Cervicothoracic Junction Disc Herniations Respond to Nashua Chiropractic

Thoracic disc herniations. They are not very common. They are not talked about much. But thoracic disc herniations do exist. The C7/T1 disc herniations are even more unusual and are reported in the spine literature more because of their unusualness. Moriarty Chiropractic welcomes unusual! Unusual merits care and attention. Moriarty Chiropractic tends to unusual presentations like thoracic disc herniations, especially those at the C7/T1 level of the spine aka the cervicothoracic junction where the neck joins with the upper back.

C7/T1 disc herniations are unusual from their neighbors, cervical disc herniations (neck) and thoracic disc herniations (mid-back). Why? They are inclined to herniate laterally (out to the side) instead of centrally. What makes that unusual? The C7/T1 disc level does not normally have Luschka joints. These joints hold the intervertebral discs in place and lessen the risk of herniation. They allow flexion and extension and restrain the extent of lateral flexion in the neck. One medical report documents a rare episode of a central C7/T1 disc herniation that produced lower extremity numbness and weakness along with gait disturbance though in a patient who had no or very little hand-related symptoms that would otherwise be anticipated. (1) Know that your Nashua chiropractor will perform a careful examination and figure out the root cause of your pain with knowledge of unusual incidences like this.

C7/T1 disc herniations account for 3.5% to 4% of all herniated cervical discs. (2,3) They are inclined to be misdiagnosed due to their unusual neurological findings. C7/T1 disc herniations (aka herniations of the C8 disc) produce weakness in hand muscles.  The C8 nerve roots exit between the C7 and T1 vertebrae. (4) They are positioned above the C8 disc making it unusual for a disc herniation to compress the C8 nerve. (5) Nevertheless when it does, a C7/T1 disc herniation usually shoots pain down the arm into the ring and pinky fingers (which sometimes confuses the case as pain here is also indicative of ulnar neuropathy). (3,4) It will not confuse your Nashua chiropractor though! Moriarty Chiropractic knows the tests to do and questions to ask to make the diagnosis.

Listen to a podcast about neck pain helped with Cox Technic.