Hi folks! I'm kinda new here--was on NeuroTalk years ago, but for neuro and dizziness issues. 54-year-old woman, 50 lbs. overweight.

Anyway, I wanted to ask if anyone else gets this:

When I bend over at the waist, after a few seconds I get a distinct cold sensation on the outside of both thighs, whether I straighten up or not.

This now seems to happen several times a day. When it started maybe a couple months ago, it was just on one side, but now it's both thighs.

I do have scoliosis (curve less than 40 degrees) but have NEVER had significant back-pain issues and can bend over pretty easily (I do it all the time in my job as a library clerk).

Another sensory oddity is that when I bend my head down, I often get an electric buzz or "pulling" feeling somewhere in my lower body. This is called Lhermitte's, and it has been going on since 2000 with no explanation. MS has been ruled out by MRI (they cannot test my spinal fluid because they can't get it out, presumably because of my scoliosis!).

I've had lumbar and cervical MRIs and they do show some degeneration but no cord compression or slipped disks or pinched nerves.

My question (besides asking whether anyone else experiences such things):

Can the spinal cord, or the nerves exiting your spine, be affected by spinal degeneration so as to cause SENSORY disturbances even without causing PAIN?

I know that may be a far-out question, but I'd love any responses. I just can't figure this stuff out, and neurologists have quit on me.

Over the past 10 years or so my walking stamina has deteriorated to the point that I can only walk about a block before my hip muscles feel SO strained that I have to stop and rest them a bit before I can continue. (But no hip arthritis.) Walking is a terrible chore anymore, and I'm only 50 lbs overweight so that shouldn't be such a big issue, especially when I used to walk 2 miles fast without stopping, even at the same weight.

So that's why I'm concerned something is going on with my spine that they haven't identified (and aren't interested in trying, grrr).

Any thoughts welcome!! Thank you very much!!

Nancy T.

--yes.

Compressive nerve issues can give rise to a whole host of unusual sensory experiences, not just pain. It often depends on exactly what nerve pathway is being impinged. The larger nerves are like bundles of those old copper telephone cables with the sensory pathways tending to be more along the periphery and the motor pathways closer to the center of the "cable", and depending on where the pressure is, one can get many different types of "parastheses" (abnormal sensory sensations)--tingling, electrical jolts, shoots, numbness, feelings of something touching that isn't there, weird temperature sensations . . .

How long ago were the MRI's? Things do change over time . . .and, given what you are mentioning about bending over, they might want to continue the imaging down to the sacral spine. Too many doctors think the sacral bone doesn't move or get displaced, so they tend to cut off the image at the last disc level, the S1, but one can get impingment at the S2/3/4 levels and these do contribute to nerves of the legs and genital area through the lumbosacral nerve plexus.

Glenn, thanks so much--that is EXACTLY the kind of information I was looking for! The sensory nerves being on the outside seems to make sense with regard to my issues.

As to various types of paresthesias--I think I've had them all over the past 12 years--numb spots, cold spots, vibrating, electric buzzes, invisible insects crawling or biting, shooting pains that make you jump out of your skin, etc. Mainly on my face and legs. (Plus other oddities, such as when I press just right on the top of my left big toe, I get a strong electric shock in my left elbow and hand--VERY weird).

The last cervical MRI (in 2006) did mention a "flattening" of the anterior (?) cord surface but said the "signal within the cord" was normal. The orthopedist (spine/scoliosis specialist) who ordered the MRIs said the findings would not account for my symptoms. I am not sure if he looked at the report or just read the MRIs on his own.

The lumbar MRI was also in 2006. Thanks for the info on the sacral area, too.

I am not concerned about the sensory issues as long as they are not (necessarily) a sign that my spinal cord is being damaged to the extent of causing the walking-stamina problem, which is what worries me most. However, that might be just some musculoskeletal issue, which we really haven't gotten to the bottom of yet.

Thanks again VERY much. You seem to know quite a bit about the spine and nerves... I am new here so don't know how you come to know so much, but I definitely appreciate your sharing your knowledge!

Nancy

--a new round of images should be taken, including the cervical spine, if there have been indications of compression near the cord in the past. Certainly in five years things could have changed.

Given the spread of the symptoms mentioned, it wouldn't be a bad idea for a full series to be done, with MRI of brain and entire spinal cord. Compression on the cord itself can result in symptoms at any level below the compression (e.g., compression in the cervical cord can results in neck, arm, shoulder, trunk, leg symptoms depending on where the compression is), whereas compression on the nerve ROOTS adjacent to the spinal cord tends to produce symptoms in specific nerve distributions called dermatomes.

Here's a map for that:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/image...mb=/1NGTKdZg7n

Glenn, thanks for the further information and the link; and thanks for the suggestion about getting new MRIs. I did have a brain MRI a year ago and it showed only nonspecific small spots, as past ones did.

It is hard to tell whether new spinal MRIs would be helpful or not, but I have to say that, based on my past experiences with MRIs and seeing doctors, I am not hopeful that the cause of my problems will be found. I just have to adapt.

Thanks again!

Nancy