New guy - C3-6 - MTB accident, some advice please

[Quintin]

Hi all

been lurking for a while, and thought i would post up and ask a question. i notice that most of the topics have a few posts so its good to know someone should be able to tell me something

a little over 3 months ago i had a mountain bike accident where i went over the handlebars and down a slight incline to my head. i cant say weather i had a compression or a flexion injury but i am pretty sure the doctor thinks it was a flexion injury. i was unable to move at all for a good 30 minutes until some movement came back to my fingers and toes. by the time i got to the emergency room i was moving my feet and could bend my knees. my arms were very weak and i had severe hypersensitivity over my skin over my shoulders down my chest and shoulder blades. i mean a breath of wind would cause great pain.

at the hospital i was diagnosed with bruising to the C3-6 spinal cord. i was in for 5 days and i walked out. i am now walking and have full use of everything but i have some residual issues that i am seeking some kind of explanation for.

firstly let me say that i know i am a very lucky guy and i am grateful every day that my injury wasnt any worse. having said that i am still hoping for some kind of explanation to what my residual issues may be:

for a few weeks i recovered reasonably well until one day out of the blue i noticed that when i turned my head it invoked a tingling (warmness, vibration) in my lower back. a couple of days later the numbness in my lower back seemed to move to my abdomen and i could recreate this feeling by pulling the back of my head toward my shoulders. i spent a couple of weeks on my back after this to try and recover to a point where i could stay up all day without needing a rest.

now i believe i can manage it but have an ongoing situation where at any time if i bend my head forward or back i get a tingling and numbness to my fingers. as the day goes on or on a bad day the sensation gets worse and can not only affect my fingers but also affects (tingles) my chest area and lower back. often my quads go numb as well with the neck bending. sometimes the tingling can be a rather course vibration if its a bad day.

of particular note is that when i exercise or get my heart rate up the sensations get worse and easier to invoke. same goes for if i have an alcoholic drink or even a relaxant like camomile tea. if i manage to sit still and take it easy for an hour or so it appears to settle down.

so, anyone heard of this before? any ideas? will it go way one day?

thanks in advance from a new guy!

[SCI-Nurse]

Welcome to our forums.

Other than Xrays, what studies of your spine did you have? MRI? CT? Did they Xray and MRI or CT your entire spine or just your neck? Have you seen a neurologist, neurosurgeon or physiatrist since your injury? I would be concerned that you have some type of nerve impingement syndrome, possible from a disk injury.

I will also ask Dr. Young to weigh in on your question.

(KLD)

[Wise Young]

Hi all

been lurking for a while, and thought i would post up and ask a question. i notice that most of the topics have a few posts so its good to know someone should be able to tell me something

a little over 3 months ago i had a mountain bike accident where i went over the handlebars and down a slight incline to my head. i cant say weather i had a compression or a flexion injury but i am pretty sure the doctor thinks it was a flexion injury. i was unable to move at all for a good 30 minutes until some movement came back to my fingers and toes. by the time i got to the emergency room i was moving my feet and could bend my knees. my arms were very weak and i had severe hypersensitivity over my skin over my shoulders down my chest and shoulder blades. i mean a breath of wind would cause great pain.

at the hospital i was diagnosed with bruising to the C3-6 spinal cord. i was in for 5 days and i walked out. i am now walking and have full use of everything but i have some residual issues that i am seeking some kind of explanation for.

firstly let me say that i know i am a very lucky guy and i am grateful every day that my injury wasnt any worse. having said that i am still hoping for some kind of explanation to what my residual issues may be:

for a few weeks i recovered reasonably well until one day out of the blue i noticed that when i turned my head it invoked a tingling (warmness, vibration) in my lower back. a couple of days later the numbness in my lower back seemed to move to my abdomen and i could recreate this feeling by pulling the back of my head toward my shoulders. i spent a couple of weeks on my back after this to try and recover to a point where i could stay up all day without needing a rest.

now i believe i can manage it but have an ongoing situation where at any time if i bend my head forward or back i get a tingling and numbness to my fingers. as the day goes on or on a bad day the sensation gets worse and can not only affect my fingers but also affects (tingles) my chest area and lower back. often my quads go numb as well with the neck bending. sometimes the tingling can be a rather course vibration if its a bad day.

of particular note is that when i exercise or get my heart rate up the sensations get worse and easier to invoke. same goes for if i have an alcoholic drink or even a relaxant like camomile tea. if i manage to sit still and take it easy for an hour or so it appears to settle down.

so, anyone heard of this before? any ideas? will it go way one day?

thanks in advance from a new guy!

Quintin,

The tingling and loss of sensations that you describe suggest that your spinal cord is being irritated, compressed, or stressed when you are moving your head and neck. You need to get an MRI scan of your neck to make sure that it is not being compressed.

I am not sure what is going on when you experience more sensory loss associated wit exercise and alcohol. However, the movement-associated loss of sensation is worrisome and needs to be investigated.

Wise.

[Quintin]

thank you both, i really appreciate the time you have taken.

i knew there was something more sinister happening, when i had my 6 week meeting with the neurosurgeon i stressed that i was concerned about this but he said that there was nothing that could be done and that it was just the residual effects of my injury and attributed it to scar tissue.

i noticed that as he was scrolling through my MRI on the screen there was quite a large indentation on the cord that pushed beyond the white matter on the outside. when i asked about it he said it was nothing and that it was degenerative issue that i was born with.

i havent had an MRI or CT since my accident. Think i will book an appointment with a neurologist asap.