Do i really need sugery??

[inalotofpain378]

What does this mean?? I had a MRI and was told I have to see a surgeon and have surgery??

TECHNICAL INFORMATION: Sagittal and axial magnetic resonance images of thecervical spine were obtained.
INTERPRETATION: The cervical spinal cord demonstrates normal signalintensity. The cerebellar tonsils end above the foramen magnum.  Nointradural lesions.Bone marrow and paraspinal structures: Unremarkable.  
C2-3: Normal.  
C3-4: There is a mild to moderate broad based left paracentral discprotrusion. This protruding disc is contacting and flattening the leftanterolateral aspect of the cervical cord to a mild degree at this level.The neuroforamina are well maintained.
C4-5: Normal.          
C5-6: Normal.      
C6-7: Normal.  
C7-T1: Normal

IMPRESSION:  1. Eccentric broad-based left paracentral disc protrusion at C3-C4 causingmild deformity of the cervical spinal cord.2. No other significant abnormalities.

I guess my question is.. Is my neck as sever as my drs are making it sound?
I have a lot of left arm, shoulder, neck pain.. I get very bad headaches and if Ilook to the left, I get shooting, stabbing pain that goes up my  neck into my head on the left side, and if I look to the right, I get shooting, stabbing pain that goes down my left neck into my upper back, and also get shooting pain on the right upper neck..  My left hand will go completely numb, and I will drop whatever I am holding in that hand.. It does that when ever it wants, Theres no warnings when my hand will go numb..
Thanks,
In a lot of pain!!

[Draynay]

Surgery is rarely the answer and in this case 8 to 10 weeks of Decompression and adjustments from a Chiropractor could make all the difference.  Also reduce stress in your life it could make all the difference.

[6milliondollorman]

please dont go to a chiropracter they cant help your problem.and if you happened to get a not so experened one you could get in real trouble!

[6milliondollorman]

please dont go to a chiropracter they cant help your problem.and if you happened to get a not so experened one you could get in real trouble!

[inalotofpain378]

I was supposed to see my surgeon monday, but he got called into emergency surgery, so now I see him tomorrow.. My physical theropist has recommended surgery cause the traction just made things worse for me, he did hands on traction and could feel where my pain was and that it was making things worse.. I have decided to go ahead with the surgery if the surgeon says that's what I need.. I just hope that it works and takes my pain away.. Being in pain all the time really ***** and has been making me a very cranky person.. Lol..

[laroth]

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  I will to be praying for a good outcome for you.  I saw the surgeon and he put me on two weeks leave with PT to try to rest the area.  Today I was to return to work but after seeing him he put me off another two weeks to due a "work hardening program"  I've done some reading on the matter and it's like working out 4=8hrs a day for the next 4 weeks.  I don't understand?????  I go from rest to a heavy work out routine?  I'm a scared I won't be able to pull it off.  I have a 2nd opinion in the morning with a neurologist.  The DoctorI have been seeing is a Orthopedic spine doc.  I have all my test results and the MRI's I;ve had done overthe past three months.

Traction has been great for me but as stated it just doesn't last long.  I'll keep wishing you the best.  Please keep us all updated.

Nic

[inalotofpain378]

Wow..I'm sorry to hear about you neck pain...my surgeon is only giving two weeks of traction... I see the surgeon again on the 28th...my second traction has seemed to be a little better..but during the traction I got a horrible headache and my pt stopped the traction.. I'm feeling a little better today, but still have the headache, it's just not as bad... As far as the shoulder.arm pain, that's still there... I also have been questioned about my shoulder and arm pain... With the assumption from the surgeon that I have something more in my shoulder... But my pt says that his wife had the same problems that I have, and she had all the shoulder.arm pain also.. And it switched sides all the time like mine does too.. She ended up having to have two neck surgeries.. After her second surgery shes doing a lot better.. As far as getting better care for you.... I'm almost thinking because yours is a workman comp case, you are getting the raw end of the deal... From what my pt has told me...the neck is nothing to fool around with.. your neck problem  are lower than mine and sound worse than mine... But the constant pain is so overwhelming.. I have 5 kids, the oldest being 7 and the youngest being 2... It makes it very difficult to take care of them on some days, and do things with them...  Can I ask where you are from? All states are different.. I live in wisconsin.. Thank you for your input and story... I'm freaked out about the surgery too.. However I'm more freaked out about the long term damage my neck and spinal cord can face... I'm allergic to the cortisone injections so that's not even an option for me... I really hope they get you neck figured out soon.. Keep me posted!! I'll put you in my prayers! Best of luck to you!n option for me... I really hope they get you neck figured out soon.. Keep me posted!! I'll put you in my prayers! Best of luck to you!

[laroth]

I have had severe shoulder pain for the past few months.  It hurts at the base of my neck at it's worst times.  I had an MRI and these are the results:

Vertebrae: Mild marrow changes C5-C6 endplates.

C4-5: Uncovertebral joint hypertrophy with left posterior disc osteophyte complex results in moderate to severe left foraminal stenosis.  Effacement of ventral CSF space.

C5-6:  Moderate degenerative disc disease with broad based 2mm postererior central and bilateral paracentral disc bulge/osteophyte complex indenting the thecal sac anteriorly and touching the ventral surface of the spinal canal.  The spinal canal measures 8mm in the AP dimension in the mid sagittal plane. Moderate bilateral narrowing of the neural foramina.

C6-7 Uncovertebral joint hypertrophy results in mild left foraminal narrowing.  Small posterior disc osteophyte without significant central canal or right foraminal stenosis.

Impression:

Mid cervical degenerative disc disease and uncovertebral joint hypertrophy with marginal osteophytes causing multilevel narrowing of the neural foramina.

Broad based 2mm posterior central disc bulge at C5-6 with moderate spinal canal stenosis.

Now with that all being reported, my Doctor originally said physical therapy for 2 months if the pain doesn't get better we will go to surgery.  It really freaked me out so I asked would a pain injection with PT would help?  He shrugged his shoulders and said sure, then reffered me to a pain doc.  I had the injection with no help at all.  The pain continues to get worse.  The pain doc reffered me back to the surgeon that basiclly said that the finding didn't support the pain I was discribing.  He did say that with all being said he could do a 2 level fusion in my neck but couldn't say that it would relieve my symptoms.  

He sent me for an EMG which seems to have turned out "within normal range".  I will see the surgeon again in a couple of days and really want someone to explain to me in more detail the MRI findings.  He doesn't offer much talk time, so I'm reaching out to you for some answers.

The doctor kept asking me about pain radiating down my arms, but the pain I have stays in the shoulders and neck area.  I have had episodes of finger numbness, which I think is why he sent me for the EMG study.

Results from EMG were "normal".  I have heard that nerve damage findings through EMG study's only report damage if it's 50% or greater damage.

Followup with surgeon stated that he could not operate unless there was nerve damage.  My case is a workmans comp case and I wonder if it wasn't would I receive better care?

[laroth]

I am in PT 3 times a week, traction everytime.  It helpd for a few hours but as I am still working the pain comes back really fast. (within hours at best).  I hope you have better results with traction than I do.

Wishing you the best

[inalotofpain378]

I have had chiropractic care for the last 3 months...after my mri I was told that I can no longer receive chiropractic care by my primary dr and by the surgeon.... Im seeing a physical therapist and having traction done...I've had 1 treatment so far and it has made my symptoms fire up so bad I can't really do much of anything..... Thank you all so much for your comments and your stories and input...I am no stranger to surgery..lol.. I've had 2 lower back surgeries, 5 c-sections, gull-bladder, abdominal, hysterectomy...lol..so needless to say, I don't want to add another...lol.. The surgeon did tell me that 80% of people recover from just having traction and do not need surgery!! So I'm hoping I'm in the 80%!!! I am going to have my second traction and I'm hoping that it goes better than the first!!
Thanks so much for all the replies and prayers!!

[SLCPMOM]

Dear inalotofpain,
I don't want to scare you but you need to see a spine surgeon as soon  as possible.  Cord compression, especially that high in your cervical spine is bad. Please see a doctor as soon as possible.  My prayers are with you.

[squirtatious]

I would say (and I'm no dr) that ur case isn't urgent for surgey inalotofpain. You have mild cord compression at c3-c4. Personally, I think u will do well with conservative treatments. I wish u well.

[sharadale]

I had similar symptoms but more disk herniations. I tried chiropractic, therapy, epiduralbsteroidal injections and nothing worked. Finally I went to see a neurosurgeon. He told me that if I didn't have surgery I could face permanent paralysis. I had the surgery and am in recovery now. I have never had any kind of surgery before so I really was at the end of my rope. If u only have one disk involved you have an option of having replacement of the disk and no spinal fusion. If you wait you could risk damaging adjacent discs and losing the option of replacement.

[squirtatious]

Have u considered chiropractic treatment? I am no dr however from what ur mri report states, I think you'll be ok in the end. I wish u well

[squirtatious]

Have u considered chiropractic treatment? I am no dr however from what ur mri report states, I think you'll be ok in the end. I wish u well

[Melissa1965]

I forgot to mention in my last post that your MRI read almost IDENTICALLY to mine. You have a protruding disc that's protruding on the left side and it's also pressing on your spinal cord. That's pretty serious, but as I said before, get another opinion - preferrably from a excellent neurosurgeon with a great track record and success rate! Ask questions, do your research and KNOW what you're dealing with. I can't stress that enough. Good luck!

[Melissa1965]

Sorry to hear about your neck problems. I can tell you from personal experience - you seriously need to do something. I don't know that surgery is the best option (because I've had 2 of them for disc herniations, and still in a lot of pain) I had spinal cord compression, so I didn't have much choice unless I wanted to risk paralysis! The problem is, when a herniated disc presses on a nerve root, you're going to have all the symptoms that you've described. If the pressure stays on those nerves long enough, it causes permanent nerve damage, neuropathy,  neuralgia, etc...(which to me is the most painful condition I've ever experienced in my life!) Get a second - even third opinion! Don't accept just one opinion when it comes to something this serious! There are treatments that can help, but don't do NOTHING.
If I can answer any other questions or help in any other way, please let me know! Good luck!

[ferret5]

The problem is that numbness in your hand. Any nerve involvement must be dealt with before it causes permanent nerve damage.