11YR OLD CHILD

[fox24]

Im being told by his Dr.s now after suffering for years with his headaches that the cause is due to DEGENERATED DISKS IN HIS NECK?  Dr.s have no answers for us on why he has this. Anyone. . . any clue??
He also has Lumbar Scoliosis, and tight post capsules in both legs (wears metal leg braces) and Plantar Fibromatosis in both feet. Dr.s have no answers either for this. Im thinking Spastic Cerebral Palsy. Could all these things maybe be tied together?

[fox24]

Again, thank you very much for the info. It gives me a place to start with his doctors. So i guess the cervicle disks are just an added problem - not connected to anything else.
Have a great day

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing back.
Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormalities in parts of brain that control muscle movement. The most common symptom is lack of muscle coordination when performing voluntary movements. Bleeding, circulation problems, epileptic seizures can cause cerebral palsy. Since you have mentioned that your baby’s face was blue and he had cord around his neck there is a possibility of cerebral palsy and it should be ruled out.
Charcot Marie Tooth Disease is also known as hereditary motor sensory neuropathy. It is a genetic disorder in which there is absence of proteins responsible for normal functioning of nerves resulting in neuropathy. Symptoms usually begin in late childhood.
Disc degeneration in the cervical spine is not a feature of these two conditions.
Hope this answers your question.

[fox24]

Thank you for the info.  He was born with the umb. cord knotted around his neck and face was black(dark purple). Dr's think he was like that for a long time in utero because of his color. He's being evald for Cerebral Palsy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (or Peroneal Muscular Atrophy), would these things be connected to the disk degeneration also?

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
It is difficult to give an opinion without a clinical exam.
Some of the causes of degenerated discs in children are injury or trauma to the cervical spine, intervertebral disc infection or Discitis. Discitis is a low grade infection which can occur due to bacteria like staphyloccal infection, or a virus infection. The infection is common in children less than 10 years of age and results in progressive disc degeneration.
Hope this helps!

[tomsant]

I really wish you and your son get good help soon.

Problems in the cervical spine (neck vertebrae) can produce headache through a phenomenon called 'referred pain'. Remember how a pain in the heart is sometimes felt only in the arm / neck /chin.

There are nerves coming out between adjacent vertebrae to carry sensations from that level of body. But sensations from the face and head ( including pain) are carried mainly by 5th cranial nerve called the trigeminal nerve. This nerve has a 'center' in the upper spinal cord.

The first three nerves in the neck are connected to this nucleus of the trigeminal nerve. So any problem in the neck, especially upper neck, can give pain in the head (Cervicogenic headache). A neuro or spine surgeon should be able to help you there.

Hope this is clear and not confusing ;-)

Best rgds,

Thomas Antony

[selmaS]

Hi...sorry ur son is burdened with so much as his age.

from the dx u mentioned can I assume that he's had an MRI of the brain w/wo contrast?
and do u have the copies of the tests on disk and the reports??

How severe is his scoliosis?....again can I assume that he had a full spinal MRI?

If u do not have the disks from the MRI's and the reports....request them and going forward always ask for copies.

Last when was the last test or MRI done?

I was recently dx with scoliosis....wondering what all ur son has been thru to this point.

Good luck
Godspeed
"selma"