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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Neck Pain, Lost Mobility Of Arms And Legs. What Could This Be?

my dad was working construction and all of a sudden his neck hurt and his drill got so heavy he dropped it. With in an hour he lost all mobility of both arms and legs. He has regained mobility as far as moving his legs and right arm, but he cannot stand, sit up or feed himself on his own. What could this be? Doctors took MRI , CT scan and x rays. They have ruled out stroke .
Sat, 24 Aug 2013
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Spine Surgeon,  's  Response
Hi
Thank you for your question.

From the symptoms you have described I strongly feel it is a manifestation of cervical stenosis and myelopathy. What stenosis means is the vertebral canal in the neck that contains spinal cord is narrowed. It happens due to age related changes in spine in some people. When there is even trivial trauma to the neck the spinal canal can not move freely in already narrowed canal and gets compressed leading to weakness in arms and legs. Some recovery is seen most of the times and may continue for months.

MRI of the cervical spine (neck) is recommended and consultation with a spine surgeon.

Please let me know if I can be of any help.
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Neck Pain, Lost Mobility Of Arms And Legs. What Could This Be?

Hi Thank you for your question. From the symptoms you have described I strongly feel it is a manifestation of cervical stenosis and myelopathy. What stenosis means is the vertebral canal in the neck that contains spinal cord is narrowed. It happens due to age related changes in spine in some people. When there is even trivial trauma to the neck the spinal canal can not move freely in already narrowed canal and gets compressed leading to weakness in arms and legs. Some recovery is seen most of the times and may continue for months. MRI of the cervical spine (neck) is recommended and consultation with a spine surgeon. Please let me know if I can be of any help.