Does trauma trigger MS?

[TcO65]

In March of this year I was on my way home from work when I was rear-ended and knocked into the car in front of me
while my car was sitting still.  My vehicle was totaled. I immediately had severe pain in my back and neck. My LT clavicle was fractured. I was treated and released at the local ER. Prior to this accident, I had no health problems whatsover.  The next morning I noticed numbness under my RT arm that eventually spread to my entire body less my shoulders, head and neck. Eventually I could not even feel myself have a bowel movement. This occurred over the course of about 2-3 weeks. I was admitted to the hospital and had a 2nd MRI with contrast that showed "areas of imflammation"in my cervical spine. The spinal tap was negative for oligoclonal bands. My symptoms were severe. I could not walk for long distances because  my feet were so numb. I left the hospital using a walker and taking pain meds, muscle relaxers every few hours.

Thankfully, most of my symptoms have subsided. I am left with a burning sensation in my feet and some days feel very fatigued. But other than that I am fine. I have had no vision changes.

I would love to hear from some of the people who had previous posts about MS occurring after trauma to the head and cervical spine.


I have recently had follow-up MRIs that show the lesions are now "more pronounced". My brain is basically unchanged. The reading radiologist report states that a diagnosis of MS is "favorable".

[TcO65]

Thank you for your reply to my posting.
Yes, I had 1000 mg bag of IV solu-medrol for 5 days in the hospital after my accident.
I actually had my appt with my neurologist today. He interpreted the results of my follow up MRI I had last week.
The lesions on my cervical spine are still there but they are not active, I have no new symptoms. The MRI of my brain was unchanged. The most troubling symptom I have is burning and tingling in the soles of my feet. I have started taking lyrica for this and I am having good results for the discomfort in my feet. Unfortunately, the lyrica causes me to feel fatigued and very sleepy. He adjusted my dose today and hopefully that will help. I still have the diagnosis of transverse myelitis. He states that although he can't say 100% that the accident did not cause my symptoms and the lesions in my cervical spine, he can not say 100% that it did not. Does anyone else have a diagnosis of transverse myelitis?

[twopack]

I know we have at least a few members here who first noticed MS-type symptoms after traumatic or stressful events in their life.  I hope one of them will see your question and drop in to share.

Please remember these events aren't the CAUSE of MS but (as you say) might TRIGGER symptoms.  There are still many unknowns about MS including the cause and the exact mechanism(s) of myelin destruction.  A recent presentation I heard suggested research is headed more toward learning about myelin repair these days rather than insisting we know the cause of destruction first.

If you don't mind me asking, did you receive any intravenous steroids while you were in the hospital?  They are often helpful in limiting the worst symptoms of an initial MS presentation or a flare later down the line.  I know they can also be used to protect the spinal cord from potential damage when swelling follows trauma.  So either way I'm interested to hear what the docs thought about the origin of your symptoms.

The whole thing sounds pretty scary!  I'm glad you are doing so much better at the moment but certainly understand why you're looking around and asking questions.  I hope you have a neuro you trust doing regular follow-up and keeping an eye on you too.  Some might even believe in starting treatment with one of the disease modifying drugs now IF they are willing to give you a diagnosis of CIS (clinically isolated syndrome).

Thanks for sharing your experience with us.  I hope others stop by here and share with you.  Feel free to hang around, read and ask more questions as they occur to you.  We always welcome new faces even though we wish none of us had ever needed to make the search that brought us together here.