Tetraplegia and Soreness

Some people experience soreness and discomfort in their limbs, which can affect their daily lives. This condition can limit their movement. It is important for patients to rest, keep warm, avoid excessive fatigue, sleep on a firm bed, and engage in appropriate activities to promote blood circulation. There are many potential causes of soreness and discomfort in the limbs.

Causes of Tetraplegia and Soreness

Stimulation of local nerves, spinal osteoarthritis, cervical spondylosis, diabetes, hypertension, neuritis, atherosclerosis, and other conditions can cause soreness, weakness, and discomfort in the limbs.

What is Tetraplegia and Soreness?

In traditional Chinese medicine, the syndrome of soreness, weakness, and discomfort in the limbs is known as "Bi Syndrome". It is an important signal indicating the invasion of wind, cold, dampness, and pathogenic toxins into the body. Before these toxins invade the internal organs, the first sensation is soreness and numbness in the hands and feet, along with heaviness, pain, and a prickling sensation in the limbs. This is a sign of blocked meridians, which serve as the last line of defense for the human body. If not treated promptly, damage to the meridians can disrupt the neural conduction system, leading to nerve necrosis and ultimately stroke, hemiplegia, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and diabetic gangrene.

Dispersed Manifestation of Tetraplegia

The soreness and weakness in the limbs do not always occur simultaneously but can manifest in a dispersed pattern. This is typically indicative of local nerve stimulation, such as the numbness and soreness caused by stroke or coma after intoxication, the stimulation of hand nerves from using a walking stick in the elderly, or the numbness in the upper limbs caused by cervical spondylosis and the numbness in the legs caused by stimulation of the lumbar nerve.

Spinal Osteoarthritis: This type of soreness is commonly seen in the elderly. The main cause is the compression of the nerves within the vertebral canal by vertebral bone osteophytes. Some patients may also experience pain in their limbs. Nowadays, with the increasing incidence of cervical spondylosis in younger individuals, many young people may experience severe pain in their fingers during winter, along with other symptoms such as soreness and pain in the neck and shoulders and radiating pain or movement impairment in the upper limbs.

A simple method to check for cervical spondylosis is to have someone hold the head on the affected side while grasping the upper limb on the same side and extending it outward at a 90-degree angle. Pulling the arm in the opposite direction while maintaining this position can help identify radiating pain or numbness, which can be initially diagnosed as cervical spondylosis.

Bone Marrow Diseases: In the early stages of certain bone marrow diseases, patients may experience numbness in their limbs, which gradually worsens and ascends, eventually leading to symptoms such as limited limb movement. Doctors advise that these symptoms should not be ignored as minor issues. Persistent soreness and weakness can often indicate underlying health problems that require thorough medical examination and targeted treatment.