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  • Tara
    Member
    Post count: 6

    Hi Dr.

    I am trying this website, I found your information on youtube and have now ordered your book.

    I am trying to find insite and help with my neck pain. I have had neck pain for many many years. In 2008 it got progressively worse. When i raised my arms above my shoulders i collapsed in excruiating pain. Xrays and CT scan to not reveal or determine cause.
    MRI : C4 C5 – minimal disc bulge,no ventral stenosis,minimal bilateral foramininal narrowing seen secndary to uncontreebral hypertrophy
    C5-C6 -there is a small central and right paracentral broad based disc protusin. Mild right paracentral stenosis is seen with mild mass effect on the antero right lateral aspect of the cord. Minimal right forimal narrowing is seen secondary to uncontrvertebral joint hypertrophy. No left forminal narrowing.

    Have done Chiro and Physio for past 3 years. Had a relapse in January 2011 when my left side went numb and I fell. Doctor did xray and then asked if I was depressed… So i have been just working thrugh the pain.

    May 2011 i slipped on a floor in a bathroom when the toilet leaked at a hotel i was staying at.

    Since this time i have had excrutiating neck pain, xray showed : cervcal Kyphisis centered at the level C5 with mild degenrative disc change at C4-5 and C 5-6 . No fracture/dislocation. The oblique views show no foraminal stenosis.
    If patient shows clinica findings of nerve root impingement then MRi should be dne for follow up.
    My doctor has ordered MRI scheduled October 2,2011.
    My summer has been very difficult and i have not been able to carry on with my daily activities. My left arm has had extreme pain , tingling pins and needles, when i sleep a certain way,range of motion in my neck is difficult to bend backwards, turn to the left. Sitting for long periods makes it worse.

    Can you please advise me as to the proper questins i should ask my doctor when i meet to review my MRI results? I am supposed to have an EMG, will this show or help determine another issue.
    I’m sure you have been witness to many patients having longterm pain. Could the above issues be the cause of this severe pain. I am currently on medicine that helps reduce it and rates from a 8/9 pain to a 7/8 depending n the day. I am told i can no longer use ibuprofen/acetIminphen due to long term effects on my body.
    Thank you for your advice and answers to my questins.

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    You report neck pain for many years that has increased in intensity. You then report an injury fall after your “left side went numb and I fell”. Your report significant pain and paresthesias (pins and needles) in your left arm and you cannot bend your head backwards or to the left.

    You have an older MRI that notes cervical kyphosis at C4-6 with degenerative disc disease at those levels. You have “minimal” foraminal stenosis at C4-5 bilaterally and a broad based bulge at C5-6 with minimal right and no left foraminal stenosis.

    To let you know, kyphosis normally goes hand in hand with degenerative changes. Your symptoms can be generated by your neck. Some individuals have very sensitive pain component nervous systems and these tears in the disc wall can cause local neck pain. The left arm symptoms are harder to understand as the old MRI report does not note significant nerve compression (foraminal compression) but if the arm symptoms are of more recent vintage, a new MRI might reveal newer anatomic changes. I am also reluctant to read an MRI report and accept the conclusions at face value.

    The fall from left sided numbness does not fit well with a neck origin unless the numbness was only in your arm and your arm gave out when you grabbed something to prevent the fall. Numbness in your leg would not fit with your neck disorder.

    You need a good spine specialist to look you over and figure this out.

    Dr. Corenman

    PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
     
    Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
    Tara
    Member
    Post count: 6

    Dear Dr Coreman

    Thank you for your reply. The doctor i met with at my clinic has ordered an MRI. I have completed that and am awaiting the results. I am not sure what level of care I wil recieve regrading my neck pain from this physician, as I do not thik he fully undestands the pain I suffer daily. My physio therapistsrecommendation wasto discuss with my doctor the possibility of taking sometime away from my job to help reducethe inflamation and get my neck to the proper postural position as it is in the forwrd position now t reduce pain. My doctors answer was t increase the amount of medicatn im currently taking which makes me feel slow.
    I feel a family physician may not have the time available or level of expertise to help me deal with this issue. I am not sure how to ask for a referral to a specialist. If I do ask please provide me with your recomendationa :

    I do currently have a neurologist I see for my migraines
    We do have Orthopedic specilaists. But im not sure if there are spine specilalists.

    Thank you once again for reviewing my questins. I appreciate all the great information you have provided on this site. It is sometimes hard to explain how painful my neck is especialy if the MRI shows disc bulge/ protusins again. I feel I will have to contnue to just suffer.

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    It is a possibility that your new MRI may shed some light on your pain generators. If you do not have a spine surgeon you can consult, look for a PM&R doctor that specializes in spine treatment.

    Good luck.

    Dr. Corenman

    PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
     
    Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
    Tara
    Member
    Post count: 6

    Dear Dr Corenman,

    Thank you for your replies to my inquiries.

    I have received a copy of my results

    There are early degenerTive changes with large bulging disc at C5 C6 abutting central aspect of the cord and pssibly causing compression of the right nerve root.there is moderate narrowing ot the neural foreman.

    I am still waiting for a call from my doctor to discuss the results. The clinic has said he woukd phone if he feels the need to follow up.

    Can you please explain what the follow up on the above reading means to my health and what questions i should be asking. The MRI was well over 3 weeks ago and no response my doctor yet.
    Thank you

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    The MRI findings of compression of the right C6 nerve root and possibly the central cord can lead to arm pain and/or symptoms of myelopathy. Please read the website under cervical radiculopathy (arm pain) and myelopathy (spinal cord compression) to see if any of those symptoms would fit with what you are experiencing currently.

    Dr. Corenman

    PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
     
    Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
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