Anyone ever had an 8th cervical nerve entrapment?

I recently had an accident on my bicycle, and struck the ground with my elbow, shoulder and (helmeted) head, in that order. I was sore, but not in great pain initially, but on the second day I had a LOT of neck/shoulder/upper arm pain. I went to the chiropractor, who has been treating me conservatively, with traction and thoracic/cervical adjustments. He says I should have an MRI if I'm not better by mid-week, because I may have a ruptured disc.

Anyone ever had this happen to them, and if so, what did you do and were the results of treatment satisfactory?

Thanks!

:hi:

you are a youngin'. If you have owies early, you get them fixed up. Then you won't hobble when you're old and vulnerable. :) Hope you feel better. The only thing I have comparable to you is my two dachshunds and they had open surgery to repair their disks.

I trust the chiropractor, but the thought of surgery isn't pleasant, obviously. :)

If anyone offers you disk surgery, neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon, tell them "Thanks but no thanks," and opt for physical therapy, which will work without the debilitating aftereffects of surgery.

By the way, as you get older, disks get ground down and disappear, and that's why older people appear to shrink. I still don't think you have disk involvement, but, if you do, it'll take care of itself.

I busted two disks in a plane crash in 1980, L5 and S1, and opted out of surgery, to the dismay of all the medicos. Went with a month of bed rest, and then physical therapy and stayed with the yoga I'd begun practicing a few years earlier, and never looked back.

The neurosurgeon is dead, though............ :)

I did a lot of personal injury work as a litigator, and I can tell you one thing about chiropractors - they will inevitably make a serious problem worse.

There's only one way to manipulate bones, and that's by breaking them.

Get yourself to an orthopedist as quickly as possible. Since you didn't mention numbness or tingling, my guess is that you don't have a herniated disk, but, if you do, you need to see an orthopod right away. Sounds like simple old soft tissue injuries to me, and they take a while to heal.

Good luck. (I think you're ok, though.)

No numness or tingling, just radiating pain from neck to elbow. This chiropractor is a good guy, actually, and I was referred to him for something else by my orthopaedic surgeon, oddly enough. He's not one of the 'quacks', IOW.

:)

You'll do fine with a heating pad, Tylenol for the pain, and time, I bet.

Avoid anti-inflammatories, if you can. They're murder on the stomach and really can ramp up the internal bleeding, as well as playing havoc with menstrual cycles.

Radiating pain sounds like muscle spams. Stretching is great for that. There's a book called "Stretching," by Bob Anderson. The motion fanatic's bible. I think it just came out in its 25th anniversary edition. Check it out. That's where you might find some more help.

I think you're ok. I'm hoping........

I take an NSAID daily, for arthritis, but I've been using the heating pad with success. I get relief in fairly short order as soon as I lie down with it. Thanks for the info and good wishes.

:hi:

If there is any inflammation, heat can make it worse (even though it feels good at the time, I know). Follow it with a few minutes of ice to be on the safe side.

I have a similar, 20-year-old injury. The advice you received about stretching is great. I've been practicing yoga for years and have recently started going to Pilates and Feldenkrais movement classes. They have really helped a lot.

Take care of yourself! :hi:

that you have a herniated disc. It is called a "radiculopathy." It can be manifested by numbness, tingling, muscle weakness or pain radiating into the upper exremities. Having a herniated disc does not always mean surgery. It should be treated conservatively, i.e., physical therapy and medication, before surgery is even mentioned. One thing for certain, DO NOT let your chiropractor manipulate your neck in the face of a radiculopathy. See an orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon.(I prefer orthopedic surgeons). Get the MRI, it will diagnose the exact location of any potential problem, including herniation. It can also rule out a herniation.

I got hurt at work when I was in my early 20s and herniated a disc in my lower back. The first doctor I went to was ready to cut me open within five minutes, I swear. He freaked me out, so I went to someone else, who sent me off to physical therapy (traction, ultrasound and exercise, exercise, exercise). Boy, am I ever glad I followed my intuition.

Rest, medication, and Physical Therapy.

See a doctor if it doesn't resolve. See a doctor IMMEDIATELY if you lose sensation or movement in the affected limb/area.

now i cant find it.



sorry. couldnt resist.


I hope you recover fully soon

After my first accident, when I was rear-ended on the Interstate. Dozens of treatments, and no improvement. Finally they did an MRI (18 months later) and discovered one herniated disc in my lumbar area. Additional tests turned up a second herniated disc right next to it. Six months later, a slow-speed rear-end collision reaggravated those injuries.

Earler this year, I was in another accident - someone pulled over to the shoulder and made a U-turn in front of me. I swerved to avoid him and wound up T-boning him. This time. I went to the hospital right away - x-rays showed little, but an MRI that was done a week later showed two herniated discs in my neck.

I'm still in constant pain. I take prescription painkillers and muscle relaxers, and wear a back brace and a TENS unit.

My advise? Get it checked - have them run every test possible to get to the cause of your problem.

You have had a serious run of bad vehicular luck. I can't believe no one MRId you right away after that first accident. That's just sloppy.

Sadly, when one disk goes, the risk of others going soars, as I'm sure you well know.

How about physical therapy? Tried it?

As for the TENS unit, is it helping you?

I wish you well.

Also massage therapy and acupuncture. I've also had a facet block, an SI block, and a discogram (which revealed the second herniated disc in my lumbar area).

After the discogram, I was given three options - fusion surgery, an IDET procedure (where they use an electric current to try and seal the disc), and pain management through prescription meds and the TENS unit. I went with the pain management option, which worked fine until the second accident, which threw everything back out.

Today, the TENS unit only makes the pain more bearable. The back brace seems to help - it's holding my back more steady, which is also helping my neck. The thing that works the best are the epidural injections I get every few months - the only down side is that I have to miss a whole day's work every time I have one.

I have had them treated by a neurosurgeon who put me on rigorous physical therapy to avoid surgery. (yes..a surgeon who tells me to avoid surgery)...

To give you an idea of how bad my herniation is...when I experience swelling in those discs I an unable to move my left arm or even hold a cup.

PT has worked well.

I will not go to a chiropractor because I view good PT as far superior and I have seen many people delay the proper treatment because they went to a chiropractor first. (that is just my opinion).

Personally I think you should go for an MRI and get a neurosurgeon to look at it.

Pain is one thing...nerve damage that impedes your use of your arms or you neck is another far more important issue that must be addressed.