Compression of the Spinal Cord: Is My Spinal Cord Affected By A Cervical Herniated Disc?

If you have a cervical herniated disc, you may be concerned about it causing compression of the spinal cord. Although in some patients spinal cord compression can cause symptoms requiring surgery, in the video above you will hear top spine specialist Dr. Seth Neubardt explain that this type of significant compression of the spinal cord is not very common. Click here to download a full video transcript.

When Compression of the Spinal Cord Becomes a Serious Condition

In the video, part five of this educational series explaining cervical disc anatomy for patients who have a herniated disc in their neck, Dr. Neubardt discusses how compression of the spinal cord from a slipped disc can lead to severe symptoms of myelopathy. These include problems with gait, bowel or bladder changes and leg weakness. (Learn about cervical disc herniation with myelopathy.)

This is a serious problem that frequently leads to surgery. MRI images can give an indication of the degree of spinal cord compression.

The good news is that cervical herniated discs do not usually cause significant compression of the spinal cord, but rather put pressure on a nerve root that produces symptoms of pain from the neck into the arms, which can also be associated with numbness, tingling and weakness.

What is a nerve root? Watch the videos in this six-part series to find out.

Watching the videos you can easily learn what you need to know about cervical disc anatomy to understand more about your condition and discuss it and your treatment options with your physician. If an MRI showed you have significant compression of the spinal cord and you would like to discuss your surgical options with Dr. Neubardt, we welcome you to  schedule an appointment at one of his two offices in New York.