What are the symptoms of spinal tuberculosis?

The spine is one of the most important bony structures in the human body, and the hollow structure inside the spine is the key to protecting the spinal cord. Therefore, protecting the spine is an issue that people need to pay attention to in their lives. There are many factors that cause spinal diseases. Among them, spinal tuberculosis is a rare disease that has a great impact on the patient's life and health. Let's take a look at the symptoms of spinal tuberculosis.

Spinal tuberculosis ranks first among all bone and joint tuberculosis in the body, among which vertebral tuberculosis accounts for the majority, while adnexal tuberculosis is very rare. In the entire spine, the lumbar spine has the greatest mobility and the highest incidence of lumbar tuberculosis, followed by the thoracic spine and then the cervical spine. As for sacral and coccygeal tuberculosis, it is very rare.

1. General symptoms

The onset is slow, with symptoms such as low fever, fatigue, weight loss, night sweats, loss of appetite and anemia. Children often cry at night, are sluggish or irritable.

2. Pain symptoms

Pain is often the first symptom. It is usually mild pain that improves with rest and worsens with exertion. In the early stage, pain will not interfere with sleep, but patients with a long course of the disease will also experience pain at night.

3. Symptoms of cervical tuberculosis

In addition to neck pain, there are also symptoms of nerve root irritation such as numbness in the upper limbs. Coughing or sneezing will aggravate the pain and numbness. When a nerve root is compressed, the pain is severe. If the pain is obvious, the patient often supports his chin with both hands, tilting his head forward and shortening his neck. This posture is very typical. Retropharyngeal abscess interferes with breathing and swallowing, and patients snore during sleep. In the later stages, a neck lump caused by a cold abscess can be felt on the side of the neck.

4. Symptoms of thoracic tuberculosis

Thoracic tuberculosis may cause back pain symptoms, and it must be noted that the pain of lower thoracic spine lesions sometimes manifests as lumbar pain. Kyphosis is very common, and people do not seek medical attention until they discover thoracic kyphosis by chance.

5. Symptoms of lumbar tuberculosis

When standing or walking, patients often support their waist with both hands, tilt their head and torso backward to move their center of gravity backward, and try to reduce the pressure of their body weight on the diseased vertebra. When the patient picks up something from the ground, he cannot bend over and needs to straighten his waist, bend his knees and hips, and squat down to pick up the object. This is called a positive picking up test.