Myelitis is the medical term for inflammation of the spinal cord or bone marrow (osteomyelitis). Transverse myelitis is a neurological disorder caused by spinal inflammation that spans across the full width of your spinal cord.
Poliomyelitis and disseminated encephalomyelitis are other types of myelitis. However, this blurb only covers myelitis generally and transverse myelitis specifically.
Inflammation of the spinal cord damages myelin, which is your nerve cell’s insulation. With this damage comes demyelination and scars. And scars obstructs signaling between the spinal nerves and the rest of you. As such, myelitis is functionally detrimental for healthy movement and feeling sensation.
Symptoms of transverse myelitis largely depends on where the myelitis occurs along your spinal cord. This type of myelitis can cause inflammation in the:
- lumbar region ~ signals hips & legs
- thoracic region ~ signals torso & some parts of arms
- sacral region ~ signals groin, toes, some parts of legs
- cervical region ~ signals neck, arms, hands, diaphragm
Damage affects function controlled by the site of myelitis and below. So, if your transverse myelitis is in the cervical region, then movement and sensation from your neck on down is affected.
Transverse myelitis can develop over several hours to a couple weeks, with symptoms typically involving:
- lower back pain
- muscle weakness
- abdominal, chest tightness
- paresthesias in your toes & feet
- heightened sensitivity to touch, temperature extremes
Many report symptoms of muscle spasms, headache, fever, appetite loss and malaise as well. And shooting pain that radiates out usually indicates significant inflammation.
Your spinal inflammation symptoms can rapidly progress to:
As transverse myelitis progresses, it often causes complete paralysis in your legs. And respiratory problems may come into play if your myelitis occurs higher up along the spinal cord.
The actual mechanism of what causes spinal cord inflammation is uncertain. However, infections, abnormal immune response or insufficient spinal blood flow are theorized catalysts.
The pain and paralysis of transverse myelitis is most often associated with multiple sclerosis, signaling its first attack. But it frequently develops following a viral infection too, particularly those infected with:
- rubella
- influenza
- echovirus
- hepatitis A
- Epstein-Barr
- herpes simplex
- cytomegalovirus
- human immunodeficiency virus
- varicella zoster ~ chickenpox, shingles
Also, transverse myelitis has been known to be associated with:
- vasculitis
- otitis media
- schistosomiasis
- bacterial pneumonia
- bacterial skin infections
- vaccinations~ chickenpox & rabies
- bacterial infection ~ syphilis, TB, Lyme disease
- vascular diseases that cause spinal ischemia ~ atherosclerosis
- using certain drugs ~ amphetamines, IV heroin, antiparasitic, antifungal
Some suggest transverse myelitis may be in the realm of an autoimmune disorder because some affected by lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome and sarcoidosis have experienced the pain and paralysis caused by this spinal cord inflammation.
From the symptoms, it’s very difficult to distinguish transverse myelitis from:
No cure is currently available for transverse myelitis. Treatments are designed to manage your pain, paralysis, inflammation and other symptoms, such as:
- pain relievers ~ manage pain
- intravenous steroids (corticosteroid) ~ help reduce the inflammation
- plasmapheresis ~ remove antibodies that may be causing inflammation
And pressure skin sores caused by immobility will be an additional health concern.
Unfortunately, the prognosis for significant recovery from transverse myelitis isn’t good. Only about 1 in 3 experience an almost complete recovery from their spinal cord inflammation episode.