Back pain

[cawm]

I was recently diagnosed with a large foraminal protrusion compressing the exiting left C7 nerve root. This was diagnosed by an MRI. I was told by my internist to see a neurosurgeon for surgery---the only way the cure this. However, in the interim I have been seeing a chiropractor who suggested decompression therapy. What do you suggest??

[cawm]

Thanks for the info. I have been having numbness and tingling in the left arm. Actually, the chiro has scheduled 12 visits and says relief should be fairly quickly. I've had 3 treatments and I'm already feeling better. I just hope it works and I don't have a relapse.

Thanks again

[noneck]

You have nothing to loose, decompression can relieve a protrusion, but not always. You should be having left arm symptoms, pain, numbness, tingling. With the decompression therapy don't let a Chiro talk you into some long term plan, if it is going to work you should see improvement quickly. There is no cure for degeneration of the discs, Dr's. need to be careful if using the word cure. You don't give your age but once you have a fusion it puts pressure on the adjacent discs, which will degenerate them faster because of the fusion. Let us know what the neurosurgeon thinks. The are minimally invasive surgeries today that are shortening recovery time greatly. Ask about these surgeries.

Hope I Help