Pinched Nerve in Neck

Member

39

Lake Orion

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

I've got the same issue, and mine started at the same time. I'm interested to see if there is anything we can do to resolve this. I've lost or it feels like I've lost most of my strength on that side. I've tried massage but that didn't seem to help. I did notice a big relief when my life stresses (big project at work, HIM, and 40th birthday) all past at the same time but it's still nagging me.

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Master

3205

ann arbor, michigan

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

Ok, this makes me crazy when I read this. What has your doctor done for you to deal with this? It amazes me that you could be seeing a physician, with a five week course of worsening symptoms (or at least not getting better) and have had nothing done.

This sounds a lot like a herniated disk, which is by definition, pinching or compressing one or more of your nerve roots and giving you the symptoms you are describing. This is not a benign thing! Especially with severe enough symptoms that it is impacting your life.

You need a neurosurgical (or neurologist) consult. Not because you necessarily need surgery, but you need someone who specializes in treating this type of thing--which I am thinking your doctor does not--sorry, but not with the way he/she is treating you.. I personally would see the neurosurgeon because if you actually need intervention, you have cut one of the steps out of the process.

You likely need an MRI of your C spine to delineate which disk is the problem and how badly it is compressing your nerve roots. This will give them an idea what the best course of action is.

You may (probably do) need more aggressive therapy than oral steroids. I suspect that there are treament options that may help you dramatically but this is something you need to explore with a doctor (one that gives you a realistic diagnosis and treatment plan).

Ask me how I know all this........

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Master

2167

Livonia, MI

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

Have you seen a chiropractor? I can think of 5-6 people I know off hand who had debilitating pain from pinched nerves along the neck or spine and all found almost instant relief with some minor and easy spinal adjustments.

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Pro

6582

Melbourne FL

Gold member

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

noelle1230 - 2012-09-21 1:08 PM

Have you seen a chiropractor? I can think of 5-6 people I know off hand who had debilitating pain from pinched nerves along the neck or spine and all found almost instant relief with some minor and easy spinal adjustments.

Ditto. Think what you want about chiropratic care but its worked for me (post ski accident), my wife, and many other local athletes. We consider it part of our wellness lifestyle along with massage therapy, etc.

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Master

2177

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

Had this issue a couple years ago. Pain up and down my left arm so bad that even pain killers wouldn't touch them. Had to sleep (what little I could) with my arm over my head and being cold made it worse.

Never thought I'd do it, but at the suggestion of a friend, I went in to see a chiropractor. Long story short, after the treatment, pain-free since. I would put the pain I was in right up there close to labor.

So, you might want to visit one to see if he can check you out to see if they can help.

Good luck. Pinched nerves are no fun.

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Regular

549

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

wannabefaster - 2012-09-21 1:04 PM Ok, this makes me crazy when I read this. What has your doctor done for you to deal with this? It amazes me that you could be seeing a physician, with a five week course of worsening symptoms (or at least not getting better) and have had nothing done. This sounds a lot like a herniated disk, which is by definition, pinching or compressing one or more of your nerve roots and giving you the symptoms you are describing. This is not a benign thing! Especially with severe enough symptoms that it is impacting your life. You need a neurosurgical (or neurologist) consult. Not because you necessarily need surgery, but you need someone who specializes in treating this type of thing--which I am thinking your doctor does not--sorry, but not with the way he/she is treating you.. I personally would see the neurosurgeon because if you actually need intervention, you have cut one of the steps out of the process. You likely need an MRI of your C spine to delineate which disk is the problem and how badly it is compressing your nerve roots. This will give them an idea what the best course of action is. You may (probably do) need more aggressive therapy than oral steroids. I suspect that there are treament options that may help you dramatically but this is something you need to explore with a doctor (one that gives you a realistic diagnosis and treatment plan). Ask me how I know all this........

Thanks for the input and let me explain. I have gotten this off and on for the past few years. It flares up for two weeks or so and goes away, so I have learned to live with it. However, this time it did not go away as it normally does, so I went to the doctor in the fourth week. So, that's my explanation for why its been so long. Second, I have not been to a chiro, simply because I do not like them fooling with my neck. I have had my neck adjusted in the past and, frankly, it scares me to have it done with the wrenching of the neck. I am now going to a PT and after two visits, I am feeling "better". Still have pain, but its more focused in my shoulder than down my arm. I also have stopped running, swiming and road biking, as I tried to work through the pain. I have been instructed to only use a stationary bike and keep my posture aligned until this clears.

And I'll bite wannabe.......How DO you know all this??

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Master

1484

Sedona, AZ

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

hessma - 2012-09-24 4:47 AM

Thanks for the input and let me explain. I have gotten this off and on for the past few years. It flares up for two weeks or so and goes away, so I have learned to live with it. However, this time it did not go away as it normally does, so I went to the doctor in the fourth week. So, that's my explanation for why its been so long. Second, I have not been to a chiro, simply because I do not like them fooling with my neck. I have had my neck adjusted in the past and, frankly, it scares me to have it done with the wrenching of the neck. I am now going to a PT and after two visits, I am feeling "better". Still have pain, but its more focused in my shoulder than down my arm. I also have stopped running, swiming and road biking, as I tried to work through the pain. I have been instructed to only use a stationary bike and keep my posture aligned until this clears.

And I'll bite wannabe.......How DO you know all this??

I was just going to suggest a PT. Lots of PT's can also do adjustments like a chiro without the 'holistic, new age' stuff. I didn't realize this until I was speaking with a PT friend about the same issue you are having (though mine loosens up through the day so I can still get my workouts in). Next thing I know, I'm laying on the carpet getting adjusted!

Good luck, I hope it gets worked out.

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Master

3205

ann arbor, michigan

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

hessma - 2012-09-24 7:47 AM

wannabefaster - 2012-09-21 1:04 PM Ok, this makes me crazy when I read this. What has your doctor done for you to deal with this? It amazes me that you could be seeing a physician, with a five week course of worsening symptoms (or at least not getting better) and have had nothing done. This sounds a lot like a herniated disk, which is by definition, pinching or compressing one or more of your nerve roots and giving you the symptoms you are describing. This is not a benign thing! Especially with severe enough symptoms that it is impacting your life. You need a neurosurgical (or neurologist) consult. Not because you necessarily need surgery, but you need someone who specializes in treating this type of thing--which I am thinking your doctor does not--sorry, but not with the way he/she is treating you.. I personally would see the neurosurgeon because if you actually need intervention, you have cut one of the steps out of the process. You likely need an MRI of your C spine to delineate which disk is the problem and how badly it is compressing your nerve roots. This will give them an idea what the best course of action is. You may (probably do) need more aggressive therapy than oral steroids. I suspect that there are treament options that may help you dramatically but this is something you need to explore with a doctor (one that gives you a realistic diagnosis and treatment plan). Ask me how I know all this........

Thanks for the input and let me explain. I have gotten this off and on for the past few years. It flares up for two weeks or so and goes away, so I have learned to live with it. However, this time it did not go away as it normally does, so I went to the doctor in the fourth week. So, that's my explanation for why its been so long. Second, I have not been to a chiro, simply because I do not like them fooling with my neck. I have had my neck adjusted in the past and, frankly, it scares me to have it done with the wrenching of the neck. I am now going to a PT and after two visits, I am feeling "better". Still have pain, but its more focused in my shoulder than down my arm. I also have stopped running, swiming and road biking, as I tried to work through the pain. I have been instructed to only use a stationary bike and keep my posture aligned until this clears.

And I'll bite wannabe.......How DO you know all this??

I have two disks in my neck that are herniated. Happened to me the winter between my first and second triathlon season. I lost about 60% of the strength in my affected arm and it really put a damper on my second triathlon season. I also had excruciating muscle spasms/tightness and neuropathic pain in my arm all of the way down to my wrist. I ended up begging my neurosurgeon to operate on me. He politely declined saying that I would get better without surgery. I underwent a series of epidural steroid injections that helped tremendously.

My symptoms continue to be a lot like yours. Sometimes it is worse, sometimes it is better. I have most of my strength back in that arm and it does not limit me at all, but I still have occasional tightness/discomfort in my muscles along the medial side of my scapula and into my trapezius. I have not had neuropathic pain into my arm in a long time. When I can feel things getting irritated in the area that I know is due to my disks (probably getting a little irritated/inflamed) I back off a little bit on my workouts and baby my neck for a few days. I am also a big believer in NSAIDs to help with inflammation when I feel things acting up.

It really does not limit my life at all but I am aware that the issue is there.

I actually am a physician and have a fair amount of anatomic and pathologic knowledge about disk disease. I am comfortable with my course of action because I know what is going on and I know what my options are. I am admittedly biased against chiropractors although I recognize that many people have been very happy with their chiropractic therapy.

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Regular

549

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

wannabefaster - 2012-09-24 12:22 PM

hessma - 2012-09-24 7:47 AM

wannabefaster - 2012-09-21 1:04 PM Ok, this makes me crazy when I read this. What has your doctor done for you to deal with this? It amazes me that you could be seeing a physician, with a five week course of worsening symptoms (or at least not getting better) and have had nothing done. This sounds a lot like a herniated disk, which is by definition, pinching or compressing one or more of your nerve roots and giving you the symptoms you are describing. This is not a benign thing! Especially with severe enough symptoms that it is impacting your life. You need a neurosurgical (or neurologist) consult. Not because you necessarily need surgery, but you need someone who specializes in treating this type of thing--which I am thinking your doctor does not--sorry, but not with the way he/she is treating you.. I personally would see the neurosurgeon because if you actually need intervention, you have cut one of the steps out of the process. You likely need an MRI of your C spine to delineate which disk is the problem and how badly it is compressing your nerve roots. This will give them an idea what the best course of action is. You may (probably do) need more aggressive therapy than oral steroids. I suspect that there are treament options that may help you dramatically but this is something you need to explore with a doctor (one that gives you a realistic diagnosis and treatment plan). Ask me how I know all this........

Thanks for the input and let me explain. I have gotten this off and on for the past few years. It flares up for two weeks or so and goes away, so I have learned to live with it. However, this time it did not go away as it normally does, so I went to the doctor in the fourth week. So, that's my explanation for why its been so long. Second, I have not been to a chiro, simply because I do not like them fooling with my neck. I have had my neck adjusted in the past and, frankly, it scares me to have it done with the wrenching of the neck. I am now going to a PT and after two visits, I am feeling "better". Still have pain, but its more focused in my shoulder than down my arm. I also have stopped running, swiming and road biking, as I tried to work through the pain. I have been instructed to only use a stationary bike and keep my posture aligned until this clears.

And I'll bite wannabe.......How DO you know all this??

I have two disks in my neck that are herniated. Happened to me the winter between my first and second triathlon season. I lost about 60% of the strength in my affected arm and it really put a damper on my second triathlon season. I also had excruciating muscle spasms/tightness and neuropathic pain in my arm all of the way down to my wrist. I ended up begging my neurosurgeon to operate on me. He politely declined saying that I would get better without surgery. I underwent a series of epidural steroid injections that helped tremendously. My symptoms continue to be a lot like yours. Sometimes it is worse, sometimes it is better. I have most of my strength back in that arm and it does not limit me at all, but I still have occasional tightness/discomfort in my muscles along the medial side of my scapula and into my trapezius. I have not had neuropathic pain into my arm in a long time. When I can feel things getting irritated in the area that I know is due to my disks (probably getting a little irritated/inflamed) I back off a little bit on my workouts and baby my neck for a few days. I am also a big believer in NSAIDs to help with inflammation when I feel things acting up. It really does not limit my life at all but I am aware that the issue is there. I actually am a physician and have a fair amount of anatomic and pathologic knowledge about disk disease. I am comfortable with my course of action because I know what is going on and I know what my options are. I am admittedly biased against chiropractors although I recognize that many people have been very happy with their chiropractic therapy.

I figured you were a doctor or in the medical field. I am going to ask the Dr. for an MRI, just so I know whats going on. I am comfortable with the PT, but want to be sure its nothing more than what I'm told it is. Thanks for the advice.

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Extreme Veteran

550

Vine Grove, KY

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

The same symptoms could also present themselves from a facet joint issue. Impingment/inflammation to the facet on that side could cause similar pain referral patterns. Do you bike in aero? Thats going to put a lot of pressure on the facets in the neck. Swimming is similar with the head turn. Do you bilateral breathe or just single side?

PT-wise, some traction, manual therapy, and some postural awareness cues can go a long way. If it's a chronic problem, the postural changes, and how to trat it early on yourself may be really beneficial in the long run.

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Expert

2547

The Woodlands, TX

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

I've had what I thought was a pinched nerve in my neck and after constantly working the neck to get relief, found out it was a nasty knot tucked up next to my shoulder blade. My massage therapist found it and when he hit it my neck lit up. Got rid of the knot and the neck pain went with it. Just a different angle to think about.

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Regular

549

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

TriathletePT - 2012-09-24 2:18 PM The same symptoms could also present themselves from a facet joint issue. Impingment/inflammation to the facet on that side could cause similar pain referral patterns. Do you bike in aero? Thats going to put a lot of pressure on the facets in the neck. Swimming is similar with the head turn. Do you bilateral breathe or just single side? PT-wise, some traction, manual therapy, and some postural awareness cues can go a long way. If it's a chronic problem, the postural changes, and how to trat it early on yourself may be really beneficial in the long run.

Everything you mentioned (traction, manual therapy and posture change) is what the PT is focusing on. Seems to be working so far.

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Fort Walton Beach

Subject: RE: Pinched Nerve in Neck

I had something similar. How long of a course of Prednisone did you do? I had to do the 3 week pack. It sucked as I could not sleep at all, but it did knock down the inflammation. I managed to run and do some very upright riding, but no swimming.

For the long term, my ortho did an MRI to figure out exactly what was going on. Turns out I have bone spurs at C5 and C6. I had gone to a chiro prior, but I think the hard adjustments made it worse. I suspect this is because I was having muscle spasms and jerking my spasming neck was really not a good idea. The ortho sent me to PT. We did exercises to loosen my upper back and to fix my posture. That did the trick. I really had to work on not tensing my shoulders and rounding my back when I ride as that really irritates mine.

The exercises and postural changes have kept it well under control. The cycing changes produced some pretty amazing results in my riding! I'm assuming that relaxing my upper body has allowed me to use my engine more efficiently as I have had a number of bike PRs this year. Kind of nice after feeling so darn miserable last year.

On one last note, a personal trainer that rides with our group showed me some shoulder and upper back exercises using lacross balls to do trigger point therapy. That has loosened me up even more. You can find them on mobilitywod.com.

Good luck go you. I know how painful and disruptive it it.

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Pinched Nerve in Neck

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