Symptoms are due to spinal cord damage and include pain, decreased sensation of touch, weakness, and loss of muscle tissue. The diagnosis is confirmed with a spinal CT, myelogram or MRI of the spinal cord. The cavity may be reduced by surgical decompression.Furthermore, evidence also suggests that impact injuries to the thorax area highly correlate with the occurrence of a cervical-located syrinx. Treatment
Surgery
Treating syringomyelia sometimes requires surgery. Surgery involving the spinal cord carries certain risks, and as with any medical treatment, the potential benefits have to be weighed against the possible complications. On the other hand, delaying treatment can increase the risk of permanent damage. Evaluation of the condition is necessary because syringomyelia can remain stationary for long periods of time, and in some cases progress rapidly.The main goal of surgical intervention is to correct the condition which led to the formation of the syrinx. Draining the syrinx can also help, by preventing it from becoming worse, but the symptoms the syrinx has already caused may not go away.In cases involving an Arnold–Chiari malformation, the main goal of surgery is to provide more space for the cerebellum at the base of the skull and upper cervical spine, without entering the brain or spinal cord. This often causes the syrinx to shrink or disappear over time, as the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid is restored. If syringomyelia is caused by a tumor, removing the tumor – if possible – is the treatment of choice.Most patients’ symptoms stabilize or have a modest improvement following surgery.
A typical cause of PTS would be a car accident or similar trauma involving a whiplash injury.What can make PTS difficult to diagnose is the fact that symptoms can often first appear long after the actual cause of the syrinx occurred (e.g., a car accident occurring and then the patient first experiencing PTS symptoms such as pain, loss of sensation, and reduced ability on the skin to feel varying degrees of hot and cold a number of months after the car accident). Pathogenesis
The pathogenesis of syringomyelia is debated. The cerebrospinal fluid also serves to cushion the brain. Excess cerebrospinal fluid in the central canal of the spinal cord is called hydromyelia. This term refers to increased cerebrospinal fluid that is contained within the ependyma of the central canal. When fluid dissects into the surrounding white matter forming a cystic cavity or syrinx, the term syringomyelia is applied. As these conditions coexist in the majority of cases, the term syringohydromyelia is applied. The terms are used interchangeably.It has been observed that obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid spaces in the subarachnoid space can result in syrinx formation, and alleviation of the obstruction may improve symptoms. A number of pathological conditions can cause an obstruction of the normal cerebrospinal fluid spaces. These include Chiari malformation, spinal arachnoiditis, scoliosis, spinal vertebrae misalignment, spinal tumors, spina bifida, and others. The reasons that blockage of the cerebrospinal fluid space within the subarachnoid space can result in syrinx formation are not fully understood although a small posterior fossa is one known cause.