Thoracic spinal cord injury symptoms depend on the type of nerve damage. Spinal pain can radiate into arms, legs or around the rib cage from back toward the anterior chest. The following may be associated with thoracic spine nerve damage: Significant leg weakness or loss of sensation.

Can thoracic spine cause leg pain?

A large disc herniation in the thoracic spine may compress the spinal cord within the spinal canal and cause numbness, stiffness and weakness in the legs and possibly some difficulty with bowel and bladder control.

What nerves are affected by thoracic spine?

What nerves branch out from the thoracic spine?

• T1 and T2 nerves: These nerves go into the top of your chest and into your arms and hands. ...
• T3 through T5 nerves: These nerves go into your chest wall. ...
• T6 through T12 nerves: These nerves affect your abdominal and back muscles.

What are the symptoms of thoracic spine damage?

Pain that starts from the lower neck to the shoulder, back, and chest. Back pain that increases with activity. Numbness and tingling in the same area of the shoulder, back, and chest. Radiating weakness.

What disc affects your legs?

**Sciatica** is a symptom frequently associated with a lumbar herniated disc. Pressure on one or several nerves that contribute to the sciatic nerve can cause pain, burning, tingling, and numbness that extends from the buttock into the leg and sometimes into the foot. Usually one side (left or right) is affected.

Neurological Evaluation Of The Thoracic Nerves - Everything You Need To Know - Dr. Nabil Ebraheim

What are the symptoms of a thoracic herniated disc?

The symptoms of a herniated disc in the thoracic area usually include:

• Pain that travels around the body and into one or both legs.
• Numbness or tingling in areas of one or both legs.
• Muscle weakness in certain muscles of one or both legs.
• Increased reflexes in one or both legs that can cause spasticity in the legs.

Can degenerative disc disease affect your legs?

Degenerative disc disease may cause back and/or leg pain, as well as functional problems such as tingling or numbness in your legs or buttocks, or difficulty walking.

Can thoracic outlet syndrome affect legs?

Symptoms of Venous Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

In this case, the clots are formed as the result of overhead motions (efforts) that compress the vein. Deep vein thrombosis is more common in the legs.

Why is thoracic back pain a red flag?

Red flags

However, many patients with thoracic back pain have a benign, mechanical cause. Red flags for possible serious spinal pathology include: Recent violent trauma (such as a vehicle accident or fall from a height). Minor trauma, or even just strenuous lifting, in people with osteoporosis.

What does thoracic spinal stenosis feel like?

The most common symptoms of spinal stenosis include: Neck pain. Stiffness of the neck. Numbness in the shoulders, arms or hands.

What part of the spine controls the legs?

Sacral region

The lowest part of the spinal cord contains 5 pairs of nerves. These control the thighs, lower legs, and the genital and anal areas. Sacral nerve injury can happen anywhere from the upper lumbar spine down to the sacrum.

What will an MRI of the thoracic spine show?

A thoracic spine MRI provides detailed images of the vertebrae, soft tissues, and surrounding organs to help detect a variety of conditions including fractures, improper spine curvature, inflammation, infection, herniated discs, tumors, and spinal cord damage.

What does a pinched thoracic nerve feel like?

Individuals with a thoracic pinched nerve often experience some of the following symptoms: Pain in the middle of the back. Pain that radiates to the front of the chest or shoulder. Numbness or tingling that extends from the back into the upper chest.

Can you get sciatica from thoracic spine?

Leg pain resembling sciatica can be caused by cord compression at the cervical and thoracic level. Thoracic kyphosis may be a causative factor in sciatica, in addition to spinal cord tumor and disc herniation, which have been reported previously.

How do you treat a pinched nerve in the thoracic spine?

Treatments

1. Rest. Rest is the most common treatment for a pinched nerve in the upper back. ...
2. Medication. Along with rest, you may find pain relief by taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve). ...
3. Physical therapy. ...
4. Surgery.

What does it mean when back pain goes down your leg?

Sciatica is a shooting pain that begins in the lower back, radiates into the buttock and down the back of one leg. The pain is often caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve from a herniated disc, bone spurs or muscle strain (Fig. 1). You play an important role in the prevention, treatment, and recovery of leg pain.

How serious is degenerative thoracic spine?

Thoracic disc degeneration can be a cause of upper or mid back pain. If the disc is severely degenerated, bone spurs can form and limit the mobility of the thoracic spine. The spurs may cause narrowing of the spinal canal and impinge on the spinal cord.

What does arthritis in thoracic spine feel like?

Stiffness and loss of flexibility in the spine, such as being unable to straighten your back or turn your neck. Swelling and tenderness over the affected vertebrae. Feeling of grinding when moving the spine. Pain, swelling and stiffness in other areas of the body (especially in inflammatory arthritis)

Is thoracic spine pain serious?

Is it something to worry about? The short answer, in most cases, is no. Most people with thoracic spine pain get better without treatment in a couple of weeks. However, thoracic back pain is more likely to be due to a serious cause than pain in other areas of the spine.

Does MRI show thoracic outlet syndrome?

For diagnosing a cervical rib, MRI had 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Conclusion: MRI can contribute to the diagnosis of TOS. Specificity is sufficiently high to provide guidance for planning the surgical procedure. Sensitivity, however, is too low for MRI to be useful as a screening test.

What happens if thoracic outlet syndrome goes untreated?

If left untreated, thoracic outlet syndrome can lead to serious complications, such as blood clots or pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening condition that happens when a blood clot travels to your lungs and suddenly blocks blood flow. Thoracic outlet syndrome can also cause permanent nerve damage.

What mimics thoracic outlet syndrome?

Pectoralis minor syndrome (PMS) is a condition causing pain, numbness and tingling in the hand and arm. It often coexists with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) but can also occur alone. The symptoms are similar to those of TOS: Pain, weakness, numbness and tingling in the hand and arm.

Is walking good for degenerative disc disease?

Walking can help treat degenerative disc disease since it's a mild form of physical therapy, which is good for your spine and joints. The pain of degenerative disc disease could be in your lower back or the neck. It can extend to the hands, arms, legs, and butt.

Can degenerative disc cause hip and leg pain?

Degenerative disc disease can cause muscle tension or spasms, as well as pain that grows through the shoulders, arms, or hands. If the degeneration is at the lumbar disc or lower back, pain may radiate down the backs of the legs or in the hips or buttocks.

Why do my legs feel weak when walking?

Your legs also might feel cramped, tired, or weak. These are symptoms of a condition called neural claudication (say this: claw-dih-kay-shun) of the legs. If you have lumbar canal stenosis, the neural leg claudication starts when you stand up, gets worse when you walk, and gets better when you stop walking.