High cervical myelopathy presenting with the numb clumsy hand syndrome.

We report two patients with numb clumsy hands due to cervical spondylotic spinal cord compression. It is proposed that arterial insufficiency in the watershed area between the central and radial arterial systems of the cervical cord explains the sensory findings in the upper extremities with preservation of motor function. Although this is a rare conditions, its recognition is important since the prognosis is improved by early surgical decompression.