Cervical Radiculopathy (pinched nerve in neck)

[irwin]

Anyone ever have one? and how long till you experienced relief?

I overdid some heavy lifting at work and someone walked up behind me and jabbed me in the left side neck/shoulder area with a cattle prod :hot:..not really I'm kidding..but it sure felt like it.. It's been about three weeks with no evident improvement.

Went on line and read some real horror stories.. .. " years later with only pain and more pain "..yikes!

I figured I'd ask if someone would share a personal tale of the pinched nerve in the neck, or not the neck somewhere else.. thanks

 

[Baby Grand]

I had something similar - bad neck pain for a few months.
It wasn't getting better and made driving very unpleasant, so I saw a rheumatologist.
He recommended an Epidural Steroid Injection of cortisone (big needle stuck in the neck), which I went and had done at a clinic.
After a few days, I could move normally without getting sharp jolts of pain.
It also allowed me to get my first good night of sleep in many months.
The cortisone seemed to break the cycle of pain/muscle spasm/pain/muscle spam that I was living with.
That was 7 or 8 years ago and I'd do it again if the pain comes back.
Hope you find the relief you seek - good luck!

 

[jeff9366]

I have had Cortisone injections in the hip and shoulder to relieve onset pain of arthritis. Cortisone works pretty well.

I practice YOGA twice per week in a Yoga studio and feel that has been main contributor to keeping me pain free, flexible, strong and with good balance for the years 58 - 68.

Yoga has a better success rate in relieving back pain than any other therapy regimen, but you have to devote three hours per week to two classes.

Physical therapy is good for a particular joint/muscle/bone problem. Physical therapy observes many Yoga principles but usually focuses more on remedial strengthening.

 

[irwin]

Thanks guys

I've been to a Doctor twice, had X-rays of neck taken. I was told normal age related issues are evident (59 yo) but no obvious disease/damaged cervical vertebrae showed. Doc told me to expect a call from imaging place so I can have an MRI done.

Constant severe pain with an odd numbness and tingling in left side of neck with pain that alters position periodically, usually somewhere in my left arm or shoulder. The fingers of my left hand often have a pins and needles sensation..

I have a job list that I really want to get on with .. but:thumbdown:

 

[truckdiagnostics]

Wait for the MRI results. Feel for you. Similar issues got the normal aging talk from the doctor after the x rays. The acing at night in the arms was the big thing. Physical therapy.... after 6 months of dancing around, they did the MRI and off to surgery I went. Fused three levels. 6 weeks latter and no physical therapy life was wonderful. This was a 1/12 ago. Long and short chances are it is fixable. Getting to the fix felt like it took forever.....

 

[dave1949]

If the MRI shows nothing, I would see a good chiropractor. Not for your issue but I've had good results from them. My doctor actually sent me to the chiropractor. We have a good one in town that works with work and sports injuries.

 

[Clint S]

Shoulder pain often indicates a C5 C6 nerve root impingement. You will not know much until a MRI is done.

 

[Humblebub]

You have been given sound advise based on my experience - especially yoga. If you are not adverse to pharma intervention Lyrica can be a game changer. It helped me break the pain cycle and then discontinued. Supposedly not a narc but some have reported withdrawal discomfort after long term use.

 

[dirt ditch]

Most of the disks in my neck are bulged. C5-6 is almost flat. My chiropractor was not doing me any good so I went to my doctor. After an MRI the doctor had me do physical therapy. The therapist I saw really knew her stuff. It wasn't just the bulged discs but the inflammation around them. Lots of tendons and ligaments in in the neck. I have as much damage to these as to my discs. Simple exercises along with a really cool traction machine got my neck back to where I could sleep at night and function during the day without pain.

 

[Gunny]

Had the same thing happen to me, at times the pain would be intense, sometimes the numbness and tingling. Sometimes it helped to sit, sometimes it helped to stand, no way in heck to get a decent nights sleep.

MRI didn't help, they did find some problems in my lower back, but nothing specific to the issue I was having. I went to a pain management facility and they tried the steroid shots to the spine (painful and again, not very helpful to my problem) Other Doctors wanted to keep me on pain pills and while they did help with the pain, I don't like strong medicines and I really didn't like walking around in a buzz all the time and they didn't do a thing for the numbness and tingling.

I was in the emergency room one night (visiting my wife, not because of the pain, she was working that night) and a local doctor asked me why I was walking around with my right shoulder drooped and my head leaning to the right. I gave him a short recap of what I'd been going through for about two years and he asked me to come by his clinic the next day.

When I showed up the next day, he walked me through all the treatments I'd had and asked a few questions while poking and feeling around on my neck, shoulders and back. He finally had me stand and kept poking and prodding until he probed one place where I literally had to grab onto a chair to keep from going to my knees because of the pain.

In short, once he'd identified the area, he gave me a steroid shot there, wiggling the needle around as he dispensed it. While I was putting my shirt back on, I asked him how long he thought it would take before I knew if his treatment was going to work and he replied that I'd know something within 30 minutes or so. By gawd the man was right! Walking back to by truck, I could tell some difference, by the time I'd driven the 20 miles back home I was pain free.

That one shot gave me three years of relief, then I pinched something again while using manual post hole diggers and I had to go back for another dose. I've gone two years on that shot (and I gave the post hole digger to a neighbor)

I don't know how I was lucky enough to bump into this doctor, but he did have a lot of experience with sports injuries and treatment prior to coming here, but it was just like he knew exactly what was wrong and it didn't take him long to zero in on it.