In fact, having MS is thought to increase the likelihood of developing DDD. “I have MS, fibro[myalgia], degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, scapula dyskinesis,
Cervical spinal degenerative disease (SDD) is prevalent in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) but can be incorrectly attributed to the underlying MS. A higher degree of clinical suspicion in people with MS is needed to correctly diagnose and treat cervical SDD.
A herniated disc occurs when a disc located between two spinal bones (called vertebrae) is pushed out, irritating nearby nerves. This irritation of nearby nerves can lead to numbness or weakness in the area of the body that correlates with the affected nerves. These symptoms can mimic those of MS.
MS causes the immune system to attack the myelin sheath that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Over time, inflammation can cause damage and scarring. Doctors refer to damaged areas on the spine or brain as lesions or MS lesions.
In multiple sclerosis, patches of myelin (the substance that covers most nerve fibers) and underlying nerve fibers in the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord are damaged or destroyed.
Many with spinal cord problems and MS have numbness on one side of the body and weakness on the opposite side. They may lose standing balance or have a gait problem characterized by ataxia, such as the inability to walk a straight line. Paralysis and loss of sensation of part of the body are common.
MRI is the gold standard for identifying and monitoring this damage in the brain and spinal cord, so it is usually a key part of the diagnostic workup for people with suspected MS.
Medical professionals refer to this pain as neuropathic pain. It is one of the most common symptoms of MS that can dramatically reduce a person's quality of life. This type of pain can occur all over the body. If a person has neuropathic pain in their back, it can manifest as a sharp, stabbing, or shooting sensation.
Meanwhile, lesions in the spinal cord can cause unusual sensations — such as tingling or numbness — or motor symptoms, including loss of balance and/or coordination. Spinal cord lesions also may be associated with bladder and bowel impairments.
Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a rare chronic disease that happens when your immune system attacks specific parts of your central nervous system. Experts previously thought this was a rare type of multiple sclerosis (MS) but now recognize it's a separate condition.
These include fibromyalgia and vitamin B12 deficiency, muscular dystrophy (MD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), migraine, hypo-thyroidism, hypertension, Beçhets, Arnold-Chiari deformity, and mitochondrial disorders, although your neurologist can usually rule them out quite easily.
Although MRI is a very useful diagnostic tool, a normal MRI of the brain does not rule out the possibility of MS. About 5 percent of people who are confirmed to have MS do not initially have brain lesions evidenced by MRI.
Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that can mimic some of the symptoms of MS such as fatigue and joint pain. However, Sjogren's syndrome is known to cause dry mouth and eyes, which are not associated with MS.
Certain symptoms of sciatica and MS can overlap, sometimes making it hard to tell these two conditions apart. Back pain and leg pain in MS, along with muscle spasms and burning or tingling sensations, can mimic sciatica symptoms.
Lupus and Other Autoimmune Diseases
Several autoimmune diseases have symptoms that mimic those of MS. An autoimmune disease is one in which your immune system attacks your body's tissues and organs. One of the more common autoimmune conditions is lupus.
MS can damage the nerves that affect your muscles. This can cause acute or paroxysmal pain in the form of spasms. Your arms and legs might shoot out uncontrollably and might have pain like cramping or pulling. Nerve pain can also be chronic in the form of painful or unusual sensations on your skin.
Conclusion: Patients with MS commonly suffer from low back pain, but it is still an underdiagnosed cause of pain that reduces one's ability to perform activities in daily life.
It's easy to initially ignore numbness or weakness, especially because these symptoms may go away without treatment. It is also common for people and doctors to misattribute the initial symptoms of MS to something more benign, such as a pinched nerve or muscle strain.
Multiple sclerosis lesions can occur in any portion of the cerebellar white matter and peduncles, frequently involving the middle and superior cerebellar peduncles (Fig. 3). However, prominent involvement of this region is also seen in anti-MOG-IgG disease and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
Disease Course of MS Is Unpredictable
A person with benign MS will have few symptoms or loss of ability after having MS for about 15 years, while most people with MS would be expected to have some degree of disability after that amount of time, particularly if their MS went untreated.
T-2 scans show the total number of old and new lesions in the brain from the onset of MS. New MS lesions appear as bright spots on a T-2 scan. These are also known as hyperintense lesions. Typical lesions that appear on a T-2 scan are oval in shape.
A smaller number of MS patients, approximately 20 percent, may have only spinal lesions and not brain lesions.