T4 Syringomyelia or Syrinx

[leppress]

Hi I just wanted to know some information. I was assaulted at work by a 6'2" male and was rushed to the ER. While I was there they performaed xrays and foulnd nothing damaged but id not some possible nerve damage. Later I was simply diagnoses with strains and sprains of the soft tissue in my neck. shoulders and back (upper and lower). While I was going through chiropractic care , I was slowly getting worse instead f better and the local BWC ordered a series of MRI's. That is when the syrinx was found at my T4. The BWC is stating that I was born with this condition and it should not be allowed in my claim for worker's comp. The only problem is I was perfectly healthy before the accident. I was exercising 3 to 5 times a week and didn't really have any problems working.  Has anyone actually found evidence that it can be caused by blunt trauma, all I have is possibly caused by spinal trauma. Any information will help me with my court battle. The tough part is I'm a nurse and now I can't even practice because I can't perform my job duties. I have pain most every day in my back and down my right leg. I have numbness in my my right foot and hand and arm. My right hand stiffens up until I almost can't move it. I can't fully rotate my neck. I'm just very messed up and I would like to know if this could cause all of that or if something else might be going on. Thanks so much for the help.

[coley0204]

I don't have evidence of it but in all the readings on syringomyelia they state that a syrinx can indeed be caused by trauma!!! However it can be caused by many things including hereditary. In many instances the cause is undetermined as is my case. While I say they can't say it wasn't caused by this trauma I also say they can't say that it was! Good luck and I am sorry to hear about your situation.

www.asap.org

[DrKalraMD]

Hi, here is some quoted information:
“The second major form of syringomyelia occurs as a complication of trauma, meningitis, hemorrhage, a tumor, or arachnoiditis. Here, the syrinx or cyst develops in a segment of the spinal cord damaged by one of these conditions. The syrinx then starts to expand. This is sometimes referred to as noncommunicating syringomyelia. Symptoms may appear months or even years after the initial injury, starting with pain, weakness, and sensory impairment originating at the site of trauma.

The primary symptom of post-traumatic syringomyelia (often referred to using the abbreviation of PTS) is pain, which may spread upward from the site of injury. Symptoms, such as pain, numbness, weakness, and disruption in temperature sensation, may be limited to one side of the body. Syringomyelia can also adversely affect sweating, sexual function, and, later, bladder and bowel control. A typical cause of PTS would be a car accident or similar trauma involving a whip-lash injury.

What can make PTS difficult to diagnose is the fact that symptoms can often first appear long after the actual cause of the syrinx occurred, e.g. a car accident occurring and then the patient first experiencing PTS symptoms such as pain, loss of sensation, reduced ability on the skin to feel varying degrees of hot and cold, a number of months after car accident”.

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syringomyelia