Symptoms

Symptoms of Cervical Myelopathy and Radiculopathy

The symptoms of cervical myelopathy may be subtle at first, causing slight changes in the way your hands work: You may feel that your hands are clumsier, your handwriting is worse or it's harder to button your shirt. You may also find yourself dropping things. Other symptoms may include:

• Unsteady gait
• Losing your sense of body consciousness: where your hands and feet are relative to things around them

In extreme cases, your symptoms may include:

• Pronounced weakness and numbness in your arms and legs
• Loss of bladder or bowel control

Cervical radiculopathy

The main symptom of cervical radiculopathy is pain traveling from your neck to your arm, forearm or hand. This may be accompanied by numbness or weakness in the corresponding muscles in your arm, forearm or hand.