Cervical Radiculopathy – what is it and how it is manifested, causes | cervical and lumbar radiculopathy, diagnosis, treatment

Radiculopathy, also called radiculitis or radiculitis, is a disease that most often occurs as a result of damage to the spinal roots. Pain, paralysis, and paralysis can be observed in the course of radiculopathy. What else is worth knowing about radiculopathy? How is it diagnosed?

 What is radiculopathy?

Radiculopathy, often referred to as radiculopathy or radiculitis, involves damage to or irritation of the nerve roots of the spinal nerves in or around the spine. The most commonly diagnosed radiculopathies are lumbar radiculopathy or cervical radiculopathy. The disease often affects middle-aged and elderly people. It happens that radiculopathy makes it completely impossible to perform professional work.

• protrusion of the intervertebral disc,
• rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis (both in the course of both diseases, bone changes are observed),
• bone degeneration (osteopathy),
• bone cancer
• osteophytes and hematomas,
• fractures and fractures of the vertebra,
• mycosis,
• syphilis
• Lyme disease,
• shingles infection, the so-called Herpesvirus varicella zoster (the patient may complain of pain associated with loss of sensation).

Disease symptoms

Root syndrome, also called radiculopathy, radiculitis, is associated with characteristic radicular syndromes. Pain ailments and segmental neurological deficits appear in the course of the disease. The degree of pain intensity, as well as the symptoms that appear, often depend on the location of the pathology.

The most common symptoms are sensory disturbances: paraesthesia, dysaesthesia. In the course of radiculopathy, pain is observed, most often unilateral, radiating along the dermatome. Pain can affect the spine itself, the cervical area, the shoulder and even the hip joint.

Cervical radiculopathy

Cervical radiculopathy is a medical condition that results from compression or damage to the nerve roots in the cervical spine. The disease leads to pain in the neck (depending on the level of damage, it can radiate to the upper limb or shoulder girdle). Pain can also occur between the shoulder blades. In most cases, the pain worsens with the rotation of the neck. In addition to pain, patients also complain of numbness, sensory loss, muscle weakness, and muscle spasms.

Lumbar radiculopathy

Lumbar radiculopathy is understood to mean a group of symptoms that consists of the following ailments: back pain, pain in the lower limb radiating from the spinal nerve root in the lumbar region. In most cases, patients also complain of muscle weakness, paraesthesia, muscle cramps, pain in the buttocks, numbness, and a tingling sensation. Many patients with lumbar radiculopathy struggle with a reflex shift of the torso to one side.

Diagnosis of radiculopathy

The following tests are used to diagnose radiculopathy:

• X-ray examination (X-ray),
• magnetic resonance imaging,
• myelography with computed tomography (CT),
• electromyography and nerve conduction velocity testing.

Treatment of radiculopathy

In the treatment of radiculopathy, patients are prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as well as agents that relax skeletal muscles. It is important that a person with radiculopathy avoid positions that could aggravate the pain. Therapy of radiculopathy is also based on the use of cryotherapy and cooling the painful area. In some cases, epidural nerve blocks are also necessary. Surgical procedures are also used in the treatment of radicular neuritis. During surgery, doctors remove part of the nucleus pulposus that puts pressure on the nerve root or spinal nerve.