As you age, changes in your body can create chronic pain problems. Radiculopathy, or a pinched nerve, is a common cause of pain, especially in seniors.
Dr. Andrew Fox, Dr. Ryan Mattie, and the team at Total Spine Institute can help you understand more about your chronic pain risks. We also provide treatment for multiple types of radiculopathy from our locations in Sherman Oaks and Calabasas, California.
Did you know that there’s a connection between radiculopathy and arthritis? If you have radiculopathy symptoms or suffer from arthritis, you need information about how these issues might be connected.
While aging isn’t always involved with radiculopathy, the two are often connected.And arthritis is often a problem that also comes on as you age. Years of wear-and-tear, as well as decreased regeneration, create painful problems like pinched nerves.
You’re more likely to suffer from a pinched nerve due to degenerative types of arthritis like osteoarthritis, although inflammatory arthritis can, more rarely, also result in nerve problems. Osteoarthritis in your back or neck, a condition known as spondylosis, is relatively common and often worsens as you age.
This type of degenerative arthritis accelerates wear-and-tear on your spinal joints. As your spinal joints break down, your body produces bone spurs to support your spine. However, the formation of bone spurs can narrow the foramina space in your spine, leading to radiculopathy.
You can experience radiculopathy in different parts of your spine. Your symptoms may help your provider at Total Spine Institute determine which areas of your spine have been compromised by arthritis. If you have cervical radiculopathy, a nerve in your neck is being pinched. Lumbar radiculopathy occurs in your lower spine and can be connected with sciatica.
If you’re feeling symptoms, including stiffness and pain in your neck or back, stiffness or pain radiating into your legs or shoulders, or even tingling and numbness in your fingers or hands, the issue could be a combination of arthritis and radiculopathy. People dealing with these problems can suffer from loss of sensation and loss of motor skills, as well.
You might notice your symptoms worsening when sleeping or moving in certain ways.
To learn more about your condition and the treatments that could help, your provider at Total Spine Institute starts with a thorough physical exam and a review of your medical history. We look at whether arthritis could be connected to your radiculopathy symptoms and determine the best path forward for you.
For your diagnosis, we may examine areas of your body such as your neck, arms, hands, and shoulders. We may also use X-rays to check spinal bone alignment or Spine MRI or Spine CT scans to look for bone spurs or displaced spinal discs. An electromyogram may be needed to focus on the specific nerve that’s being negatively impacted by radiculopathy.
Your treatment plan could include ultrasound-guided corticosteroid and anesthetic injections for pain relief, minimally invasive surgery, or robotic-assisted surgery to directly address and resolve the issue.
To learn more about how arthritis and radiculopathy connect and create painful or inconvenient symptoms and how you can find lasting relief, contact the team at Total Spine Institute. Schedule your initial consultation appointment online or over the phone today.
