I seem to have a cervical disc hernia (c5/c6 or maybe c6/c7). I am getting tingling down the left arm if I stand up fully straight (head up high), so I can only get relief if I basically stare at the floor. Damn thing needs swept too.
Has anyone had this? Does it get any better? What are the long-term prospects? I’ve had people mention I should go to a chiropractor but I’m very leery of them.
I’m still waiting to get into see the doctor. Seems that my options are to get on a waiting list for weeks or go to the ER where they’ll just tell me my neck hurts.
[quote]bushidobadboy wrote:
I would first be getting an accurate diagnosis from someone not on the web
Then we can discuss possible prognoses and treatment options.
BBB[/quote]
What do you mean BBB?! I thought those guys on the web knew everything. Just go over to PWI and you’ll see what I mean…
I’m trying to get in to a doctor right now. It would be very good though to do my due diligence before I go in, so when he asks me questions I can answer correctly.
Doctors often ask questions that are incorrect of patients because they think they won’t understand them, If he says “does X hurt” he might really want to know if the pain is medial or distal to some anatomical structure rather than the unequivocally correct “ouch!”
Also, it is very hard to get across to doctors – as I am sure you are aware – that people who train for fun like being product testers for their bodies. My favorite story still is the old guy who got a motorized, artificial arm with all sorts of new nifty sensor implants so it would actually respond to nerve impulses in his shoulder and move autonomically. They told him he couldn’t lift heavy stuff but otherwise he could do what he wanted. His first act? Go home to do yard work and pull it off trying to start a lawn mower.
Did this happen during JJ practice? If so, you will want to get that accross. There are various structural tests of the neck that a doctor might want to perform to make sure nothing vitally important is close to breaking.
He will want to know of any tingling/burning/pain in the arms or the chest area and which basic movements hurt (flexion, extension, side bends, rotation and shoulder movements might be relevant if they hurt). Any past history of disc problems, not just the neck is relevant, any family history of spine illnesses or other serious illness.
If the pain affects an area of the arms and neck, you might want to “draw” the area on your skin during the examination, if it obviously matches a dermatome this will speed things up.
IF you end up getting a disc diagnoses the prognosis is pretty decent given you are a sensible person, active young and don’t immobilize.
