Neurosurgery Clinic Columbia, SC

Common Nervous System Diseases

The nervous system is vulnerable to many different disorders and can be damaged by:

• Injury
• Infections
• Degeneration
• Structural defects
• Tumors
• Autoimmune disorders
• And more

Some common disorders of the nervous system include but are not limited to:

• Vascular disorders – These include stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage and hematoma, and extradural hemorrhage

• Infections – Such as meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis, and epidural abscess

• Structural abnormalities – These can include brain or spinal cord injury, cervical spondylosis, carpal tunnel syndrome, brain or spinal cord tumors, and more

• Functional disabilities – Such as headaches, epilepsy, dizzy spells, and neuralgia

• Degeneration – This includes Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease

• Autoimmune or inflammatory disorders – Such as Bell palsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), peripheral neuropathy, and Guillian-Barre syndrome

Symptoms of Nervous System Disorders

The most common signs and symptoms of a possible nervous system disorder are listed below. However, it’s important to remember every patient experiences their condition differently and may have different symptoms at different severity levels. Symptoms include:

• Headaches that don’t go away or start all of a sudden
• A headache that is different or keeps changing
• Not being able to feel or have tingling sensations
• Muscle weakness or loss of strength
• Loss of sight or seeing double
• Loss of memory
• Having trouble thinking and organizing thoughts
• Difficulty with coordination
• Tight muscles
• Shaking and seizures
• Back pain that travels to the feet, toes, or other parts of the body, known as “radiating pain”
• Loss of muscle mass and trouble speaking
• New difficulty with language in expression or understanding

Some symptoms of a disorder of the nervous system may look like those of other diseases or health problems. Set up an appointment today with one of our neurosurgery physicians for a consultation to discuss your concerns and start your path to a diagnosis.