I thought it was paralysis caused by cerebral infarction, but who knew the culprit was cervical spondylosis. After more than 4 hours of surgery, the 72-year-old grandma Shen, who was paralyzed for half a year, finally stood up again. Recently, Yin Limin, chief physician of the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology of Yangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Liu Huagen, deputy chief physician, described such a rare case.
Citizen encounters
The culprit of paralysis for more than half a year is cervical spondylosis
Since last year, Grandma Shen often felt dizzy and weak in both upper limbs. Later, the condition progressed to the inability to walk, until she became paralyzed in the lower limbs. Her family believed that she, who originally had cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, suffered from a sudden cerebral infarction. Recently, Grandma Shen came to the hospital for treatment because she felt unwell again.
“Through CT, lower extremity nerve location, MRI and other examinations, we determined that the patient suffers from severe cervical spondylosis.” Liu Huagen introduced that the front and rear of the cervical spine were severely compressed, and the spinal cord, nerves, and blood vessels were all damaged. The compression is as thin as a hair, which in turn causes paralysis of the lower limbs.
After full communication with Grandma Shen and her family members, the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology Surgery Department of the Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine performed spinal decompression + screw rod fixation + bone grafting for Grandma Shen. Liu Huagen introduced that one day after the operation, Grandma Shen began to feel sensation in both lower limbs, and after a few days, she was able to stand upright, and after a period of rehabilitation training, she was able to walk.
Expert Alert
Don’t stay in the same position for a long time
Liu Huagen introduced that cervical spondylosis is a very common type of disease in orthopaedics, and it is more common in the elderly with degenerative diseases of the cervical and lumbar spine. Cervical spondylotic myelopathy is one of the more serious types. It is often caused by ischemia and necrosis of the nerves inside after the spinal cord is compressed, resulting in related symptoms. The cause of the disease is sometimes due to severe intervertebral disc herniation, or due to local osteophyte hyperplasia, or ligament hypertrophy compressing the spinal cord and nerves to produce this disease. The typical manifestations of cervical spondylotic myelopathy are often accompanied by the appearance of pathological symptoms, such as unstable holding, that is, the pen or chopsticks are dropped, and the feeling of stepping on cotton when walking, often unable to walk in a straight line, crooked to one side, and easy to fall Wait.
“If you have the above symptoms, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible and complete the relevant examinations to determine the next treatment.” Yin Limin reminds the general public to pay attention to protecting their cervical spine when they are young, and to be careful not to Keep the same posture for a long time, reduce the time of bowing your head, get up and move around after 40 minutes to 1 hour of work or study, stretch your body, and rest your cervical spine. In addition, the pillow should not be too high during sleep, and you should relax your mind at ordinary times, and the psychological pressure should not be too large.
Correspondent Dong Juan Reporter Zhang Qingping
（Yangzhou Daily-Yangzhou Net）