MRI cervical spine:
Clinical indication : left side neck,shoulder,armpit,arm,and thumb pain.finger numbness.
Findings:no abnormal signal alterations are identified within the spinal cord.No acute vertebral body fractures are identified. There is very minimal retrolisthesis of c4 on c5 and c5 on c6. There is a reversal of the normal cervical lordosis centered at about the c3-4 and c4-5 levels. There is intervertebral disc space narrowing at the c4-5 and c5-6 levels. There are degenerative marginal osteophytes of the vertebral bodies and there are degenerative changes of the discs.
At the c4-5 level, there are a posterior hypertrophic changes of the vertebral bodies and there is disc bulging. This causes mild to moderate ventral impress upon the thecal sac.
At the c5-6 level, there are more extensive posterior hypertrophic changes of the vertebral bodies and there is associated disc bulging. There is moderate impress on the thecal sac. There is some mild narrowing of the spinal canal although csf remains anterior and posterior to the cord.

Hello.
What is your age?
Do you do any desk work or any other posture/repetitious activities that might be a factor in the finger/arm/hand /shoulder pain??
Any whiplash or head/neck injuries ?
Does your head or shoulders seem to be forward of your body, or hunched?
If desk work ,repetitive or whiplash are a factor explore our TOS forum -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

Any family members with degenerative disc issues?

Expert PT , or expert chiropractic if you are open to that, might be of help with some of your symptoms and if posture is a factor..

I'm 58 and I've worked as welder in construction/coal industry since I was 18 years old. I have always had issues with my neck for 30 or so years pain and stiffness would come and go and I usually could deal with it for a few days or a week and I've gone to chiropractors. But it has never been this bad and lasted this long. A few days after this episode I went to a chiropractor and it really intensified the pain so much I went to the ER and scheduled the MRI. But I don't have a appointment at a neurologist for about 6 weeks. Ive been like this for over three weeks with no change. I get some relief when I lay on my back with heat on my neck and arm. It gets worse when I stand and especially when I ride in a car.

If you can find a good PT, or another chiro, that will mainly do ultrasound, massage, heat for those neck muscles that might help you get past this episode.

If you can find someone with a low level laser (LLLT) (also called soft or cold laser) that might be worth trying for pain relief also.
I can say my chiro used LLLT for my pain spots and it was amazing..and fast..
One of these days I do plan to buy one for at home, hopefully the cost will come down more.