Myelomalacia is a debilitating degenerative neurological condition that medical cannabis may help treat. The herb has been used medicinally for thousands of years and prescribed regularly for several decades by U.S. doctors for nerve pain. It can help with symptoms including muscle weakness, pain and motor function impairment caused by myelomalacia. Learn more about this condition and how medical marijuana treatment can help you find relief for myelomalacia.
Myelomalacia is a medical condition where the spinal cord “softens.” This softening can result in spinal cord volume loss, causing problems throughout your entire body.
Depending on the severity and location, a spinal injury can affect the functionality of your spinal cord severely, ultimately leading to myelomalacia. Myelomalacia is most common in the first to fifth lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5) and first and fifth cervical vertebrae (C1-C5) injuries, from a statistical standpoint.
Spinal cord volume loss can occur for various physical reasons such as athletic trauma, falls or car accidents, but each leads to a similar pathology in your body — a decrease of blood supply to your spinal cord.
If the site of injury leads to an inadequate amount of blood supply to your spinal cord, it loses volume and softens. Inadequate spinal cord blood supply isn’t just due to trauma. It can also occur from aging or sports-related injuries.
When your spinal cord isn’t receiving enough blood and starts to soften, you may experience symptoms such as:
Because these symptoms are serious, spine specialists prefer to correct the problem as fast as possible once they detect myelomalacia.
Many individuals who receive a diagnosis of myelomalacia also have flaccid paraplegia, which is the partial or total loss of lower body part motor functions.
Furthermore, there aren’t any tell-tale signs with myelomalacia. Sometimes individuals show up to their doctors with hypertension, but later find out they have myelomalacia. After the onset of myelomalacia, the condition progresses through a predictable course. Once flaccid paraplegia occurs, the individual develops areflexia, or loss of tendon reflexes, and then experiences deep pain perception loss in the coccyx area, which is the triangular bone arrangement making up the spine’s bottom portion below the sacrum.
As myelomalacia progresses, muscular atrophy occurs closely followed by paralysis of the diaphragm or between the ribs. Clinical observations have shown the condition eventually reaches the brain and creates additional neurological deficits.
When the damage makes its way to the motor nuclei and phrenic nerves, which reside between the third and fifth cervical vertebrae area, death occurs. Myelomalacia is often referred to as an ascending condition because it can also make its way to other upper-body areas. Respiratory paralysis occurs in some patients, leading to their death.
Myelomalacia is a severe condition requiring treatment quickly to prevent permanent nerve-related damage.
Your doctor will likely need to perform an MRI scan to accurately and completely diagnose the condition. Once they have a diagnosis, they’ll sit down with you and discuss your treatment options. If your myelomalacia has put any of your spinal nerves in danger, they may need to perform a minimally invasive surgical procedure. If it hasn’t, they may explore other non-surgical options such as injections.
Your doctor may prescribe one or several medications for myelomalacia. Here are some common medicines:
When your doctor suggests minimally invasive surgery for myelomalacia, you should learn as much about the procedure as possible, including its benefits, risks and the recovery process. Two goals of this procedure are to clear the compression or blockage inhibiting regular blood flow and stabilizing the area so the problem doesn’t reoccur.
The doctor will determine your exact surgery details including what types of implants they’ll use or which discs they’ll operate on based on your particular case. In the days leading up to your surgery, they’ll walk you through what to expect with your specific procedure.
However, here’s a basic overview of the surgery the doctor would perform if you have a shifted spinal disc that resulted in the softening of your spinal cord because of a lack of blood flow:
For thousands of years, humans have used the marijuana plant to:
When scientists identified the first cannabinoid in 1964, they made discoveries about how and why marijuana works as well as its full therapeutic potential.
Researchers later touted cannabis’s therapeutic benefits as derived from the cannabinoid’s interactions with the human body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), which they identified in 1988. The ECS is made up of receptors and signaling pathways involved in the regulation of numerous physiological processes such as mood, memory, movement, pain, and appetite.
Cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) react with the endocannabinoid receptors in much the same way the body’s natural endocannabinoids do. The ECS is closely connected with the parts of the brain and body that regulate pain.
Studies have shown adding cannabinoids to opiates improves their ability to reduce pain, helps reduce the chances of developing a tolerance to opiates and prevents opiate withdrawal.
Stiffness, severe pain, uncontrollable bowel and bladder, insomnia, anxiety, and depression are only some of the symptoms spinal cord injury patients endure on a daily basis. Cannabinoids found in medical marijuana can provide spinal cord injury patients with the outstanding diversity of symptom relief. Some symptoms of myelomalacia that marijuana treatment may help with include:
Researchers now understand a great deal about how cannabis works in the human body. Cannabinoids activate certain body receptors, producing pharmacological effects, mainly in your central nervous system and immune system. When the cannabinoids activate the cannabis receptors in the pain-perception pathways of your body, you’ll experience a decrease in physical suffering.
Most patients with spinal cord injury suffer from chronic pain. This pain can last for a few months or several years after the initial spinal cord injury. It can impact your quality of life negatively. Individuals in severe pain can’t carry out their daily tasks in many cases.
Marijuana for myelomalacia has chronic pain fighting properties. One study showed medical weed combined with a massage provided spinal cord injury patients with highly effective pain relief.
Some good spinal pain-fighting strains include:
Medical pot works by decreasing inflammation, which can cause muscle spasticity or spasms. The University of South Carolina conducted a study showing that marijuana decreases the immune system’s response to pain such as from a muscle injury, psychoactive THC deactivates the system’s inflammatory proteins.
Strains for muscle spasticity to try are:
Medical marijuana treatment is effective at decreasing chronic inflammation and inflammatory-related pain because of its two main cannabinoids — THC and CBD.
Both THC and CBD work to prevent or treat inflammation, and they are effective at decreasing signaling proteins that cause inflammation. Since scientists find CBD is highly effective in fighting inflammation, you may find CBD-rich cannabis strains helpful to tackle extreme inflammation.
Some strains to try include:
Pain can keep anyone awake and cause sleep problems like insomnia. Using medical weed to tackle insomnia is an effective alternative for many individuals without the possible harmful side effects of sleeping pills. Many studies show how effective marijuana is at improving sleep. Anecdotal evidence also shows excellent results from cannabis for improving sleep.
Strains for sleep include:
For hundreds of years, individuals have been using marijuana to treat their depression. Patients report its ability to heighten their mood and provide energy.
Benzodiazepines are commonly prescribed for treating anxiety. They manage the GABA, which is a neurotransmitter balancing your levels of anxiety and blocking nerve impulses. Unfortunately, individuals who take “benzos” often build up a tolerance quickly. Benzos also cause thousands of overdose-related deaths each year.
Medical cannabis also affects your GABA levels without the harsh side effects of traditional medications. Earlier studies found marijuana components, particularly CBD, manage how much GABA you have in your brain.
Strains for depression and anxiety are:
Cannabis is a holistic and natural alternative to traditional medications for myelomalacia. However, just like with any other treatment, it can come with some potential side effects.
Here are a few of medical marijuana’s side effects:
As with any other drug, cannabis can affect each person differently. Consult with a qualified cannabis doctor and a cannabis dispensary for the best results as you experiment with different ingestion methods and strains.
While smoking a joint or bong is the stereotypical image of cannabis use, there are numerous other methods, including:
Even if you’ve used cannabis before, you should still experiment with some methods to see which ones you prefer.
Medical pot is a natural, affordable alternative medication that’s helped many patients for pain and other symptoms. If you’re struggling with myelomalacia and would like to see if medical cannabis is the right treatment, Marijuana Doctors can help.
We can connect you with hundreds of qualified cannabis doctors all over the country so you can rest easy knowing you’re compliant with your state laws. We also have an extensive list of marijuana dispensaries you can choose from to obtain your cannabis products. Schedule your appointment today to speak with a marijuana doctor and allow us to help improve your health and quality of life.
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