Skip to main content

CASE REPORT article

Front. Med.
Sec. Rheumatology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1429618

Sciatica-Like Pain Caused by Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Four Cases Reports and Systematic Review

Provisionally accepted
Changsheng Han Changsheng Han 1Jingming Wang Jingming Wang 2Lei Wang Lei Wang 2Qinglei Gong Qinglei Gong 2Weimin Huang Weimin Huang 2*
  • 1 Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
  • 2 960th Hospital of the PLA, Jinan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective To demonstrate and characterize a rare cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) with sciatica-like pain as the main clinical manifestation by case presentation and systematic review.Methods Four cases of CSM with sciatica-like pain as the main clinical manifestation were retrospectively studied. A systematic review of electronic databases such as PubMed, Embase and Web of Science was conducted to explore the clinical characteristics of CSM with sciatica.Conclusions All four cases of CSM symptomized by sciatica-like pain were initially diagnosed with lumbar degenerative conditions. However, due to the presence of neurological signs such as hyperactive tendon reflexes, positive Babinski sign or Hoffmann sign, they underwent further cervical MRI scans.Eventually, all four cases were diagnosed with CSM and experienced relief from sciatica after cervical decompression surgery. The systematic review analyzed a total of four studies with a combined sample size of 10 cases, all of whom experienced a reduction in sciatica-like pain following cervical decompression surgery.Conclusions CSM symptomized by sciatica-like pain can often be misdiagnosed as lumbar degenerative diseases. Preoperative abnormal neurological signs associated with CSM may aid in diagnosing this condition. In addition, the clinical presentation of hyperextension of the cervical spine resulting in worsening lower limb pain may serve as diagnostic indicators for this disease.

    Keywords: Sciatica, Cervical spondylotic myelopathy, Misdiagnose, case report, Systematic review

    Received: 08 May 2024; Accepted: 12 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Han, Wang, Wang, Gong and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Weimin Huang, 960th Hospital of the PLA, Jinan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.