Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 1 Location: Vancouver BC
Parkinson's Or Pinched Nerve ? Posted: 06-03-07 13:35pm
I am newly diagnosed with PD (poor
handwriting was the principle complaint).
My visit with the neurologist was short:
after a brief exam, he informed me that I
had PD, wrote a prescription for Mirapex,
a dopamine agonist, informed me that it
was his duty to tell me I may become a
pathological gambler, and I was out the
door in complete bewilderment.
I thought I had a pinched nerve from a 2
y.o. tennis injury. I still do. I also
have poor blood flow in my right arm. The
movement in my right hand fingers returns
in the morning, if I strain my elbow, or
lift my hand over my head. I had
previously had a CT scan of my neck and it
showed pronounced osteophytic narrowing of
the right neural foramen for C4-5, C5-6,
and C6-7.
BTW, I am 59 y.o. and very active
physically. I work all over the world as
a consulting engineer. It is a great job
and one I would like to keep doing for
several more years.
Anybody have any comments? Is it just
wishful thinking on my part?
Major symptoms of Parkinson disease are
shaking (tremor), muscle stiffness (rigor)
and poor or slow movements (akinesia and
bradikinezia). Poor handwriting is present
in Parkinson disease but it is not the
only symptom.
Poor handwriting can be also due to
pinched nerve if pressure on the cervical
spinal nerve's roots last too long. You
can perform EMG (electro-myo-graphy) to
check hand nerves' conductivity which is
disturbed if pinched nerve is the main
reason for poor handwriting.
Persistence of both conditions in the same
time is also possible.
You can ask for second opinion from
another neurologist.
Do you still have the same symptoms or new
one occurred also?
