# Very interesting fact of IBS, FMS & Cervical Spine



## MohaimenK (Dec 5, 2007)

* READ THIS THREAD ALL THE WAY AND YOU WILL SEE HOW THINGS CONNECT TOGETHER. I've been feeling like #### for a few years now. I thought I had so many things wrong with me but I can never pinpoint to what it is. I had anxiety issue, thought I'd die so many times, still think I will from all sorts of diseases or something is always wrong with me. I go to the doctor and make them run endless tests and they always come negative and normal. *Well, I've been thinking what could be wrong with me. I know most of my problems are on the left side. Actually ALL of my problems are on my left side. I then began to think that when I was injured on my cervical spine, I could not move my left arm for 2-3 days because it was so stiff. So began all my symptoms. I just leanred about IBS a few weeks ago and questioned myself, could cervical injury have anything to do with it? Well sure enough, I found some interesting facts. http://www.erinelster.com/ConditionsDetail...?ConditionID=15 Evidence supports that certain cases of bowel disease, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, result from the malfunction of nerves that control the gastrointestinal system (autonomic nervous system and/or enteric nervous system) and/or the immune system, or following trauma to the spine and/or spinal cord.1-15 In each of these cases, *it is possible the upper cervical spine is involved since injury to the cervical spine can create malfunction within *the autonomic nervous system, the immune system, *and the nerves traveling from the brain to the gastrointestinal system*.OK so that's interesting.....How about FMS?http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin...=1&SRETRY=0*Objective. To study the relationship between cervical spine injury and the development of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).*_Methods._ One hundred two patients with neck injury and 59 patients with leg fractures (control group) were assessed for nonarticular tenderness and the presence of FMS. A count of 18 tender points was conducted by thumb palpation, and tenderness thresholds were assessed by dolorimetry at 9 tender sites. All patients were interviewed about the presence and severity of neck and FMS-related symptoms. FMS was diagnosed using the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria. Additional questions assessed measures of physical functioning and quality of life (QOL)._Results._ Although no patient had a chronic pain syndrome prior to the trauma, FMS was diagnosed following injury in 21.6% of those with neck injury versus 1.7% of the control patients with lower extremity fractures (_P_ = 0.001). Almost all symptoms were more common and severe in the group with neck injury. FMS was noted at a mean of 3.2 months (SD 1.1) after the trauma. Neck injury patients with FMS (n = 22) had more tenderness, had more severe and prevalent FMS-related symptoms, and reported lower QOL and more impaired physical functioning than did those without FMS (n = 80). In spite of the injury or the presence of FMS, all patients were employed at the time of examination. Twenty percent of patients with neck injury and 24% of patients with leg fractures filed an insurance claim. Claims were not associated with the presence of FMS, increased FMS symptoms, pain, or impaired functioning._Conclusion._ FMS was 13 times more frequent following neck injury than following lower extremity injury. All patients continued to be employed, and insurance claims were not increased in patients with FMS.*FMS & IBS:*http://ibdcrohns.about.com/cs/faqsibs/a/ibsfaq.htm*Are there other conditions related to IBS?* *As many as 60% of persons with IBS also suffer from **fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS)**.* Conversely, as many as 70% of FMS patients have reported experiencing symptoms of IBS. Fibromyalgia. FMS is a disorder of the musculoskeletal system that is associated with symptoms of general muscle aches, stiffness, overall fatigue, and poor sleeping habits. Symptoms can vary in both severity and duration; the pain may be dull or knife-like, linger persistently, or be intermittent. Like IBS, FMS is a functional disorder*SO HERE'S MY QUESTION. ANYONE ELSE HAVE BEEN SUFFERING AFTER BEING INJURED ON YOUR CERVICAL SPINE? I KNOW I HAVE. SUFFERING WITH CERVICAL SPINE COMPRESSION. SO BEGAN MY SYMPTOMS OF TERROR. BE SURE TO LET YOUR DOCTOR KNOW THIS FACT. I KNOW I WILL BE TELLING MINE NEXT TIME I GO SEE HER IN A WEEK OR TWO.*


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

FYI"What causes IBS?As discussed previously, IBS is believed to be due to the abnormal function (dysfunction) of the muscles of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract or the nerves controlling the organs. The nervous control of the gastrointestinal tract, however, is complex. A system of nerves runs the entire length of the gastrointestinal tract from the esophagus to the anus in the muscular walls of the organs. These nerves communicate with other nerves that travel to and from the spinal cord. Nerves within the spinal cord, in turn, travel to and from the brain. (The gastrointestinal tract is exceeded in the numbers of nerves it contains only by the spinal cord and brain.) Thus, the abnormal function of the nervous system in IBS may occur in a gastrointestinal muscular organ, the spinal cord, or the brain. The nervous system that controls the gastrointestinal organs, as with most other organs, contains both sensory and motor nerves. The sensory nerves continuously sense what is happening within the organ and relay this information to nerves in the organ's wall. From there, information can be relayed to the spinal cord and brain. The information is received and processed in the organ's wall, the spinal cord, or the brain. Then, based on this sensory input and the way the input is processed, commands (responses) are sent to the organ over the motor nerves. Two of the most common motor responses in the intestine are contraction or relaxation of the muscle of the organ and secretion of fluid and/or mucus into the organ. As already mentioned, abnormal function of the nerves of the gastrointestinal organs, at least theoretically, might occur in the organ, spinal cord, or brain. Moreover, the abnormalities might occur in the sensory nerves, the motor nerves, or at processing centers in the intestine, spinal cord, or brain. Some researchers argue that the cause of functional diseases is abnormalities in the function of the sensory nerves. For example, normal activities, such as stretching of the small intestine by food, may give rise to abnormal sensory signals that are sent to the spinal cord and brain, where they are perceived as pain. Other researchers argue that the cause of functional diseases is abnormalities in the function of the motor nerves. For example, abnormal commands through the motor nerves might produce a painful spasm (contraction) of the muscles. Still others argue that abnormally functioning processing centers are responsible for functional diseases because they misinterpret normal sensations or send abnormal commands to the organ. In fact, some functional diseases may be due to sensory dysfunction, motor dysfunction, or both sensory and motor dysfunction. Still others may be due to abnormalities within the processing centers"http://www.medicinenet.com/irritable_bowel...drome/page2.htm"Whereas short reflex pathways include a circuit of local and spinal cord neurons, long reflexes involve vagal and spinal pathways. Visceral pain information, for instance, traverses A-delta and C fibers and synapse in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (specifically laminae I and II). The neural signal ascends through the contralateral spinothalamic tract to the brain where pain is perceived. The processing of pain information within the CNS varies between normal individuals and those with IBS. The CNS-processed information is sent to the effector through descending pathways traversing brainstem nuclei (eg, periaqueductal gray, raphé nucleus, and locus coeruleus) -- pathways that use 5-HT and NE."http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/418586_3alsoFYISpinal Cord Injury Health Issues > Bladder & Bowelhttp://www.apparelyzed.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3669


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

They know that some neurological conditions can cause bowel problems as well as spinal cord injuries.IBS is now understood as a brain gut axis disorder, with different pathologies that lead to the "cluster of IBS symptoms."History of Functional Disordershttp://216.109.125.130/search/cache?ei=UTF...=1&.intl=usI am not sure if an injury to the spinal cord that causes bowel symptoms is actually considered IBS or if the spinal cord injuries can cause similar symptoms to IBS and the injury itself can explain the symptoms.I will look into this more as soon as I can.But your right in telling your doctor about any spinal cord injuries a person has had.


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## MohaimenK (Dec 5, 2007)

I never thought of this or brought this up before because I didn't know what IBS before last 3 weeks. I know I've read that cervical spine causes a lot of symptoms throughout the body. What interested me about it was that they were talking about the problems being on one side of the body. Which is my left entire side. From head to tow and I mean that literraly.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

A good proportion of IBSers are effected in the left side of the abdomen. I have started to look into a couple things. One is how bad the spinal cord injury is and where its located. Different parts of the spinal cord effect different parts of the body. I am of the mind at the moment that these are bowel problems specific to abnormalities of spinal cord injuries, much like bowel problems from neurologic conditions and not so much "classic IBS."Spinal Cord Injury: Hope Through Research"Bladder and bowel problemsMost spinal cord injuries affect bladder and bowel functions because the nerves that control the involved organs originate in the segments near the lower termination of the spinal cord and are cut off from brain input. Without coordination from the brain, the muscles of the bladder and urethra can't work together effectively, and urination becomes abnormal. The bladder can empty suddenly without warning, or become over-full without releasing. In some cases the bladder releases, but urine backs up into the kidneys because it isn't able to get past the urethral sphincter. Most people with spinal cord injuries use either intermittent catheterization or an indwelling catheter to empty their bladders.Bowel function is similarly affected. The anal sphincter muscle can remain tight, so that bowel movements happen on a reflex basis whenever the bowel is full. Or the muscle can be permanently relaxed, which is called a "flaccid bowel," and result in an inability to have a bowel movement. This requires more frequent attempts to empty the bowel and manual removal of stool to prevent fecal impaction. People with spinal cord injuries are usually put on a regularly scheduled bowel program to prevent accidents.http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sci/detail_sci.htmDepending also on the injury or problem, they seem to be using newer technology like "Electrical stimulation devices" for certain injuries. You might ask your doctor about that also.http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/spinal-co...0460/DSECTION=8It is probably also possible to have IBS and spinal cord injuries as well. That should be considered.


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## 16229 (Jan 28, 2006)

I did some research and spoke to some doctors about this same type of thing earlier this year.Spinal injuries are most likely to cause one of two things. Fecal incontinence or not being able to go at all. Onset is most likely to happen right after the accident, not down the road. Sometimes it clears up on its own and sometimes not. I remember at the hospital they would not let me go until I could both go number 1 and number 2 of my own accord. I could not urinate after the accident for about 1 day, so I'm taking that I was still pretty lucky. My injury was lower back, though.I don't know how badly you were hurt or when, but mine (2 fractures) took about 2 or 3 years to really heal. I still stretch and exercise my back daily. If I don't then problems will ensue. I had bowel problems before the accident, so I couldn't really help much there. I had pain, really bad throughout, bad atrophy that still persists to a degree, muscle cramps and tightness, and just general aches from the injured area. These were all terrible and very slowly got better. I ended up fabricating my own workout/stretching regimen that worked much better for me than the ones I was given by the doctors. I can pretty much do anything physically nowadays as long as I keep my back loose.


> Are there other conditions related to IBS? As many as 60% of persons with IBS also suffer from fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).


I just can't see the math here. It doesn't work. 10-15% of Americans have IBS. That's between 30 and 45 million people. 3.7 million in the US are diagnosed with Fibro. Even the highest figures from reliable sources say up to 8 million in total may be affected.Well, 60% of 30 million (low end number for IBS'ers) is 18 million. I just don't see if that works out, even if we say 8 million have fibro compared to the 3.7 million who are diagnosed with it. And that would have to be assuming that every person with Fibro has IBS which is not true. Unless there are a ton of undiagnosed Fibro going around then the math just is wrong.


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## MohaimenK (Dec 5, 2007)

I don't think fracture and compression heals the same way. I had a lumber spine frature 6 years ago which seem to be over with. But i have L7-L8 compression which, unfortunately, doesn't really heal as it will w/ a fractured bone. So the compression actually disturbs the nerves that's there and stays that way. At least that is what I've been told. So I could see my symptoms for years to come.


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## screeb (Jul 25, 2001)

You probably injured your peripheral nervous system and not the spinal cord. The PNS repairs itself (and the cervical spine innervates the voluntary muscles of the arms). The chiropractic technique that you are mentioning may be stimulating the Intermediate Nucleus (ImN) via muscle spindle afferents in the back of the neck. This is why I use a cervical traction device to hyperpolarize the nucleus tractus solitarius, which decreases activation of the CVLM and increases activation of the RVLM (Caudal and Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla, respectively). The RVLM increases the firing of the celiac ganglion, causing Ghrelin release that causes a BM.


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