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Suggest Treatment For Severe Neck Pain And Tender Forearms
Posted on
Fri, 16 Oct 2015
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 16 Oct 2015
Answered on
Thu, 12 Nov 2015
Last reviewed on
Question : I had bad neck pain about 2 weeks ago an mri revealed a pinched nerve but I am still getting tender forearms and numbness on top of my hands years ago I was also diagnosed with spondeolosthesis and a leaky disc. My calves feel like they want to cramp not sure what t is I also get muscle spasms around my rib area and sometimes on an arm could this be related to my spine"
Brief Answer:
Read below
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The cramping calves can be a symptom of two possible causes (both possible reading at your history), especially if the cramping starts after walking which is called claudication.
One cause might be atherosclerotic plaques of the vessels of the lower limbs which leads to insufficient blood supply to the limb muscles and cramping pain. Usually exacerbated by walking as muscles require more energy, more blood so suffer it more. It is usually present in diabetes patients, especially more probable if having other risk factors like hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol.
One other cause might be lumbar stenosis narrowing of the spinal canal in the lumbar area, that leads to compression of the nerve bundle exiting the spinal cord to supply the lower limbs. Symptoms are more exacerbated on walking or standing when the erect spine carries more weight. You describe problems in your neck, but the spine vertebrae being connected and suffering to the same wear and tear, it is not uncommon for neck issues to be associated with changes in the lumbar region as well, I don't know whether the MRI explored that region as well or only the neck region.
Other possible cause for calves muscle cramps might be a metabolic issue like electrolyte abnormalities or muscle damage which can be detected with some routine blood tests (CPK and electrolytes) if the first two causes I mentioned are excluded by your doctors. As for numbness in the upper limbs it can be explained by the neck spine issues with nerve pinching.
I remain at your disposal for other questions
Read below
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The cramping calves can be a symptom of two possible causes (both possible reading at your history), especially if the cramping starts after walking which is called claudication.
One cause might be atherosclerotic plaques of the vessels of the lower limbs which leads to insufficient blood supply to the limb muscles and cramping pain. Usually exacerbated by walking as muscles require more energy, more blood so suffer it more. It is usually present in diabetes patients, especially more probable if having other risk factors like hypertension, smoking, high cholesterol.
One other cause might be lumbar stenosis narrowing of the spinal canal in the lumbar area, that leads to compression of the nerve bundle exiting the spinal cord to supply the lower limbs. Symptoms are more exacerbated on walking or standing when the erect spine carries more weight. You describe problems in your neck, but the spine vertebrae being connected and suffering to the same wear and tear, it is not uncommon for neck issues to be associated with changes in the lumbar region as well, I don't know whether the MRI explored that region as well or only the neck region.
Other possible cause for calves muscle cramps might be a metabolic issue like electrolyte abnormalities or muscle damage which can be detected with some routine blood tests (CPK and electrolytes) if the first two causes I mentioned are excluded by your doctors. As for numbness in the upper limbs it can be explained by the neck spine issues with nerve pinching.
I remain at your disposal for other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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