Cervical spondylitic myelopathy and fasiculations

[annmarie444]

I am a 46 yo female. I was diagnosed with cervical spondylitic myelopathy. I have multiple levels of ddd cervical and lumbar. Have positive babinski, Hoffmann, clonus bilateral feet and I'm off balance. Have four bad discs in neck and two lower back. C5-6 herniation is more on left and pushing into spinal cord. Recently I have been having constants fasiculations in my left hand between thumb and index finger. Going on for five days and can't sleep. Now the inside of left foot started with fasiculations along with left calf. Could the myelopathy be causing Theses fasiculation? I see neuro doc on 24th but am getting nervous. Also my nerosurgeons wants to decompress my cord and fuse neck and low back but another neuro doc said that wouldn't help. Makes no sense unless they think I have something else going on.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Yes, the myelopathy could be responsible for atleast some of the symptoms described; while the fasciculations, though unlikely to be relayed could occur due to lesions at a lower level or due to unrelated causes. Well, a decompression surgery at this point after the myelopathy has set in may not yield best results but may still be recommended to prevent further deterioration. I would suggest discussing the situation, the suggested management plan and the expected prognosis in detail with your treating neurologist/ neuro-surgeon.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!

[annmarie444]

I forgot to mention I have hyperreflexia. Also I'm pretty scared because I think of all the other things this new symptom could mean such as ALS or MS. I just really would like to know if cord compression could cause these fasiculations I'm having. They occur at rest and my hand is so intense that I can see the muscle twitch and it moves my index finger. Has anyone had this with a spine injury??