Question
Dear Doctor,

My mother is 56 years old and has been suffering from persistent neck pain for over a year. One location of the pain occurs in the area behind the mandible and under the mastoid processes; the second location of pain is at both sides of the windpipe about one inch below the hyoid bone. She had received osteopathic adjustments, physiotherapy and acupuncture treatments for many months but obtained no relief. Recently she went for an MRI and the scan revealed bulging discs at C4/C5 and C5/C6 and protrusion of C4 & C5. According to my mother's orthopedic surgeon, the bulging discs and protruding bones have impinged upon the spinal cord which results in the pain in the 2 locations mentioned above. His advise is to surgically removed the two bulging discs and shave off the parts of the C4 & C5 that. The discs will be replaced by artificial bones and the 3 verterbra will be fused together.

My question is are these conditions the real cause of my mother's neck pain? I've done some research and found that most people who have bulging discs at C4 - C6 their pain is mostly in the shoulder and numbness and tingling sensations in the arms, not at the areas of the throat or behind the jaw bone. Is surgery is best solution? Are there any other alternatives that we can consider?

Thank you.

Evelyn

Answer
Hi Evelyn,

You are absolutely correct, this is unlikely the source of your mothers pain. Surgery is the last resort anyway, taking a few weeks and getting towel traction on the neck will rule this out anyway. Even home overdoor type traction units would be very beneficial. As long as the discs are bulging, the surgeons will use that as an excuse to recommend surgery, I can't discourage this enough. She needs to see an EENT specialist, also, it sounds like she has Mastoiditis. A common condition that responds to antibiotics. I hope they checked for this. Seek out a highly recommended Chiropractor that specializes in cervical disc herniations, the treatment is quit simple and effective. Blood chemistries can reveal if white blood cell counts are high, indicating possible infection in the Mastoid. Like anything in health care, it is very wise to get multiple opinions.

Good Luck!

Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com