic injury to the cervical spinal cord
• Malalignment or instability of the neck vertebrae
• Spinal tumors and cancers

While a neck injury can happen to anyone, there are certain risk factors for this spinal dysfunction that make it more likely to affect certain people. Conditions that increase a patient’s risk for cervical myelopathy include:

• Age over 60
• Congenital disorders
• Cervical spinal stenosis
• Ischemia, which is when the heart muscle does not get enough blood
• Neurological disorders
• Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and vascular diseases
• Spinal infections

Is Cervical Myelopathy Treatable?

At his spinal medicine treatment practice in New Jersey, Dr. Skovrlj has the expertise and technology to diagnose the cause of a patient’s spinal dysfunction. All treatments start with a comprehensive diagnosis. Patients will go through a physical examination, review of their medical history, and diagnostic tests, which could include an MRI, X-ray, or CT myelogram.

A doctor relies on the diagnosis to determine the treatment. The most effective treatment, especially for severe cases of cervical myelopathy, usually is minimally invasive spine surgery. At NU-Spine, cervical myelopathy treatment options include both non-surgical and surgical treatments.

Non-Surgical Treatment Options

Conservative or non-surgical treatment aims to improve the patient’s function and capacity for everyday activities while reducing inflammation in the spinal cord and nerve roots.

In general, treatment involves temporarily immobilizing the neck, using steroidal or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), and engaging in physical therapy. Dr. Skovrlj may recommend physical therapy or wearing a soft cervical collar. This treatment applies equally to cervical stenosis with myelopathy.

NSAIDs, oral corticosteroids, and epidural steroid injections are non-surgical treatments that relieve a patient’s pain but do little to heal its underlying cause.

Surgical Treatment Options

Surgery could be recommended if a closely watched term of nonsurgical treatment fails to alleviate cervical myelopathy symptoms.

Myelopathy is classified as a surgical condition since it is a progressive disease that causes irreparable spinal cord injury. The inability to treat the issue effectively may end in paralysis and loss of function in both arms and legs, a condition known as quadriplegia. Therefore, severe myelopathy can be addressed by cervical laminoplasty or laminectomy (spinal decompression) with or without fusion.

Dr. Skovrlj performs a laminoplasty to provide more room for the spinal cord and nerve roots, relieving the pressure caused by spinal stenosis, which is when a spinal canal is narrowed due to arthritis.

In some instances, a spinal decompression procedure requires the complete removal of the vertebral body, or corpectomy, in combination with fusion to alleviate pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. It means removing bone and discs from the cervical spine, followed by fusion with a bone transplant or implant (cage) to stabilize the spine.

Surgical treatment for cervical myelopathy includes:

• Laminoplasty
• Minimally invasive laminoplasty
• Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)
• Cervical disc replacement
• Endoscopic posterior cervical foraminotomy/discectomy
• Spinal decompression (laminectomy) with fusion

Choose NU-Spine to Treat Cervical Myelopathy

The world-renowned staff at NU-Spine: The Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Institute are advocates of minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr. Skovrlj and the team believe the technique is on par with traditional spinal surgery, but it is less invasive, leading to a quicker healing time for the patient.

Whether a patient has cervical myelopathy or is seeking a more accurate diagnosis of neck and back pain, visit NU-Spine as soon as possible. We are conveniently located in Paramus, Woodbridge, Toms River, Jersey City, and Holmdel, New Jersey.

Transform your life with a touch of care! Experience the cutting edge in minimally invasive spine treatments. Don’t wait for relief; schedule your appointment with our spine experts today and take the first step toward a pain-free future. Contact us today.