Does Degenerative Disc Disease Cause Paralysis?

Posted on Mon, 4 Jul 2016

Question: I suffer from chronic back pain and have for several years. I had four cervical fusions and lower backpain from disc herniation. I was told that pain would be a problem for the rest of my life. Since the surgery I have had several epidurals, facete injections and RFA at various levels. None were very helpful for long. the past six mounts have been a living nightmare. The pain gets worse as time passes. That is bad enough, but may legs feel very weak and I am not sure they will support me sometimes. My balance is off and I have had several fall. My question is : can degenreative disc dease cause paralysis (sp) ? And I am about at the end of my tolerances. I am really frustrated with my doctor who is very reluctant to order pain meds. While I understand her reluctance to order narcotic meds I just want to cry. I understand addiction ( I worked on a drug and alcohol rehab for the last 20 yr. as a nurse) I think I should be able to get some relief . I have a TENS Unit, heating pad ,icepacks, I have gone to PT and done streaching excersizes Anyway this is far to long Any suggestions ? My quality of life is about )0000.

Answered by Dr. Ishu Bishnoi (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Consultation

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXXX, thanks for asking from HCM.

I can understand your concern. It is sad that you are suffering from so much pain. I will try to help you as much as possible.

Answer 1 - Yes degenerative disc can cause paralysis. It can compress on cord and nerve roots and thus leads to paralysis. Cervical disc causes more damage than lumbar disc.

For pain relief, you can ask for few new methods like

: Spinal cord stimulation - It is done in resistant cases of pain. It can give relief in pain upto 70-75%. But problem is - it is not 100% effective and it will not treat underlying pathology.

In it, an electrode will be placed over your cord at pain generating area to control painful discharges.

: Intrathecal painkiller implant - In it painkiller like Morphine implant is placed inside spinal cord covering (dura/arachnoid) and it releases drug gradually. It can provide relief in resistant pain.

: There are few procedures like rhizotomy/nerve ablation in case of severe pain. All these procedures can cause some functional deficit. So they are advised only if pain can tolerate deficit.

Other than all these procedures, kindly let me know what reason doctor is telling you for such severe pain? whether it is disc compression, implant compression, nerve irritation due to implant, dural scaring. Because if it is a treatable pathology, it can be dealt first and that will provide you better relief.

Hope it will help you. Thanks. Take care.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T