Case report: Recurrent cervical spinal stenosis masquerading as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome with orthostatic intolerance.
Edwards, Charles C, Edwards, Charles C, Heinlein, Scott et al.·Frontiers in neurology·2023
This case report describes a woman who was thought to have ME/CFS and experienced symptoms of dizziness upon standing (orthostatic intolerance). Doctors discovered she actually had cervical spinal stenosis—a narrowing of the spinal canal in her neck that was compressing her spinal cord. After surgery to relieve the compression, her ME/CFS and orthostatic intolerance symptoms improved significantly. Years later, her symptoms returned because the surgical implant shifted, compressing the spinal cord again. A second surgery provided similar improvement, suggesting that spinal stenosis may have been causing or worsening her ME/CFS symptoms rather than the other way around.