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Chiari due to trauma?
I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation 2 days ago after presenting with dizziness, nausea and headache. My Doctor ordered a CT scan and this come showing 'Chiari melformation with significant inferior herniation of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum'. This is 11mm in size. I am a full contact karate tournament fighter and my Doctor is advising that I have to stop immediately.
I had a CT scan a few years ago on my brain after a migraine and this made no mention of a Chiari Malformation. Can this be caused by trauma?
I had a CT scan a few years ago on my brain after a migraine and this made no mention of a Chiari Malformation. Can this be caused by trauma?
Best Answer
COMMUNITY LEADER
OIC..well that is good that the reason they r looking at surgery is the obstruction and not the size of the herniation...and I am sure they must feel with that obstruction u may develop more sever symptoms if u do not have surgery now.
Please keep us posted
and if u find u like ur NS and he does seem to know what he is doing add his name to that thread and I can get a thread started for u Aussies : )
"selma"
No, unfortunately those guys are a long way away from me. I think it was more the fluid build up that made it severe, not the size of the herniation. I would not consider my symptoms severe so that must be it.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Did u get a chance to look at the link I posted above?...is the NS listed in the thread?....Please keep us posted.
I do have a question tho...is ur chiari I considered severe bcuz of the size of ur herniation or bcuz of an obstruction and symptoms?
"selma"
saw the Neurologist today. He said it is a 'severe' case of Chiari Malformation 1 and has referred me for an MRI tomorrow and Neurosurgeon consultation on Monday. Things are moving very fast.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Here is a link to some info on Drs in Australia...I hope u find it helpful.....
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Chiari-Malformation/Find-a-Chiari-specialist-in-Australia/show/1166603
"selma"
Thanks for you for your prompt replies. My GP is in the process of getting me an appointment with the Neurosurgeon and organising an MRI. I live in Australia so the choice of Neurosurgeons will be slim.
The style of martial arts that I do is full contact with very little that I could do without risk, thus I am going to give it up completely. My Doctor rang a specialist the day she got the CT back and they advised me to give it up :(
The style of martial arts that I do is full contact with very little that I could do without risk, thus I am going to give it up completely. My Doctor rang a specialist the day she got the CT back and they advised me to give it up :(
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.
As the other posters have mentioned yes, u can get a herniation of the cerebral tonsils from an injury....and a MRI is the better way for the NS to look at it as well as having a CINE MRI to see if u may have a CSF obstruction, which is far more important than the length of the herniation.
Finding a true chiari specialist is also what u will want to do...and in the meantime u may also want to request copies of all MRI's or CT's scans taken so far...it is best to have something for the NS to compare to.
We do have a list of Drs compiled by the members of their own drs...u do need to research all drs on the list to find the one that is right for u.-http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Neurological%20Disorders/DOCTORS-LIST-FOR-CHIARI-SYRINGOMYELIA/show/1062?cid=186
"selma"
I did forget to explain that my previous mri report said that all findings are normal. but my films showed an 11mm herniation. once I found out I had chiari I ordered the films from a year ago that the report said were normal and gave them to dr. oro for review. He determined that the radiologist just did not catch the Chiari. Unfortunately this is VERY VERY common.. in fact it is more common that a radiologist will miss chiari than they will notice it, unless they are specifically looking for it. Most radiologists and dr's are not well informed about it and they learn very little if any about it except a little page in a book in med school since it was thought to be so very rare. so this is why it could have initially been missed. it is also possible that you could have acquired it since then, but not as likely.
Just realized you said CT scan. Did your doctor order an MRI? Should provide more information. There's other tests, but a brain MRI is usually the first thing on the list.
Chiari Malformation can definitely be caused by trauma. It's also possible it was on your previous MRI but your doctor didn't think it was important...you would have to request the radiology reports yourself to be sure.
I'm not a doctor or anything, but I imagine there are many things you could do in martial arts without causing yourself problems. You should not ever be hit in the head/neck, and you need to avoid any kind of neck strain. Anything else depends on your symptoms and test results.
What else did your doctor say? Is s/he advising further testing or treatment? Keep in mind few doctors really understand Chiari, even though they may claim to, and many of us travel to see specialists (there's a patient compiled list in the health pages).
I'm not a doctor or anything, but I imagine there are many things you could do in martial arts without causing yourself problems. You should not ever be hit in the head/neck, and you need to avoid any kind of neck strain. Anything else depends on your symptoms and test results.
What else did your doctor say? Is s/he advising further testing or treatment? Keep in mind few doctors really understand Chiari, even though they may claim to, and many of us travel to see specialists (there's a patient compiled list in the health pages).
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I have had several mri's and have been complaining of severe symptoms for about a year and even went to the ER for a seizure and had a mri and venorgram and mrv and they did not mention anything about my chiari... about exactly a year later... no trauma at all I had another mri because they thought I might have ms and guess what? radiologist reports I have exactly as your report showed significant hernation of 11mm.
They have missed mine and I have had several. I would imagine that unless you have had severe trauma that it would not cause the chiari it is almost always congenital, but if you had an mri before, you are in luck, request the films, and not the report and you can send it to the same radiologist who read this one for comparison. We also change throughout our lives and our brains get just a bit bigger through our mid twenties is what I read in one article on the theory as to why some do not devolop symptoms until our twenties... so how old are you?
Just a few things to think about, but the only people I have known or heard about to get chiari from trauma are those in motor vehicle accidents with severe whiplash and things like that... but martial arts can definitely exacerbate the symptoms and make things worse and it is a good idea to either modify your movements or at least limit the amount of time you do it and make others aware of your condition until you can determine how severe and your treatment options.