pain radiates down my arm
 

Every morning I wake up in agony. The pain is throbbing middle of head down my neck to mid back and it radiates across my arms..more on the right. Sometimes fingers are even a bit numb.

I get all this tingling around my cheeks, teeth, eyes jaw and up to the top of my head (but not forehead). I also get this weird throbbing or pulsating feeling thru my entire body.

Chiro said its the herniated disc..and pinched nerves. I'm pretty sure he's right...but wow..pain is awful.

A little while after I'm up and about its better...but after talking, walking, etc. it all starts back up. Talking makes the head tingle

I put moist heat on my neck constantly and sometimes by the jaw.

Anyone else get this??? (and yes, this was from a whiplash type head injury...hit back of my head).

Yes, I do....mine seems to be worse now with the cooler weather....yesterday it hurt just as you describe it. Even my teeth on that side hurt. I also had a whiplash affect as I hit the back of my head.

I am having an MRI soon of the cervical spine. I am curious to see what it says.

Do your chiro appts help with the pain?

Have you considered trying something different from your chiro? As Dr Phil says, How's that working for you?

Don't get me wrong. I am a true believer in chiropractic. But, I have found such a difference between the many different chiro techniques and the egos that may over-rule a referral to someone else.

The twist and pop and manual thrusting can be detrimental to my body. I need a very gentle chiro. The one I used to see did extensive massage before he did any adjusting. His treatments were 45 minutes. He was fabulous. I would be sore the next day but feeling fabulous after things settled down. The things he could achieve with my neck were amazing. Unfortunately, he moved back to Wisconsin after his wife finished her residency here in Idaho.

I have seen at least 18 different chiros over the past 30 years. I only found 5 or 6 of them to be able to work successfully with my body.

Hope you get some relief.

My best to you.

So, if it is a herniated disk and pinched nerves, chiro is only going to be a temporary fix at best. You need physical therapy to strengthen the muscles along the spine to hold things in place.

If PT doesn't work after some period of time, you may also need epidural injections and/or surgery (I'm at that point with my low back now).

But the chiropractic adjustments are only putting things more or less back where they belong. As you're experiencing, without accompanying strengthening of the spinal/core muscles, they are going to keep slipping back into the mis-alignment that causes pain.

Have you had a MRI or xrays of the c spine yet?

If nothing shows up as a clear cause for those symptoms then possibly it could be due to soft tissue problems as well as other things like trigger points and adhesions/sticky tissues - those causes usually don't show up on imaging tests.

You might read a bit on our Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) forum to see if those symptoms fit for you.
TOS useful sticky thread - lots of various therapy info too.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

I had mri of my neck...says buldging discs in certain spots (herniated discs)

NOLEFAN -- you said you felt that way yesterday -- what do you think you did differently? Were you more physically active, mentally active, did you go out to a restaurant, stores...what was different?


ANd...I'm starting to do some exercises for my neck now. Chiro had me doing some stretches...but now I'm working on some strengthening exercises. this is my 2nd chiro...and he's great.

I also get pain that radiates up in my head to the top (not the forehead) when I talk. I just can't stand it anymore. I am trying so hard to figure where, when and how the pain comes on so someone can fix me!

I am going keep a log of how I feel physically ...what brings on the symptoms and see what is working.

Wtrpk-I think my neck issues are triggered by poor sleep which this week was triggered by colder temps....very frustrating! I too get headaches that radiate up the back of my head (occipital headaches) and sometimes towards my forehead and eye...these are the worst and often send me straight to bed!

Glad to hear you have a good chiro!

Imaging the spine is a curious concept. Statistically, there can be very little direct connection between what a radiologist reads in the image and what the patient feels. Some images are very accurate. Others don't make sense.

For example, there are many instances where there is no positive finding despite chronic pain. There are also many patients who have no symptoms despite images that show serious problems. This leaves some of the professionals in a quandary.

The last time I looked at the research, the probability of success from surgical treatment of spinal pain is about the same as that of shoulder surgery. About 1/3rd are in better condition after the surgery. About 1/3rd are the same and about 1/3rd are worse off.

My experience with chiros and others who have tried to treat my neck is about the same. Making the rounds of clinicians has been my best process. I keep trying someone new until I find the one who helps. I wish Madison, Wisconsin was closer to Boise, Idaho. I miss my chiropractor. My physical therapist costs much more and has a very busy schedule so it is hard to get scheduled to be seen by her.