When you are dealing with multiple complex chronic illnesses, pinpointing the exact cause of your symptoms can be incredibly challenging. The search for answers and finally receiving the right diagnosis often takes many years.
If you are struggling with unexplained symptoms, you might be wondering: Is this CCI (Craniocervical Instability) and/or AAI (Atlantoaxial Instability)?
While symptoms alone aren’t a diagnosis, they are the first step in understanding your body. We’ve compiled a list of common symptoms and signs observed in our patient population (though not all are strictcly related to a biomechanical origin) to help you navigate this journey.
Common Symptoms to Look For:
- Pain: Skull-based headaches, facial pain and pain behind the eyes, neck pain radiating to the shoulders, arms, clavicula and scapula area, jaw or temple discomfort.
- Neurological: Brain fog, dizziness, tinnitus, difficulty swallowing, choking on foods and/or fluids, dysarthria (difficulty pronouncing or articulating words), nausea, dfificulty breathing, sensation of high pressure in the head and face, nystagmus, non-epileptic seizures.
- Sensory: Hypersensitivity to light/noise, numbness, loss of strength and/or sensation in areas of the body.
- Circulation & Others: Heart palpitations, cold and/or blueish/purple extremities, swelling and fluid retention, “crunching” noises in the neck, a sensation of being “strangled”, pronounced sweating, high pressure on the ear(s), fluid trickling out of the ear(s), heart pounding in chest and ears,
Common Signs to Look For:
- Triggers: Sometimes patients notice a flare up of symptoms after an infectious or viral disease, (minor) trauma (like a fall or sudden head movement), or spinal manipulations.
- Positioning: Symptoms are sometimes (but not always) position-related. Pay attention to whether specific head movements and/or positions worsen or improve your symptoms.
- Relief: Some find relief by supporting the neck.
Important Reminder
Even though there are similarities we can see within our patient population, symptoms can vary significantly from one person to the next. The full clinical picture is unique to every individual.
Experiencing (part of) the above mentioned symptoms doesn’t automatically mean you have CCI/AAI, just as lacking some doesn’t rule it out. Some of these symptoms could be indirect signs of affectation, however a full and extensive evaluation is needed in order to be able to form a correct diagnosis.
Why is a formal evaluation important?
True clarity comes from a professional evaluation. A diagnosis requires a thorough review of your symptoms and medical history, imaging reviews, and specialized tests to see if your symptoms align with physical findings.
Imaging alone doesn’t tell the whole story, and symptoms alone are only one piece of the puzzle. To truly understand if someone is suffering from Craniocervical Instability (CCI) or Atlantoaxial Instability (AAI), we have to look at the big picture and determine whether there is a potential relationship between findings on imaging and symptom presentation.
Receiving an accurate diagnosis as early as possible is crucial. By detecting and understanding your condition now, you may be able to explore conservative management and prevent the need for more invasive treatment options in the future.
If you suspect that you might be suffering from CCI/AAI, it might be time to seek a formal diagnostic evaluation. 🩺
#CCI #AAI #ChronicIllness #NeckPain #BrainFog #MedicalDiagnosis #PatientCare #MedicalExcellence #GlobalHealth #HealthcareLeaders #Surgery #InternationalPatients #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #CraniocervicalInstability #AtlantoaxialInstability #hEDS #ZebraStrong #EDS #Neurosurgery #SpineHealth #CenterOfExcellence #MedicalTourism #InvisibleIllness #ChronicPain #GlobalHealthcare
