What is flattening of the thecal sac?

What is flattening of the thecal sac?

Thecal Sac Compression – The spinal cord and nerves are also protected by a membrane filled with cerebral spinal fluid known as the thecal sac or dural sac. Flattening or compression of the thecal sac will occur in other conditions that cause pressure or pinching of the spinal cord, such as stenosis.

What happens when the thecal sac is compressed?

If there is central stenosis and marked compression of the entire dural/thecal sac, the patient may demonstrate paralysis (e.g., cauda equina syndrome) with sphincter loss (bladder and rectal dysfunction).

What is decompression of thecal sac?

The body part for the thecal sac is also spinal cord. By decompressing the spinal nerve or spinal cord, the surgeon is opening up and creating more space in the affected area.

At what level does the thecal sac typically terminate?

Neural Anatomy. The thecal sac ends blindly at the S2 level. The lower sacral and coccygeal nerves emerge from the sac, as does the extradural portion of the filum terminale. The upper four roots exit the sacrum through the paired ventral and dorsal sacral foramina.

What causes thecal sac narrowing?

The causes of spinal stenosis include bulging or herniated disk, facet arthropathy, and thickening and buckling of the interlaminar ligaments. All these inciting factors tend to worsen with age.

What does thecal sac mean?

Thecal sac is the outer covering of the spinal cord. This means there are bone spurs on the back of the spinal bones, putting pressure on or affecting the front part of the outer layer of the (neck) cervical spinal cord.

What causes thecal sac effacement?

This is typically caused by some sort of trauma to the cervical spine, like an auto accident, sports injury, or damage from a large extruded disc. Thecal Sac Effacement: The thecal sac or dural sac is the membranous sheath (theca) or tube of dura mater that surrounds the spinal cord and the cauda equina.

Is a disc bulge serious?

Is it serious? Bulging disks increase the likelihood of a herniated disk, which can be painful, affect mobility, and limit a person’s daily functioning and quality of life. Bulging disks can also lead to weakness or numbness in the legs and poor bladder control.

How do doctors treat bulging discs?

Injections. If rest, pain relievers, and physical therapy don’t help with your pain, your doctor can inject a steroid medicine into the space around your spinal nerve. This is called an epidural injection. The steroid can help bring down the swelling, help you move more easily, and ease pain from a herniated disk.

Is it possible to have thecal sac effacement?

However, this occurrence does not mean that any nerve tissue is inherently affected. Let’s delve deeper into the relevance of thecal sac effacement diagnoses. In almost every case, impingement of the thecal sac is a complete nonissue. It is not symptomatic and will not cause pain or any related neurological effects.

What’s the best way to flatten an oilstone?

Your oilstones may be cleaned in a solvent such as kerosene, mineral spirits or even lacquer thinner. They may also be flattened and/or renewed by placing a sheet of 60-grit wet/dry sandpaper on a wing of your table saw or on a piece of glass.

Why does the thecal sac cause back pain?

If the symptoms do not align to the suspected diagnosis, then the thecal sac compression is likely to be a circumstantial factor to the expression. The thecal sac is one of those great back pain scapegoats and is often mistakenly targeted as a source of pain when touched by a herniation.

Can a thecal sac compression be visualized?

In these cases, the nerve compression may not be visualized, but can usually be correlated accurately by symptomatic expression. If the symptoms do not align to the suspected diagnosis, then the thecal sac compression is likely to be a circumstantial factor to the expression.