What symptoms should be seen at a spine specialist

  Numbness of the fingers, inability to move the upper extremities or move without command, such as difficulty in using chopsticks, difficulty in tying buttons, and difficulty in taking coins from a wallet, are all symptoms called fine motor disorders of the fingers, which are important features of cervical spinal cord damage. In addition, symptoms such as weakness in lifting the shoulder, weakness in flexing the elbow, and weakness in grip strength are signs of low muscle strength, which is also one of the symptoms of spinal cord nerve damage. In the lower extremities, unstable walking, the need to grasp handrails when descending steps, difficulty standing with eyes closed, difficulty taking off shoes, etc., are important features of spinal cord injury.  The main cause of these movement disorders and paralysis is damage to the brain or to the spinal cord, which passes through the spinal column, or to the spinal nerves, which are branches of the spinal cord. Common conditions that produce these symptoms include cervical spondylosis, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, ossification of the ligamentum flavum, spinal cord tumors, lumbar disc herniation, lumbar spondylolisthesis, lumbar spinal stenosis, etc. These symptoms, without any causative factors and progressively worsening, necessitate immediate consultation with a spine specialist for early diagnosis and treatment.