Right Arm and Neck Pain
In this video, Dr. Castanet will show you the neck MRI scan images of a man who is about 45 years old. He has three herniated discs at C4-5, C-5-6, and C6-7. His complaint is right arm pain and neck pain. He states he can hardly sleep at night because his arm pain is excruciating.
This gentleman has tried previous physical therapy, which did not help. He then went to two different orthopedic surgeons for help. They have both recommended a two-level fusion at C4-5 and C5-6. They also think he may have carpal tunnel syndrome because he actually has tingling and numbness in both hands. He would like to avoid neck fusions if that is possible, so his wife referred him to me for a surgical opinion.
Since I worked in orthopedics for 18 years and 5 years in a neurosurgical practice, I can often anticipate what a surgeon will recommend, and why. And, in fact, I often agree with the surgeon’s opinions. And I send many people to surgeons for surgical treatment when I cannot help them. My obligation is to get you an effective solution to your problem. My obligation is not to myself or anyone else, except the patient. When I do business like this, I get referrals even if I can’t help the patient.
Anyway, this man’s MRI scans show compression of his spinal cord, but no cord pathology yet. His clinical exam is also negative for spinal cord pathology. Therefore, there is no emergent need for surgery, if I can help his pain sufficiently. You will see that he has disc herniation material on both his right and left sides, so that might account for these bilateral arm symptoms. If he improves from my spinal decompression treatment, he can also forego and nerve conduction testing that was recommended. As of this writing, I have only treated him once, and when he returned for a second treatment, he stated he felt much better from the first treatment. This is not unusual from spinal decompression treatment, which is why I so favor it for patients.
If I can help you with your neck or back problem, please call me at 404-558-4015.
