What is cervical myelopathy and how can it cause leg weakness and numbness?
Cervical myelopathy is a type of spinal cord compression caused by a narrowing or stenosis of the spinal canal at the neck. The spinal cord is made up of large bones called vertebrae that stack on top of one another and are separated by spinal discs. They overlap at the back to form facet joints and together the vertebrae form a channel, the spinal canal, through which the spinal cord runs. This canal is normally comfortably wide enough to allow the spinal cord plenty of room. Vertebra showing the spinal canal which can become smaller with cervical spinal stenosis and may lead to cervical myelopathy Anything that causes a reduction in the amount of space available to the spinal cord can cause cervical myelopathy. However, there are some common causes: Cervical spinal stenosis Not all spinal stenosis causes cervical myelopathy, many people have spinal canal stenosis and don’t have serious problems, it only becomes a worry if the spinal cord becomes compressed leading to changes in the n
