Can discs place pressure on optic nerves?

[Judi]

Hi,

My neck is chronically stiff and tight and I have trouble holding it straight. The last 6 months I've been having cloudy vision episodes and after an eye exam, I'm thinking it's comiong from my neck, either my discs or just the tight muscles. Anyone else have this problem?

[sahuaro]

Hmmm--interesting question. I have had some similar episodes and have had a change of my corrective prescription-- andI am in the midst of being evaluated for glaucoma. During the visual field exam, the tech asked if I had hit my head during the MVA which caused my neck issues--but I think my "ambiguous score" was more a factor of not being able to tolerate having my head in the headrest for so long. Bottom line, is that the specialist does not think I have glaucoma--but wants me to return for more tests--and he said my optic nerves looked healthy. So: again, interesting question but I don't know the answer and am interested in others' replies.
Did your eye exam include an exam of your optic nerves?
One other point: Have you taken steroids, orally or epidurals? They can cause cataracts and glaucoma...

[Harrison]

Judi,

Sorry about this latest news. What are your latests MRIs/imaging studies showing? Did you obtain the CDs and radiologist's report from the imaging center?

Whatever the case, you may want to consider finding a good massage therapist, who can give you a thorough deep tissue / diagnostic massage. They can also tell you (with your vocal reponses!) where and how many trigger points you have. Mapping any trigger points may be helpful down the road, relative to diagnosis & treatment. See this FAQ.

And sorry for the obvious question -- how are your eyes from the optometrist's perspective? Have you or are you seeing an opthamologist?

If you can't figure this out, I've talked to several other people with similar conditions, so I'm happy to talk about other options. As well, I am taking my dad to a top doc in Boston in a few weeks; Dr. Foster an expert in immunopathology of the eye.

PM, email, call or smoke signal...whatever works for you.

[David]

I have been corresponding with a new friend of mine in Spain who has recently been diagnosed with Arnold-Chiari type 1 malformation (along with significant lumbar disc problems).

Keeping in mind that neither of us are physicians, she has read through this thread (as best as she can), and asked me to post a note stating that, in her opinion, some of the symptoms described here sound very much like the symptoms she has as well.

From what I know, it is an somewhat rare condition, but I figured I would mention it none the less.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold-Chiari_malformation

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chiari/chiari.htm

Hope this helps...

Thanks.

David

[sahuaro]

Thanks, David. I wonder then if having central stenosis compressing the flow of CSF can have similar effects as Arnold-Chiari?

[kappa5070]

Any type of spinal lesion, or loss of normal spinal joint motion and function, can affect the balance of your autonomic nervous system. nocieceptors, or noxious stimuli sensors, are set off by inflammation and your spine is loaded with them. These receptors are called c-fibers. Whats interesting is that only 10% of these tracts lead to the thalamus and the primary sensory cortex to be percieved as pain. The other 90% lead to areas of the CNS like the insula, reticular formation, autonomic nuclei in the brainstem, and the sympathetic chain. The affect of this is increased sympathetic nervous system activity. This can affect your vision, cause high blood pressure and heart rate, increase the activation threshold of mast cells, possibly leading to more allergies and asthma, make you sweat more, and affect your digestion. Nocieceptive imput also dumps into the limbic system, which can affect your mood. Im a Chiropractic student and this is the way Chiropractic can affect viceral health through the musculoskeletal system. Its also called a somato-visceral reflex. Your pupil dialation and your lens accomadation are affected by your autonomic nervous system so it does not suprise me you are having blury vision. It is common for Chiropractic patients to see more acutely after a cervical manipulation. This is because the manipulation stimulates mechanoreceptors which inhibit nocieceptors directly in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. The manipulation also improves movement and decreased immobilization degeneration, which decreased inflammation and nocieception. Since only 10% of nocieception tracts make their way to the sensory cortex, it is very possible to have a spinal lesion affecting you autonomic nervous system, up regulating your sympathetics, decreasing your bodies ability to adapt and maintain homeostasis,and not causing any pain yet. Crazy isnt it! So in conclusion, you neck can affect your vision, but not by compressing the optic nerve. That is anatomically impossible. Its through the autonomic nervous system. I know its technical, but the spine and nervous system are very complex. Its not always about mechanical compression on a nerve. Its about chemical changes in the joint from lack of normal joint movement and inflammation. This is all backed up by tons of research on immobilization degeneration(rationale for PT), pain, and the autonomic nervous system. Most MD's are not taught this in school, so be aware of that when discussing these concepts with them(I dont mean that in a disrespectable way, its just the 2 proffessions have different training objectives in their schools. Chiros look at the little things to increase the adaptability of the host and MD's aggressively battle pathology and disease in the host.) The research is out there and only a small fraction of it has been done by the Chiropractic community.