Spinal Tumor Treatment options

Know about Spinal Tumor

Spinal Tumor is characterized by the growth that progresses in your Spinal Canal or bones within the spine. This growth may be cancerous or non cancerous. The tumors that is seen in the bones of the spine (vertebrae) are called vertebral tumors.

The tumors that start within the spinal cord itself is called spinal cord tumors. The two main types of tumors that affect the spinal cord are intramedullary tumors and extramedullary tumors.

Intramedullary tumors affect the cells in the spinal cord and extramedullary tumor affect the cells around the spinal cord.

Growth of any kind or spinal tumor can lead to pain, neurological disorders or some times paralysis. Whether its cancerous or not the growth can be life threatening can cause disability.

Treatment for a spinal tumor may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or other medications.

Signs and Symptoms

Different signs and symptoms can develop depending on the location and type of spinal tumor. The signs and symptoms develops especially as it affects your spinal cord and surrounding blood vessels and nerves.

The signs and symptoms include :

Back pain that spreads to other parts of body.

Loss of sensation in the arms and legs.

Difficult in walking.

Lower bladder function

Muscle weakness that may occur in different parts of body.

The spinal tumor evolves at different rates, In the case of cancerous tumor it grows fast and non cancerous tumor tend to develop slowly.

When to see the doctor

Back pain may not be the direct cause of spinal tumor but the early diagnosis and treatment with a doctor is important if

the back pain is consistent and progressive.

It gets bad in nights.

Have a history of cancer and develop new back pain.

Seek quick medical attention if you have

Progressive muscle weakness or numbness in your legs and arms.

Changes in the bowel function

Causes

Its not clear that how most spinal tumors develop. Experts doubts that the defective genes play a role. But its not known that if the genetic defects are inherited, or caused by any factors in the environment like exposure to some chemicals.

However both the cancerous and non cancerous spinal tumors affects spinal cord and nerves causing to stop agility or sensation. If this condition is caught early and treated well it would be possible to put a stop to the loss of function and regain the function of nerves. Depending on the condition the Spinal tumor is life threatening.

Get proper advice and treatment options from the health care Portal medeguru which gives you an insight into the network of best doctors and hospitals across country. You can use the site as an expert second opinion for clarifying your doubts on this condition.