Cervicothoracic Junction Disc Herniations Respond to Tonawanda Chiropractic

Thoracic disc herniations. They are not very ordinary. They’re not mentioned much. But thoracic disc herniations do exist. The C7/T1 disc herniations are even more unusual and are shared in the spine literature more because of their unusualness. Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation welcomes unusual! Unusual warrants care and attention. Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation tends to unusual presentations like thoracic disc herniations, especially those at the C7/T1 spinal level aka the cervicothoracic junction where the neck joins with the upper back.

C7/T1 disc herniations are unusual from their neighbors, cervical disc herniations (neck) and thoracic disc herniations (mid-back). Why? They tend to herniate laterally (out to the side) rather than centrally. What makes that unusual? The C7/T1 disc level does not typically have Luschka joints. These joints secure the intervertebral discs in place and lessen the risk of herniation. They permit flexion and extension and restrain the extent of lateral flexion in the neck. One medical report documents a rare existence of a central C7/T1 disc herniation that triggered lower extremity numbness and weakness in addition to gait disturbance though in a patient who had no or very little hand-related symptoms that would otherwise be anticipated. (1) Know that your Tonawanda chiropractor will do a careful examination and discern the source of your pain with knowledge of unusual occurrences like this.

C7/T1 disc herniations account for 3.5% to 4% of all herniated cervical discs. (2,3) They are likely to be misdiagnosed due to their unusual neurological findings. C7/T1 disc herniations (aka herniations of the C8 disc) produce weakness in hand muscles.  The C8 nerve roots exit between the C7 and T1 vertebrae. (4) They are positioned above the C8 disc making it unusual for a disc herniation to compress the C8 nerve. (5) But when it does, a C7/T1 disc herniation usually sends pain down the arm into the ring and pinky fingers (which sometimes confuses the case as pain here is telling of ulnar neuropathy). (3,4) It won’t confuse your Tonawanda chiropractor though! Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation is ready with the tests to do and questions to ask to determine the diagnosis.

Listen to a podcast about neck pain helped with Cox Technic.