Have you been suffering from cervical radiculopathy? If so, you know exactly how agonizing this can be. You may have even been suffering the symptoms of a radiculopathy without even knowing what its name is. Allow me to shed some light on cervical radiculopathy.
Of all of the spinal ailments that exist, cervical radiculopathy has to be one of the most painful. It is the clinical description of pain in combination with neurological symptoms resulting from a pinched nerve in the neck, or cervical spine. With age, spinal discs have a tendency of bulging and losing height, causing the stinging feeling in the neck (which can travel to shoulders and arms) from a chronically pinched nerve.
If you have acquired symptoms of a cervical radiculopathy, there are a few different ways to go about relieving it. A spinal surgeon will be able to give you the appropriate surgery for your condition and comfort level. The two types of surgeries available are opposing in nature. One involves entry through the chest, while the second enters the spine from the back, but both are a type of minimally invasive spine surgery.
1. Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion. Discectomy literally means to cut out the disk. If you have a herniated or degenerative disk, this procedure requires snipping it right out and then fusing the cervical spine back together.
2. Posterior Cervical fusion. This surgery requires entry through the back, and involves fusing two degenerative disks back together in order to promote growth into one healthy disk. A spine doctor will typically employ this type of surgery if the goal is to straighten the spine, or stabilize it after fracture.