Symptoms

Symptoms of Cervical Spine Disorders

Because a cervical spine injury or condition occurs near your neck (cervical), symptoms can affect both your arms and legs. The most common symptoms are neck pain and a stiff neck.

Because of the nerves running through your spine, you may also experience pain, numbness or weakness radiating down your shoulders into your hands. This discomfort and loss of mobility can have a major impact on your quality of life. Other symptoms may include:

• Breathing difficulties from paralysis of the breathing muscles
• Loss of normal bowel and bladder control that may include constipation, incontinence, bladder spasms
• Numbness
• Sensory changes
• Spasticity (overstimulated muscle tissue)
• Pain
• Weakness, paralysis