Cervical disc herniation

If you are dealing with neck pain radiating down the shoulder blade and down the arm below the elbow with numbness and tingling in any of the 5 fingers then you may be  dealing with a cervical disc herniation. This can occur with or without trauma, in fact many patients over time develop   pain in the neck and shoulder upon waking up in the morning in other words, they just slept with their head and neck in an awkward position. However, over the next several days the pain worsens in the neck and shoulder blade. One of the hallmark signs of a cervical disc herniation is when a patient tends to get relief with bringing the arm up and putting their hand on top of  their head. This tends to relieve the arm pain, numbness and tingling confirming the diagnosis. While an MRI is not necessary until about 6 weeks of conservative care with chiropractic focusing on spinal decompression, mobilization manipulation, myofascial therapy trigger point work and dry needling in an effort to relieve the pressure  off of the nerve. The 2 most common levels affected are between C5/6 and C6/C7 . Treatment goal is to reduce the symptoms in the arm and hand and try to centralize the pain into the neck before it is totally resolved.  Chiropractic care combined with these other treatment modalities is very effective in treating cervical disc herniation with greater success than in the lumbar spine for disc herniation. A home exercise program and home traction unit facilitates the recovery and shifts the focus of care  from the chiropractor to the patient.

If conservative modalities such as chiropractic and traction /decompression do not alleviate neck, shoulder and arm pain within 6 weeks, referral to pain management to consider epidural  steroid  injections are another option.  

However, more than 90% of cervical disc herniation patient's Dr. Connolly's sees at Spine Care of Alexandria do not need the referral as we are able to manage this in house without more invasive procedures. If this sounds like something you are dealing with,  please do not hesitate to call us at Spine Care of Alexandria for an evaluation.