ACDF surgery vs a nerve block

Hi,
I am a 40 year old male in Australia who has recently found out I have a herniated disc at C6/7. Over the last few weeks my symtoms (symptoms) are numbness of the thumb and pointer finger in my left hand, weakness of my left arm, and pain down the back of my tricep and forearm. I am very active and enjoy lifting wieghts at the gym and this is becoming very frustrating for me not to be able to excercise.

Can anyone who has been through this give me some advise on the following,
# Has anyone found sucess with a nerve block (needle to the effected area) instead of ACDf surgery?
# How soon have you been able to recover after surgery?
# Do you ever fully regain the strentgh in your arm after surgery?
# Has anyone ever gone back to lifting serious wieghts and training hard at the gym after surgery?

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

# Though a nerve block may be helpful with the symptoms, it would do nothing to the underlying pathology; hence a surgical decompression is recommended in the situation.
# Primary recovery may take about 2-8 weeks, while complete recovery may take a while longer.
# The expected prognosis is dependent on individual cases and is best discussed with your treating doctor.
# Yes, if the prognosis is good, one could return to heavy physical activity, though this is best discussed with your treating doctor.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!