Cauda Equina Syndrome
My life, like thousands of other people across the world is forever entwined with cauda equina syndrome. For me it has been a mixture of both positive and negative and a personal journey to carve out a new life and purpose for myself.
When I first read the words “cauda equina syndrome” I was in fact googling my ever-deteriorating symptoms of acute low back pain and intolerable sciatica. I knew that something terrible was happening to my body and was doing my own research in a desperate bid to find answers.
The information I came across was minimal to say the least and merely announced “Cauda Equina syndrome is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY”. From that day forwards my life changed forever, I was forced to embrace CES and I set about learning as much about it as I could. I will try to set out the basic essentials you need to know as somebody trying to adjust to life with cauda equina syndrome.
Why is it called Cauda Equina Syndrome?
Cauda Equina means Horses tail in Latin, and it is a name that describes the way the spinal nerve roots emerge from the end of the spinal cord in the lumbar spine. They are a bundle of nerve roots that look like the top of a horse’s tail – it’s a simple as that. I often think the name causes enough problems on its own!
These nerve roots play an important part in providing sensation and function to your lower body and your bladder, bowel and sexual organs.
Syndrome relates to the symptoms you experience when your cauda equina nerves become damaged or compressed causing dysfunction to the parts of your body the nerves serve. Compression and damage to the nerves can be caused by a large, herniated disc, tumours, blood clots, stenosis, spinal injections, and trauma such as gunshot wounds, stabbings and even car accidents. These symptoms are called the Red Flags of Cauda Equina Syndrome and unfortunately they can become lifelong disabilities for some people. It is important to say that for many people timely diagnosis and treatment can mean the best chance of a full recovery.
With new medical pathways emerging and an increased awareness of the CES amongst both the medical profession and public at large, hopefully the numbers of patients permanently disabled by CES across the world will become less and less.
There is more information available on Cauda Equina Champions Charity website. Learn more about the Red flags and cauda equina syndrome