Spinal tumors are sporadic. The diagnosis process can take a few weeks. There are some common symptoms of a spinal tumor. So your physician needs to rule out other possibilities before coming to any conclusion.
For instance, back pain can be one of the symptoms of a spinal tumor, but you do not think of spinal tumor whenever you have back pain. Thus, understanding the symptoms can take time. Thankfully, now with the help of advanced equipment, a spinal tumor can be identified faster.
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What are the causes of a spinal tumor?
There are no specific reasons that cause a spinal tumor. Anyone can develop a spinal tumor. But till date, these have been very rare cases. People with a history of cancer tend to develop such tumors. If someone undergoes treatment for cancer, they are more prone to spinal tumors. If such a patient feels odd symptoms, they should be more thoroughly diagnosed for spinal tumors.
What are the symptoms of a spinal tumor?
As mentioned above, spinal tumors can have strange symptoms. These indicators can vary according to the location and size of your tumor.
Unusual gait
If you have a spinal tumor, you will feel difficulty while walking. Usually, when you walk, your spinal cord absorbs some of your body pressure and keeps your body straight. When you have a tumor, your body will be slightly lopsided as you walk.
Reduced positional sense
The spinal cord maintains your balance. You get an acute sense of direction and position with the help of your spine. If you have a spinal tumor, you will start losing your sense of position.
Numbness
Numbness is another symptom of a spinal tumor. Though many other problems in your body can cause numbness, if your central body structure is feeling numb, you may have a spinal tumor.
Weakness
Your spine holds your whole body. It plays a significant role as you walk, run, sit, or lie. If a tumor develops near your spine, you feel weaker suddenly, and the condition worsens with time. Eventually, you become unable to function properly.
Tingling sensation
This is one of the common indicators of a spinal tumor. If you feel a tingling sensation near your spinal cord, you must get diagnosed. A tingling sensation is not at all common with other diseases.
Mid-back pain
As mentioned above, back pain is very common if you have a spinal tumor. But many other reasons can cause the pain. So visit your physician immediately and get yourself properly diagnosed.
Pain while sleeping
When you lie down, your spine takes the most amount of body weight. If you have a spinal tumor, you may feel terrible pain at night as you are lying on your back.
Issues in bladder and bowel function
If you have a spinal tumor, you may face problems in your bowel movements and bladder functions. These two can also be a symptom of some other issues, but remember, your spine has an impact on your every body part. A tumor in the spinal cord will affect all your other organs.
Paralysis
Though it is quite rare, you may get paralyzed to a varying degree if you have a tumor on the spine. The spinal cord controls your central nervous system. So, the tumor may affect different parts of your nervous system.
These are some of the most common indicators of a spinal tumor. Once you get these mixed symptoms, do see a doctor. You can also book an appointment at CentralNJSpine.com for the best treatment.
How to treat a spinal tumor?
Treating a spinal tumor means obliterating the tumor. But during this treatment, your spinal cord can get damaged. So, the doctors perform this treatment with extreme caution. The treatments for spinal tumor include:
Monitoring
If a tumor is diagnosed early, the physician may take this approach. When the tumor does not grow or affect other tissues, monitoring is all you need to do. During this period, the doctor may recommend MRI or CT scans.
Surgery
Surgery is performed when the tumor has some risk factors involved. Thus, the doctors remove it completely. Now with the help of advanced instruments, removing inaccessible tumors has become possible. Doctors can also monitor the movements of the spinal cord during a surgery so that they can avoid causing any damage to it.
Radiation therapy
This therapy is used to remove the remains of a tumor after surgery is performed. It can also be used to remove a tumor where surgery is too risky. Vomiting and nausea can be some of their side effects. Proper medication can ease your after-therapy condition.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is an effective way to kill cancerous cells. Medicine is used here, and only your doctor can say if chemotherapy will help you or not. Hair loss, fatigue, vomiting, and nausea are some of its side-effects.
Drugs
Sometimes doctors use some drugs like corticosteroids to reduce the inflammation caused by surgery or any therapy. But this will only give you temporary relief from the side-effects.
Conclusion
These are all the treatments that doctors used to cure a spinal tumor. Though rare, this is a severe health issue. So, consult your physician as soon as you observe any of these symptoms and get yourself treated.
