Spinal cord compression sounds scary, but take a deep breath.
Cervical (meaning the neck) myelopathy is the most common spot for compression, although it can happen anywhere along the spinal column. There are a number of reasons you could be experiencing the compression, such as spinal stenosis (which is the narrowing of the canal that the spinal cord runs in), disc herniation, trauma or infections.
Don't confuse myelopathy with myopathy which is nerve damage inside the spinal cord. Where as myelopathy is the resulting symptoms when the spinal cord is compressed. They sound the same but are very different!
A good medical history to identify when and how your symptoms began. Plus, what exactly your symptoms are. There are other kinds of neurological issues which present similarly to myelopathy, so ultimately imaging will make the final diagnosis in combination with the medical history.
Ultimately, it is up to you and your surgeon to determine the need for surgery. However, spinal cord compression is not relieved by nonsurgical treatment. Physical therapy can help manage the symptoms related to the compression until/if surgery is recommended. Additionally, PT is an excellent tool after decompression surgery.
If you have experience cervical myelopathy in the past and have already followed up with your primary care physician or orthopedist, reach out to our office today to see if our physical therapists can assist!