What is cervical radiculopathy?
Cervical radiculopathy is the medical term referring to pain and the loss of function in a specific region within the arms. This occurs due to irritation or compression of one of the spinal nerve roots in the neck. Your cervical spine (neck) is made up of 7 connected bones called vertebrae. The vertebrae are connected to each other above and below through strong discs and joints on either side called facet joints. Your discs protect your spine by acting like shock absorbers to distribute weight through your neck evenly. The facet joints on the other hand not only control but also allow the movement of the neck. Think of the facet joints like the steering mechanism of the spine it is their job to determine what movements can be made and the extent of those movements. The disc in the middle and the facet joints either side form what professionals refer to as the “three joint complex” that makes the spine a strong and durable structure. This portion of the spinal column needs to be very flexible, but at the same time needs to be able to protect the delicate spinal cord and spinal nerves that travel through it. The cervical spine surrounds the spinal cord to protect it from damage. The nerves branch off from the spinal cord and pass out at the level of each disc through the intervertebral foramina and then continue to travel down into the arm. The nerve passes very close to the edge of the facet joint and disc.
Why and when does cervical radiculopathy happen?
Cervical radiculopathy occurs when the space that the spinal nerve travels through, called the intervertebral foramina starts to decrease. There are a few possible causes of this; each cause has a link to a thorough condition article explaining diagnosis and treatment. A cervical disc herniation most commonly bulges to the side affecting the spinal nerves as they exit the cord. Bony growths that occur with certain arthritic changes to the spine can grow around the intervertebral foramina and in some cases can be large enough to encroach upon and compress the spinal nerve. Natural ageing/degeneration sees the discs in-between the vertebrae decrease in height as they lose a lot of their natural water content. This process causes foramina space to decrease. The narrowing of the intervertebral foramina and the spinal canal is referred to as Stenosis.
What does cervical radiculopathy feel like?
Cervical radiculopathy symptoms can build up gradually or may start suddenly after an injury. Symptoms include pain traveling from the neck into a specific region of the arm, forearm or hand. In many cases the arm pain is accompanied by numbness, pins and needles and weakness in a similar distribution to the pain. Some cases report arm symptoms without any neck pain, a loss in grip strength within the hand is often reported.
For diagnosis and treatment information read the following articles;
Natural Aging and Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease