Muscle atrophy due to bulging disc on neck

[123jamie123]

I have muscle atrophy in my left arm, pec area and slighty in my hand, along with some numbness in my thumb and forefinger from a pinched nerve. The pain lasted for about 3-4 weeks. My doctor believes that the impingement is off. It's been close to 2 months since the pain has been gone but I haven't noticed any real improvement other than my arm doesn't feel quite as shakey. How much longer will my muscles keep atrophing and is there any chance I'll get my muscle back?? This has me really scared! I know nerves heal slowly but are my chances good at all?

[bigsissie]

You are welcome. You would probably be surprised at how much progress you have actually made and you just don't know it. As for the epidural if you are not in pain I wouldn't even bother with it. The mri is always a good idea. I get one done every two years minimum so that I can track any changes. Nerves are tricky little suckers lol. They do heal but it is at the width of a index card a year. Mine have a tendency to overreact to heat and cold because they have no feeling and I can't stand to go bare foot anywhere. Let me know how things are going and if you have any questions that I can help with just send me a message. I have had nerve damage, back and muscle problems for 14 years. Best of luck to you.

Sissie

[123jamie123]

Thanks for the tip on the B-12, I'll try it. I've been doing strenght training at physical therapy for just over a month now. Just not seeing any results yet. I tried to get a epidural shot last week but the doctor did some sort of air test along with using a moving x-ray and he wasn't happy with the air test part of it. He said the needle should have been in the right place but the air test didn't feel right. He explained it to me but I'm still confused over it. Might go back in about a week and try again. Might even try pushing for another mri to see if the disc is back in place. I'm not feeling any pain in my back or arms from it so I'm hoping it is and the healing process is working and soon I get some positive results. Just hate how slow things are and all the waiting. It stinks that it could be a year or more before I know how this things turns out.

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there. The cause of nerve impingement needs to be removed and your neurosurgeon needs to get an MRI spine to check the level of bulging disc and degeneration if present. The cause of the nerve entrapment needs to be tackled to get relief of the compressive radiculopathy. You may be prescribed exercises, NSAIDS, epidural steroids injection, physiotherapy and lastly surgical decompression. If the pressure from the involved nerve is removed timely, which means before there is an irreversible damage, you can expect the function to return and with adequate weight training the muscle can be developed. Hope this helps. Take care.

[bigsissie]

I have 22% of the feeling from my waist down but I learned to walk. Even if you do not get the feeling back you can regain your muscles and control. Start doing muscle strengthening exercises every day to regain control and take complex B-12 to help with the nerve damage. Ask your doctor for some exercises that will help. You can get it back it just wont be fast. Best of luck to you.

Sissie