Orthopaedic Case of the Month: A 62-year-old Woman With Neck Pain and Neurologic Findings

Excerpt

A 62-year-old woman presented with 3 months of intractable neck pain with recent onset of upper extremity weakness and paresthesias. She reported no fever, weight loss, fatigue, or generalized malaise. She had subtle complaints of hand dexterity loss but said she had no problems with balance, and no bladder or bowel complaints. Analgesics and antispasmodic medications did not relieve her pain. Her medical history was significant for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus Type II, multiple sclerosis, depression, anxiety, obesity, and hypothyroidism. There was no history of antecedent trauma, previous rheumatologic phenomena, recurrent infections, or bleeding dyscrasia. There was no family history of cancer or congenital skeletal abnormalities. Review of systems was otherwise negative. …