Ignition
A direct inflammation of the spinal nerve (spinal nerve) is not an independently described clinical picture, but an inflammation of a nerve root in the area of the spinal cord can occur.The spinal nerve is formed by the union of both nerve roots, the anterior and posterior root; if there is an inflammation of such a nerve root, the corresponding spinal nerve is also affected. Inflammation of one nerve root is called radiculitis; if several nerve roots are affected, it is called polyradiculitis. In most cases the corresponding spinal nerve is also affected by the inflammatory events, so that radiculitis, the inflammation of the root, is followed by neuritis, the inflammation of the nerve.
It is often unclear at first what kind of process in the area of the nerve root causes complaints, so that one speaks more generally of a radiculopathy; the cause does not necessarily have to be an inflammation, but degenerative processes in the spine, compression syndromes, infectious causes or a herniated disc are also possible. Possible symptoms of an inflammation of the nerve root are pain and sensitivity disorders. In each case, radiations into the area supplied by the corresponding root or the subsequent spinal nerve are to be expected.
For example, a nerve root irritation in the area of the tenth thoracic spinal nerve can lead to complaints in the area of the abdominal wall at the level of the navel. If the fifth lumbar spinal nerve is affected, this typically leads to pain or discomfort shooting into the leg and radiating into the big toe. Often pain increases in the context of a root lesion when coughing, sneezing or pressing.
Another symptom of radiculitis can be a weakening of the function of the muscle supplied by the corresponding nerve root. For example, a root lesion of the fifth cervical nerve root could result in a weakening of the strength of the biceps muscle (Musculus biceps brachii). However, complete paralysis would not occur, since the biceps muscle is also supplied by parts of the sixth cervical spinal nerve.
Disturbances of reflexes and sweat secretion in the affected segment or muscle are also possible symptoms of radiculitis. The therapy is completely dependent on the cause. In case of mechanical causes, surgical removal of the trigger is a possibility.
If infectious pathogens are involved, drug therapy (especially antibiotic therapy) is often necessary. The causative agent of such a radiculitis can for example be Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick-borne trigger of Lyme disease. Relatively well known is also the disease called “shingles“, which is caused by the Varicella zoster virus (VZV).
Only people who have already had a chickenpox infection in the course of their lives become ill, as the virus that causes the disease is the same virus that remains in the so-called dorsal root ganglia in the body for life and can cause herpes zoster in phases of immune deficiency. In most cases, it is primarily the aforementioned spinal ganglion that is affected and since the nerve root is in the immediate vicinity, the virus spreads to the periphery. Typical symptoms of herpes zoster are unilateral complaints such as pain and discomfort in the affected spinal nerve segment, as well as unilateral blistering, also strictly limited to this area. Sensitivity disorders in the affected segment are also not uncommon. However, if the immune system is overstrained, as may be the case with HIV infection, the virus is only kept in check to a limited extent, so that it can spread over several segments and to both halves of the body.
