"Numb, clumsy hands" and high cervical spondylosis.

Thirteen patients with cervical spondylosis and high compressive myelopathy between C-3 and C-5 presented with a distinctive clinical syndrome of "numb, clumsy hands" and stereoanesthesia of the hands. Loss of position and vibration sense was much more severe in the hands than in the legs. Relative sparing of primary sensory modalities and motor and bladder functions were other features. Most patients were incorrectly diagnosed at first and cervical myelography was the critical diagnostic test. Pathology was confirmed surgically or at autopsy. Early recognition and treatment resulted in lessened disability. The syndrome is a distinctive and unusual manifestation of high cervical myelopathy, and it has seldom been reported associated with cervical spondylosis.