Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Numbness

Hi All

I am still struggling with severe thoracic pain and now experiencing areas of numbness in patches on my back and in different areas down my right leg - all feels very strange - any ideas? Anyone get a similar thing at all?
Di

HIya Di,

I DO have the same thing, puzzles the heck out of my Neurologiest. I have many numb spots from my back area all the way down both legs too. Very strange isnt it? I asked him what it means and he had no answer for me. So I just live with it. I am so sorry you are dealing with this though

*hugs*

Hi Dianima,
I believe most of the time it's caused by inflammation compressing the nerves. There's also the possibility of having pinched nerves. Inflammation was the cause of my sciatica problems... back when my hips were fusing. Then there are the few people who have narrowing facets and or spinal canal or even stenosis, which I believe is more likely to happen after the fusing process. It's a rare complication though.

I have the narrowing problems now, and it has caused the left side of my face to go numb, and 1 nerve in each arm is damaged. My left leg used to be numb, but it went away after I had some back work done. I used to have it in small areas of my back, but I can't tell if it's there anymore because some sensory nerves got cut in the process of fixing my back.

I hope this helps,
take care,
James.

di
I agree with James. It probably has something to do with inflammation on your nerves. However I have spinal stenosis and two other kinds of stenosis that are closing in on nerves and they cause me pain. I may not be right but I think numbness comes when nerve has been damaged. I say this because when my mom had back surgery for her spinal stenosis a nerve was damaged during surgery and it casued numbness in her right leg. The doc said it might take up to a year for the nerve to repair itself.
I am sure that there are other reasons for numbness and this is only my experience but I hope it was of some help for you.

Have a Blessed Day
hugs
Kell

I have had numbness only in my right thigh, my doctor does'nt seem to be alarmed by it, but it drives me crazy.
Its usually when I have been standing for awhile.

MB

Numbness here and falling from no feeling in my feet; especially the right one. It is supposedly from the 5 discs that are fused and pinching off the nerve root. I have two more higher up but they bother the arm and not as bad as these.

The PT has helped that a lot. The feeling is back except for the right little toe quadrant.
She worked on my foot one day with the laser but most of the work has been on my back.

Blessings.
Possi

Thanks to all of you for your replies, it does help always to know you are not alone in these strange things happening to the body. I think you are quite right regarding the compressed nerves etc - I have so many things going on in my spine right now I think even a doctor would be hard pressed to narrow it down to one thing or another...
Today is another bad day for me, movement very restricted - taking me almost half a day to get reasonably mobile. For the first time I am feeling a bit scared of what the future may bring as things are escalating so quickly now. Support from KickAs is pivotal to my coping at the moment since I know that so many are so much worse off than I yet manage to be cheerful and positive - I will try to be the same.
Have a terrific weekend
Di

I have one permanently numb patch on my back, and a couple years ago suddenly developed a large numb area on the right side of my thoracic spine area whenever I sat up straight (I was already having trouble with that area... coincidence?). The (excellent) physical therapist thought it was a posturally related mechanical problem affecting the nerve, and the neurologist diagnosed neuritis (idiopathic, or of unknown origin, or somehow secondary to one of my other conditions, or... ). I don't know if it was the physical therapy, the neurontin, or both, but it has *finally* gone away. Regardless of the cause, it certainly is disconcerting, isn't it?

'Erie (-:

for me, spasming back/neck muscles compress the nerves and give me a numb face or a numb hand, depending on which nerves are being compressed (the neurologist ruled out compression at the spine / by the spine) and told me that the nerve can be irritated anywhere along the nerve. this all makes sense for me, since using ice and/or heat on the back and neck will make the referred pain/numbness disappear.

the siatic nerve also gets compressed by the inflammation in my SI and/or the buttocks muscles when that acts up.

and most recently, scar tissue from healing hamstring tendons (at the insertion points below the knee) was pressing the nerves there and gave me the same problems from the knees to my feet; apparently, a fairly common problem. all i could do was stretch and exercise and heat to get rid of that scar tissue, and i did.

in all cases for me, its something compressing the nerves, but not at the spine but further along the nerve.

sue