Quote:
Originally Posted by glenntaj
--it appears that at several levels of your cervical spine, specifically the C5-C6 and C6-C7 (lower cervical spine), you have both a good amount of disc bulging and arthritic spurring (the uncinate is the term for the bony protrusion from the vertebrae). The bulging seems to be more serious, in that at those levels there seems to be some pressure on the spinal cord itself, as opposed to the nerve roots, which connect the cord to the nerves in the rest of the body and pass through vertebral openings called the foramen (plural foramina). You do also have some "closing off" of space (stenosis) in the foramina due to the arthritic spurring, which might also be contributing to symptoms by compressing the roots.
Most doctors/surgeons would agree that frank spinal cord compression is a more urgent concern than nerve root compression.
Many of us have somewhat similar findings as we age, especially as regards arthritic spurring; indeed, most people over fifty show some degree of spurring and often a degree of foraminal compromise. The extent of symptoms from this is very wide-ranging, though.
What exactly are your symptoms, and has a surgical consult been recommended?
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Well... Let's start out that I am only 42 years old... I have severe headaches almost on a daily basis, Constant bilateral shoulder pain - feels almost like shoulders are going to be dislocated on a daily basis. One doctor thought shoulder pain was coming from Severe Carpel Tunnel so did the surgery to see if that relieved pain and it didn't. That surgery actually caused my 3rd and 4th digits to be constantly numb and lost about 50% of strength in hand. Both shoulders and arm go numb frequently.
Every doctor I have seen is stating that my shoulders are from Chronic Pain Syndrome - Very frustrating. Been told there is not surgery that will fix my shoulder pain and to find a different line of work
Help - I am too young to be disabled