Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I had back pain started 3 months ago.  I went to doctor and they told me I had a muscle problem and she told me to do cold and hot and sent me home.  4 weeks ago I had this spasms started on my left side I waited 2 weeks before I went to the doctor again.  He told me I had a minor problem in the neck and sent me to chiropractor and he did adjustments and then I started to have numbness in my two fingers.  After the 4th treatment he ordered a MRI and even before seeing the report (looking at the MRI pictures) he told me that I had a tear in one of the disks and he cannot treat me anymore.  I will finally went to my main doctor again and he told me that we should try to do shot to the spine instead of surgery and they are sending me to pain mngt.  I will write the MRI result here:
C6-7 desiccation, narrowing with spinal stenosis, both foraminal supraforaminal, infraforaminal due to a left posterolateral, lateral and foramiinal large disk osteopyte complex begining above C607 disk space behind the left aspectof C6 extending caudaully and inferiorly at least to the upper end plate of C7 creating the marked spinal stenosis as noted best seen on the axial series #5 from images 24...
Can you let me know what is your expert opinion in my case?  I am 30 years old male, 5-7 and 165lbs.  I was pretty active before.
I really appreciate any recommendations that you may have.
Thank you
Emir

ANSWER: Emir;

 Disc problems are surprisingly common: 4 of 10 people have disc issues. Is your numbing in your index, thumb, and half of the third digit?  This is the classic place for C6 numbness, called a dermatome.  Your chiropractor either didn't want to invest the time in you  or was an idiot... we see this ALL THE TIME, EVERY DAY.  Disc injuries in the chiropractors office are as common as the rain.

You are too young for this, and need a different chiropractor, one who recommends some home exercises, both that incorporate traction and extension.  Getting a curve in your neck is definitely job #1.. Noone is better for this than a DC.  

I would consult www.chiroweb.com for a DC near you, try and find a Palmer graduate.  If you were in downtown Seattle, I'd have you come here, www.dynamicclinic.com .  The reason I put that in is that I've written an article on the lumbar spine disc that may help you understand the disc mechanics.

There is every reason to think that you can get back to being the active young man you were before... be proactive on this and you will get better results!

Hope this answer helps...

Dr. Peter Carr
Seattle, Washington

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dr. Carr,
Thank you for your quick reply.  My doctor sent me to pain management and they want to do cortisone shots to my spine.  what is your recommendation on that?  Do you think i should go with this?  I have quite a bit pain these days so I thought it might be good but again there are some side effects i read.  it kind of scares me.
Thank you again
Emir

Answer
Emir;

Because of your question, I put up a page on my website under the articles section for the cervical disc, and how to read the reports that radiologists write... so thank you, I think. Check it out and figure it out for yourself, is what I can say in the future!

So your follow up question regarding cortisone:  Cortisone is a super-powerful antiinflammatory.  It may help with the pain, but the real problem is the shape and loading on your spine.  changing that is important, and is the arena of chiropractic.  You can invest in a number of tools, I recommend the posture pump, a therapeutica pillow, and a cervical traction unit.  The side effects of cortisone are pretty minimal.

The worst thing it could do is nothing at all.  The best would be that it gives you a chance to get on top of the issue with these tools and chiropractic, so that you can fix the problem.   Hope this answer helps.

Dr. Carr