Desperate for help
 

I have been having numbness in my finger tips pain in neck mostly between my shoulder blades. Had a mri and the results were
C4-5 mild disc protrusion with impression on the thecal sac but no cord impingment or spinal stenosis.
C5-6 slight focal central disc protrusion without cord impingement
Impression:Disc protrusion at C4-5 and to a lesser extent also C5-6

Now I was under the impression that a protrusion was the same as a herniation but it states on mri results that there is no herniation to be seen. So what is a protrusion excatly? And is this the cause to my pain? Should I request a further mri in the top portion of my back? I have a lot of shoulder pain that isn't being relieved by Tylenol. Also getting daily headaches that worsen at night. Plz help me. My family practioner offered NSAIDs and pt.. With the mri results what do I do tough it out hope it gets better? I can't afford pt so been doing some excersises at home that my weight trainer husband has been helping with. Not much pain has been eliminated.. Suggestions plz

What kind of work /activities do you do?
Desk work , assembly work, sports, musical instruments, weightlifting etc?
Any past whiplash or upper body injuries?

Some of that kind of pain & symptoms can be caused by repetitive motion/ static postures & forward head posture etc..

This link has tons of info - you may find something helpful there-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

[QUOTE=Jo*mar;1102126]What kind of work /activities do you do?
Desk work , assembly work, sports, musical instruments, weightlifting etc?
Any past whiplash or upper body injuries?



I am a stay at home mother of 7 but I coach cheerleading. I trained for a lot of years in gymnastic and also coached gymnastic for a number of years as well but that was many years ago before I had children. Never had any issues till the past month

So with the results of my mri I shouldn't be experiencing pain and numbness or electrical shocks?

I can't say for sure about the MRI results. vs the pain you are having..sorry..

But holding /carrying 7 babies /kids around you very well could have some forward head/shoulders LOL.. postural changes /strains..
If you had any past training incidents (falls/bumps /bad landings) those can show up many years later as some sort of myofascial pain.

Have you had any expert PT or PT assessment?
Or perhaps an expert chiropractor?

someone that will do a hands on assessment - range of motion, look for tight/spasmed muscles & trigger points...
MDs /Drs rarely do this part - finding a good knowledgeable PT /DC seems to be the next step to me..
Take your MRI report along with you so they are aware of it and can do positional tests to see if that is the issue or not..

I did have the bes result for my RSI/TOS from a very good DC- he did PT modalities as well as adjusting and was very gentle.
nothing was scary at all LOL..

The good ones will tell you what they are doing..sometimes you may have to ask questions to get them started talking..

Hello Canterclan
 

When the MRI says that the nerves are being impinged upon, that is usually when they do something in a surgical manor. Try every conservative thing you can do. That includes another evaluation by a neuro for a second opinion. Ask about PT before you engage. Do not see a chiropracter unless your neurologists says that is OK to do.
There are also older forms of medicine not known about too much here in the USA. Neuromuscular Therapist, has a certain training that is nothing like massage as we know it. It is thousands of years old.
I have had two spinal fusions, and I had some really severe issues with the ulner nerve in my right arm, almost lost the function of my arm and hand. . So I tried this Neuro muscular therapist, it works, and also is helping the rest of my spine which isn't in the best of shape below the site of fusions.
Ask your doctor about this, as maybe a form of therapy to try. Also acupuncture, worth the effort to try.

Research any injections that are wanting to be tried. There are lots of opinions about those injections as well. Some work for people, other people get no relief at all.
I am sorry you are having pain. Keep going forward, until you can find something that will give you some relief. I see a physiatrist, which is a field of medicine that does all the usual MD things, but they also think outside the box, such as with this neruo muscular massage and acupuncture, nutrition etc. I wish you all the best. ginnie

If you want a bigger bang for the buck, ask your doc about whether a Medrol dose pak makes sense for you and if that fails, you might do well with ESI!

What is a medrol oak? And ESI? I'm new to all this

Yes I was interested in trying the epidural I have heard amazing things about it. But my family doctor seemed unconcerned and maybe the mri report didn't warrent it. My doctor did however offer NSAIDs which I am taking over the counter and Pt. We are considering a mri of upper to middle back to see if the pain and symptoms maybe coming from that area instead. I see him on Monday however I am aggravated at the doctor for making me feel dumb. I am not even sure if the pain is coming from the areas mentioned on the mri report or of those injuries are not sufficient enough to cause pain. I'm all kinds of confused. I know what I feel and I know I don't like it and I know my doctor acts as if the pain is imagined in my head. I know there are worse injuries out there but does anyone have any history of pain with what my mri reads or is that I am really just crazy and wimpy lol

Muscle pain can be just as painful but rarely shows on MRIs.

Everyone is different too, my dad has hardly any disks left due to degenerative disk disease , but luckily only some discomfort and muscle pains , no major nerve pain from it..
Yours mentioned "impression on the thecal sac but no cord impingment or spinal stenosis".
from what I have read that usually isn't a cause for pain..
but might be or might not be..

On avg what is your pain level?

Did you have any injuries- strains, falls etc- long ago from cheerleader or gymnastics?
Did you see anything interesting in the link I posted earlier?