What is Radiculopathy?

Have you seen the word “radiculopathy” in your rating decision and ever wonder what it means? You see it written a lot with disabilities like Lumbosacral strain with radiculopathy or even Right lower numbness with radiculopathy, etc. So, what is it?

Radiculopathy per John’s Hopkins Medicine, is the pinching of the nerve at the root where it comes out of the spinal cord. This happens when the vertebrae start to compress on the nerve. For note, this is different that neuropathy. Neuropathy is the trapping of a nerve or even the damaging of it.

How do you know if you have radiculopathy? The only sure way is to discuss what you are feeling in your back, legs, and arms with your doctor. A doctor will determine if you need to be X-rayed, undergo an MRI, or even an EMG. Only your doctor can tell you if you have radiculopathy. But there are those Veterans out there, who don’t know if they should see a doctor or not. So, here are the symptoms you need to be aware of and if you have them. You should check with your doctor as to these symptoms.

The symptoms of radiculopathy as related by John’s Hopkins Medicine are sharp pain in the back, arms, legs or shoulders that may worsen with certain activities, even something as simple as coughing or sneezing; weakness or loss of reflexes in the arms or legs; and numbness of the skin, “pins and needles,” or other abnormal sensations (paresthesia) in the arms or legs. Not everyone may have symptoms of radiculopathy, but if you do. You need to see your doctor.

There different locations or types of radiculopathies. They are Lumbar Radiculopathy, Cervical Radiculopathy, and Thoracic Radiculopathy. Each area’s radiculopathy effects a different part of the body. The Lumbar Radiculopathy effects the lower region. The lower region is the hips, buttocks, legs to the feet. And this radiculopathy is called…Sciatica.   The majority of the time, if a Veteran has radiculopathy. It is in this area. The Cervical Radiculopathy effects the upper part of your body. The upper area is the shoulders arms to hands. The Thoracic Radiculopathy occurs in the upper back. This is the least common area for radiculopathy.   But when you do, it has pain and numbness that wraps around to the front of the body.

Now if you know you have radiculopathy, you are probably asking yourself what caused it? That is a broad question. So, let’s narrow it down to what is causing it in your body? Not to get too medical, but it is basically caused by the narrowing of the surrounding tissue of the nerve in your spine. It is called foraminal stenosis. Age causes most cases of foraminal stenosis, but damage to the spinal area can too. And this is what happens to Veterans….a lot!

If you have radiculopathy, what is the treatment? It will depend on the location and the cause of the radiculopathy. There are basically two options, surgery of non-surgery. John Hopkins Medicine say nonsurgical treatment is typically recommended first and may include using medications, weight loss, physical therapy, and steroid injections.   After that comes surgery. The level of surgery will depend upon the severity of the radiculopathy. Veterans should always discuss available medical options with their doctor only, and not with the internet!

Given all this, it is up to the Veteran to show how his or her military service caused the radiculopathy. No such an easy task. First, you need to show you suffered an injury to your spine, either at the neck, upper or lower back. You need to more than “I complained and they gave me Motrin.” You need to show the injury was treated by medical personnel and documented in your medical records. You need your doctor to show the injury is what caused the radiculopathy.   So, for you soon-to-be Veterans, if your back and spine hurt. See medical. Don’t play the tough game. This is your back and nerves we are talking about. You want to get service-connected for them!? See the Doc.

And for those who just got out and those who do have at least one visit to medical while you were in service. You can’t go back in time and see medical. So, if it is something you feel bothered you while you were in the military, and it bothers you still. See your doctor about it. The VA thinks to themselves, “Why then did you not get it treated in the civilian world when you got out. You cannot wait 20 to 30 years after your military service to complain about it, and expect the VA to believe your military service caused it.

The rating levels for radiculopathy is based upon whether the given nerve or nerves are shown damage at the complete, severe, moderate, or mild level. How is this determined? It is determined by your doctor.

In the end, radiculopathy is nothing to ignore. See your doctor.