Cervical Spine
A 45-year-old office worker presents with a 2-month history of right arm pain radiating from the neck to the thumb and index finger. She describes numbness in these digits and weakness of elbow flexion. Examination shows diminished biceps reflex and weakness of elbow flexion and wrist extension. MRI reveals a right-sided C5-6 disc herniation with nerve root compression. Symptoms have not improved with 6 weeks of conservative management. Regarding cervical radiculopathy:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
Cervical nerve root levels have characteristic clinical patterns: C5 (shoulder abduction weakness, d...
Pathophysiology includes disc herniation (soft disc, more common in younger patients), osteophyte fo...
The C6 nerve root exits below the C6 vertebra; radiculopathy has poor natural history with most requ...
Conservative management includes activity modification, NSAIDs, physiotherapy focusing on posture an...
Surgical options: anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is the gold standard for single-lev...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option