Painful Symptoms of Radiculopathy, Myelopathy Often Overlooked in Older Adults

For anyone who feels stiffness in their neck that radiates down to their arms with numbness, tingling or weakness in the hands, there are two conditions to ask your doctor about.

According to Jon I. McIver, M.D., an experienced neurosurgeon with The Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Center at Mercy, radiculopathy and myelopathy can sometimes occur together.

Although both conditions have to do with pressure changes, radiculopathy focuses on the nerve root while myelopathy focuses on the spinal cord.

Dr. McIver noted that he usually sees these conditions in women over the age of 50, and they can be hard to diagnose.

"These conditions occur in the elderly. The myelopathy is the sleeper. That’s the one that’s more challenging to diagnose because people accept their decreased function as a byproduct of their aging," Dr. McIver said. "So, people can have decreased use of their hands and even decreased ability to walk and assume that it’s because they’re aging."

The conditions can be painful.

For treatments, there are medications, possibly physical therapy and, as a last option, surgery.

With radiculopathy, recovery can be immediate, but with myelopathy, recovery can take up to a year or even two.

View Mercy neurosurgeon Dr. Jon McIver’s interview regarding the treatment of radiculopathy and myelopathy in women.