Morning all!!!
Just a query! Why can’t you have MS lesions in the lumbar spine???
xxjenxxx
You can, it’s just more unusual as MS normally attacks higher up.
Karen x
Hi Jen MS is a central nervous system disorder. The lumbar spine isn’t a part of the central nervous system. The cervical and thoracic spine are part of the CNS.
Jacqui x
Sorry to hijack your post jen but I’d really like to know if you can ‘feel’ lesions occuring in the thoracic spine? I’ve been burning in there the last few days at the same time as my jerks have become very strong and violent and my legs are buckling (mostly at the left knee). Would like to know if it’s more likely to be a trapped nerve causing this or if it could be a lesion type pain. I don’t get l’hermittes shock but my arms feel ‘cut off’ and tingly if I bend my head down and the burning patch in my back feels worse. Just not sure what tree I’m barking up at the moment!!
Hi Deb,
I don’t believe you can “feel” lesions developing anywhere - you only feel the effects of them, when they start playing havoc with your internal electrical system.
I have a thoracic lesion. I wasn’t aware of it at all, untill I woke up one morning (having gone to bed fine), to find I couldn’t feel my feet!
I didn’t feel pain at the site of the lesion, and if I’d been asked to guess where it was, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you.
I’m not saying your pain isn’t MS-related - it probably is. But it’s unlikely it corresponds exactly to where there is a lesion, as lesions themselves are painless.
If it’s affecting your arms, it would suggest the actual site of the lesion (assuming there is one) is higher up than the thoracic section. Probably cervical - which is the most common site.
Tina
I should have read the question more carefully! Sorry!!
As Jacqui said, it’s only the spinal cord and brain that are important in MS.
Can you get MS lesions in the lumbar cord? Yes, you can.
The complication is that the spinal cord is shorter than the spine and typically finishes around the first couple of lumbar vertebrae, so an MRI of the lumbar spine will show very little spinal cord so a lot of the images will be irrelevant.
Karen x