International Spinecare Directory :: Specialist, Facilities, Organizations, Products ::

YOU are here : Home > Spine Disorders > Spinecare

Spine Disorders

By: ISA Content Team
Share This:
Font Size: A A

Spinal Cord Tumor

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Common symptoms of a spinal cord tumor include pain, numbness or sensory changes, and motor problems and loss of muscle control. Pain can feel as if it is coming from various parts of the body. Back pain may extend to the hips, legs, feet, and arms. This pain is often constant and may be severe. It is often progressive and can have a burning or aching quality. Numbness or sensory changes can include decreased skin sensitivity to temperature and progressive numbness or a loss of sensation, particularly in the legs.

Motor problems and loss of muscle control can include muscle weakness, spasticity (in which the muscles stay stiffly contracted), and impaired bladder and/or bowel control. If untreated, symptoms may worsen to include muscle wasting, decreased muscle strength, an abnormal walking rhythm known as ataxia, and paralysis. Spinal tumors progress at different rates. Malignant tumors are more likely to grow quickly, whereas benign tumors more often develop slowly. The type of tumor therefore influences the progression of signs and symptoms.

Symptoms may spread over various parts of the body when one or more tumors extend over several sections of the spinal cord. The signs and symptoms associated with spinal cord tumors may include one or more of the following:

Neck and back pain
Loss of sensation or muscle weakness, especially in your legs
Difficulty walking
Loss of balance
Reduced sensitivity to pain, heat and cold
Loss of bowel or bladder function
Muscle weakness and incoordination
Paralysis that may occur in varying degrees depending on which nerves are compressed
Scoliosis or other spinal deformity resulting from a large but benign tumor

Spine Disorders

More Disorders

Educational Partners