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cervical spondylotic myelopathy; cervical spondylomyelopathy
Etiology:
- cervical spondylosis
Epidemiology:
- most common cause of myelopathy in adults
Clinical manifestations:
- patients present with signs & symptoms of cervical spinal cord dysfunction with or without cervical radiculopathy
- pain in the neck &/or upper limbs may occur
- gait ataxia
- hand dysfunction: diminished dexterity
- parethesias in upper extremity
- weakness in hands & legs
- hyperreflexia, clonus,positive Babinski & Hoffmann signs
- bowel & bladder dysfunction
Radiology:
- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine
- spinal cord compression
Management:
- surgical decompression improves neurologic function in some patients & prevents worsening in others
General
cervical myelopathy
spondylosis
References
- Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 16
American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2012
- Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 20
American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2025
- Tracy JA, Bartleson JD.
Cervical spondylotic myelopathy.
Neurologist. 2010 May;16(3):176-87.
PMID: 2044542
- Ahn JS, Lee JK, Kim BK
Prognostic factors that affect the surgical outcome of the
laminoplasty in cervical spondylotic myelopathy.
Clin Orthop Surg. 2010 Jun;2(2):98-104
PMID: 20514267