Question
I've suffered with neck/upper back pain for nine years. Since I've not been diagnosed I've also not received treatment.  I've spent years and untold 10's of thousands (literally) out of pocket on getting pain relief through Chiropractic care.  Now I have bone spurs at C3 %26 C4.  Also a DC said T1 %26 C7 are collapsed or collapsing.  The nerve pain in my left hand is constant and excruciating.  It fluctuates between the median and ulnar (I've already had Ulnar decompression surgery).  How can I find the right doctor to help me?  Do I need a DC or a Neurologist - I'm at the end of my rope!  I would prefer not to jump into surgery.  Can you help me find the right doctor?

Answer
Karen,

Your symptoms are not uncommon, and those with nerve-related referred pain into the upper extremity see chiropractors, PT's, and MD's of different specialties.  As for MD's, you need to speak with an interventional pain management specialist (IPMS#.   These typically are MD Physiatrists and anesthesiologists in the IMPS arena, and commonly the procedure performed is epidural steroid injection.  As for chiropractors, you never know what you're going to get as far as choice of procedures or methods of evaluation.   Regardless, the goal of the chiropractor is to perform text-book standard physical examination and determine 1# are you safe to treat, and 2# what or how to treat.  Also, regardless of the type of practitioner, DC, PT, or MD, there has to be some kind of reasonable treatment goal.  Getting rid of bone spurs, for example, is an completely unreasonable goal.  Bone spurs don't go away.   Reducing pain symptoms or improving daily activity limitations are reasonable goals.   You would do best to find a chiropractor that has an evidence-based practice and who employs a multimodal approach to care.  In other words, you want a DC that is not going to push any weird treatment protocol or dogmatic agenda.   Chiropractic's diversity is both a blessing and curse.   In this regard, finding the evidence based and multimodal practitioner can be difficult.   Here are some resources to get you started:  www.westhartfordgroup.com  #you'll be in good hands and can rest assured you will not be sold any hooey).   www.grastontechnique.com  #folks that do this are interested in treating soft tissues and not just manipulating bones).    www.acbsp.com #doc's that do the entire program to earn DACBSP are serious about learning everything they can about how to treat and rehab' sports injuries...non-athletes benefit, too).   

I hope this was helpful.  

Dr. G'