Cervicothoracic Junction Disc Herniations Respond to Oxford Chiropractic

Thoracic disc herniations. They are not very ordinary. They are not talked about much. But thoracic disc herniations do exist. The C7/T1 disc herniations are even more unusual and are shared in the spine literature more because of their unusualness. Satterwhite Chiropractic welcomes unusual! Unusual merits care and attention. Satterwhite Chiropractic tends to unusual presentations like thoracic disc herniations, specifically 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 adjacent segments, 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 control the amount of lateral flexion in the neck. One medical report documents a rare existence of a central C7/T1 disc herniation that caused lower extremity numbness and weakness in addition to gait disturbance though in a patient who had no or very little hand-related symptoms that would otherwise be anticipated. (1) Be confident that your Oxford chiropractor will perform a careful examination and uncover the source of your pain with familiarity of unusual occurrences like this.

C7/T1 disc herniations account for 3.5% to 4% of all herniated cervical discs. (2,3) They are likely to be misdiagnosed owing to their unusual neurological findings. C7/T1 disc herniations (aka herniations of the C8 disc) instigate weakness in hand muscles.  The C8 nerve roots extend outward between the C7 and T1 vertebrae. (4) They lie 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 fires pain down the arm into the ring and pinky fingers (which may be confusing as pain here also suggests of ulnar neuropathy). (3,4) It won’t confuse your Oxford chiropractor though! Satterwhite Chiropractic is ready with the tests to do and questions to ask to make the diagnosis.

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