[TrailBlazer4x4]

Hello, I hope to get some useful advice here. I hope this is the proper place to post this on these forums. Just shy of a year ago I was involved in an MVA. It was a T-Bone collision but I am the one who struck the side of the other vehicle rather then being struck. I was traveling 30 MPH. I suspect the other vehicle was doing about 40-45. I dont want to go in to details but the insurance claim was denied so my finances are severely limited. I have actually been unemployed since the accident and my physician, she is an APN not an MD, has actually stated she believes I need to be on disability.

The physician, who is actually an APN, suspected a pinched nerve due to tingling just below my neck and through one arm. She pushed down on my head and some other similar tests to check for a pinched nerve but it did not cause the pain to worsen, nor the tingling and now she seems to be leaning away from that diagnosis. The tingling is only getting worse and so is my pain in general. The neck tingling and pain more then anything. However the pain from my other injuries seems to be getting worse as well but those areas are not my primary concern at this time. My neck is.

I have also had 2 cervical X-Rays done, neither of them showed any problems, but of course they wouldn't in the case of a pinched nerve or something of that nature.

I would like to hear if any one has any ideas what could be causing the tingling and pain. If I have neglected to include critical details, I apologize. Just ask, and I will provide what details I can. Thanks in advance!

[Pokeno]

Hello:

You might want to ask for an MRI of your neck. they are considered to be the "Gold Standard" to reveal nerve damage or disc problems. However they are a bit "pricey"

It sounds like it may be a problem with a disc if the tingling is going down into your arm. You really can't tell much from an xray, other than a problem with a vertabrea (sp?)

I have had 2 cervical fusions. I didn't have an xray until after I had the fusions. The only thing you could tell from the xray is the position of the plate, wires and screws.

How far down your arm is the tingling? Does it extend into your fingers, and if so, which ones.

Neck problems are nooo fun.

Pokeno

[Sheri_TOS]

TrailBlazer4X4 -

Pokeno asked a good question regarding what fingers the tingling goes into. It helps narrow down the possible locations within the neck or peripheral locations. You also need to get an MRI to rule in (or out) that the compression is coming from the neck. Another test that would be helpful is an EMG/NCV. It might help pinpoint the problem, but the EMG/NCVs are not always positive despite the symptoms.

Good luck!

[TrailBlazer4x4]

Thank you both fro the responses. Sorry for the delayed response but I never got email notifications of your replies.

Anyways, to the topic at hand. I suspect my health care provider has stayed away from a MRI due to my financial situation which is very grim to say the least.

I agree, not much can be told from an X-Ray. I sustained a knee injury while playing high school football. Doctor after doctor did an X-Ray, until my third doctor. He was quite a bit older then the rest, and knew and MRI had to be done. I feel the other doctors did to but due to my age they stayed away from it because I was so young, and they did not want to operate on a high school freshman. It took the entire school year suffering through the pain to find my third doc who did the MRI and realized there was substantial damage done to the cartilage. He told me the arthroscopic surgery would last 30 min max. It lasted 45 minuets.

As for the tingling, it seems to have gotten much worse as of recent. It is now very significant in both arms where as before it was a slight sensation. I notice it when I lock my finger behind my head, and lean back in my computer chair. It is sort of like the feeling of a limb falling asleep, but the tingling isnt quite as pronounced. There is also both a combination of sharp pain in the base of the neck, but also a dull lingering pain if my neck sit in one position for an extended period of time. It is also in the base of the neck. I would say it is about even with the shoulders. It seems to run through my arms all the way down in to all my fingers, but seems a bit less pronounced moving from the pointer to the pinky finger, and I do not seem to notice in them thumbs.

[Jomar]

It also could be soft tissue injury or adhesion/scar tissue due to the time frame of the accident being a year ago. These can cause as much pain & symptoms as actual spine & disk pain sometimes.

If it was a whiplash or other sort of upper body type of injury some of the self help ideas on our Thoracic Outlet Syndrome forum might be helpful for you.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum24.html
be sure to look thru the sticky threads up above the main threads there.



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[TrailBlazer4x4]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

It also could be soft tissue injury or adhesion/scar tissue due to the time frame of the accident being a year ago. These can cause as much pain & symptoms as actual spine & disk pain sometimes.

Can the tissue be removed through surgery? What is the normal treatment for this?

If it was a whiplash or other sort of upper body type of injury some of the self help ideas on our Thoracic Outlet Syndrome forum might be helpful for you.

be sure to look thru the sticky threads up above the main threads there.

It could be whiplash related but I don't know for sure. I know I still have other nagging injuries as a result of the accident to. My "bad" knee referenced above has had some increased pain since the wreck, but typically its nothing excruciating, but has severely limited my ability to stand for much more then about 10-15 minuets. Part of that is also the fact that my "good knee" is longer my good knee as it to has suffered pain since the accident. Again nothing excruciating for the most part. I also had been diagnosed with sever muscle spasms in my lower back years ago. At one time I had also broken L3,L4, and L5, when I was in eighth grade ages ago, but the doctors have said my spine is perfectly healthy from a bone structure perspective. I had also had an ultrasound done which is what I believe led to the final diagnose of muscle spasms.

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I appreciate every ones input. I go back to my "doctor" in about a week or two so this gives me information to discuss with her besides my medications not helping enough.

[Jomar]

If it is adhesions or "scar tissue" the first steps would be to try some massage or even a gentle stretching program to loosen up the adhesions.

If nothing is done to resolve or loosen them , then possibly they could " harden" or become more of a chronic thing.

some threads w/ ideas-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread149529.html

and you may even have trigger points -TrPs
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread125577.html

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post388-1.html