Steemit Learning Challenge - S21W3 | Cervical Radiculopathy

I welcome you all to this blog as we take a look into another aspect of health. Thanks to @ashkhan and other team members for this impressive class.

What's Cervical Radiculopathy? Write in your own words after getting knowledge from the lesson post.

Source

The term Cervical Radiculopathy refers to a medical condition that affects the cervical spine (neck) as well as surrounding nerves. It occurs when the root of a nerve in the cervical spine is compressed, inflamed, or irritated, resulting in pain, weakness, or numbness in the arm, neck, hands, or shoulders.

Cervical Spine refers to the neck area of the spine; the nerve roots are branches of the spinal cord that, through small openings, exit the spine, while radiculopathy is the irritation or damage to nerve roots. Therefore cervical radiculopathy is characterized by irritation or damage of the region of the neck of the spinal chord that results in tingling in the neck, arms, hands, or shoulders.

The Causes of Cervical Radiculopathy

The causes of cervical radiculopathy are as follows:

1. Degenerative disc disease (DDD) which includes the cervical (neck), thoracic (upper back), and lumber (lower) back DDD.
2. Spondylosis: a broad term that refers to degenerative changes in the spine that often affect the discs, joints, and ligaments, which includes cervical spondylosis, thoracic spondylosis, lumber spondylosis, and osteoarthritis i.e, spinal joint degeneration.
3. Osteoporosis: a medical condition characterized by loss of bone density, weakened bones, and increased risk of fracture. It occurs when the remodeling process of the body's bone is imbalanced, resulting in inadequate bone formation or growth and exorbitant bone resorption.
4. Herniated or bulging discs
5. Spinal stenosis: A medical condition depicted by the contracting of the spinal canal, which induces pressure on the spinal cord as well as surrounding nerves.
6. Trauma or injury and
7. Infections or tumors

The Nerve Roots Involved

The nerve roots involved in cervical radiculopathy are C5-C6 which affects the upper arm and shoulder, C5-C6; affecting the hand and the forearm, and C7-T1 that affects the fingers and hands.

Symptoms of Cervical Radiculopathy

The symptoms of cervical radiculopathy may include stiffness or pain in the neck, fatigue or weakness in hands or arms, difficulty holding or lifting objects, loss of balance or dizziness, tingling in fingers or hands or numbness, migraines or headaches, cramping or spasms of the muscle.

The Stages of Cervical Radiculopathy

The stages of cervical radiculopathy are as follows:

1. Acute stage: ranging from 0 to 6 weeks characterized by pain and inflammation.
2. Subacute stage: ranging from 6 to 12 weeks, characterized by stiffness and pain
3. Chronic stage: beyond 12 weeks and characterized by persistent pain and limited mobility.

Treatment Options

The treatment options for cervical radiculopathy involve:

1. Conservative management: This has to do with chiropractic care, physical therapy, modification of lifestyle, and pain management medications.
2. Interventional procedures: This involves nerve blocks, epidural injections, as well as radiofrequency ablation.
3. Surgical options: Surgical options are suitable for artificial disc replacement, spinal fusion, and discectomy, i.e., the removal of a herniated disc.

Cervical Radiculopathy needs quick medical attention to assuage symptoms, hinder further damage, and enhance the quality of life.

---

How would you diagnose a Cervical Radiculopathy? Any clinical investigation or assessment tests?

A combination of clinical evaluation, physical examination, and diagnosis is involved in testing and diagnosing cervical radiculopathy.

Clinical Evaluation

Clinical evaluation for cervical radiculopathy involves the following:

1. Medical history: This is the assessment of symptoms, onset, as well as duration.
2. Symptom questionnaire: This relates to identifying patterns of pain, weakness numbness, or tingling.
3. Physical examination: This involves the evaluation of posture, strength of muscle, range of motion, as well as reflexes.

Physical Examination

The following are involved in the physical examination of cervical radiculopathy.

1. Cervical spine examination: This has to do with assessing a range of motion*, which involves rotation, flexion, lateral bending,g, and extension. Palpation; to determine muscle spasms and tenderness. Spurling's text for cervical compression.
2. Neurological examination: This involves examining reflexes and muscle strength, i.e., brachioradialis, triceps, and biceps. Sensory examination which refers to pinprick and light touch, as well as balance and coordination assessment.

Diagnostic Tests

Diagnostic tests for cervical radiculopathy include the following:

1. Imaging Studies: This includes X-rays for the cervical spine, computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and myelography (contrast-enhanced X-ray).
2. Electrophysiological Tests: This involves tests like electromyography (EMG), nerve conduction studies (NCS), and somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP).
3. Other Tests: Other tests include selective nerve root blood and diagnostic injection referred to as cervical discography.

Clinical Investigation

three outstanding clinical investigations can be carried out for cervical radiculopathy. These are cervical spine radiographs(X-rays), EMG and NCS, which assess nerve root compression as well as nerve and muscle damage, and MRI or CT scans, which evaluate spondylosis, disc herniation, osteoporosis, spinal stenosis.

Assessment Tests

There are several assessment test for cervical radiculopathy, they includes numerical rating scale; referred to as NRS; for pains, neck disability index known as NDI, medical outcomes study short form 36 (SF-36) for checking quality of life, and visual analog scale known as VAS, equally for pains.

Diagnostic Criteria

The diagnostic criteria for this cervical radiculopathy include clinical signs and symptoms such as pain, weakness, and dumbness. Disc herniation and spinal stenosis for evincing image evidence of cervical spine pathology. ENG and NCS for providing electrophysiological evidence of compression of nerve root.

Differential Diagnosis

This is another aspect of the test for cervical radiculopathy which has to do with diagnosing cervical spondylosis, spinal stenosis, peripheral neuropathy, herniated disc, fibromyalgia, and thoracic outlet syndrome

Accurate diagnosis calls for an exhaustive evaluation, merging clinical findings, diagnostic tests, and assessment tools.

---

Try to practice at least 3 exercises that you have learned from the lesson. Share images, gifs, or videos while practicing.

https://youtube.com/shorts/_ImubqGduCo?si=MX1ETYpbDzBpQkpk

https://youtube.com/shorts/405VB5N1nrA?si=24mEcnS49XiQ_q8d

https://youtube.com/shorts/uhkEb2E2U0k?si=82lWl2GmBY8TY013

Share your review after performing these exercises either on yourself, healthy individual or patient.

Gentle neck and shoulder exercises are indeed effective and beneficial for relieving both the cervical spine and the shoulders thereby reducing the chances of cervical radiculopathy

The following are the observable positive effects of these exercises:

1. Reduction of pains and discomfort
2. Heightened strength and neck muscles stability
3. Reduction of muscle spasms and tension
4. Improved flow of blood and oxygenation to areas that are affected.
5. Enhancement of motion and flexibility range
6. Improvement of body mechanics and posture
7. Battened mobility of nerves and compression reduction
8. Reduction of swelling and inflammation

Specific Benefits for Cervical Radiculopathy

Tender neck and shoulder exercises can equally have specific beneficial effects for cervical radiculopathy.

These benefits may include reduced pressure on the affected nerve roots, decreased symptoms of spinal stenosis, enhanced essential support and stability, battened disc height and ameliorated herniation, as well as enhanced natural curve referred to as cervical lordosis.

Gentle neck and shoulder exercises can be an efficient conservative managerial strategy for cervical radiculopathy, promotion of pain reduction, enhancement of function, and improvement of quality of life.

---

Thank you for your time and reading through. I want to invite @ninapenda, @roselove, and @divinelife

---

I Am @Hisgeneral