Return of Pinched Nerve Question
Hi, I posted a while back but am returning with an additional opinion. An overview, started going to a chiropractor, never been before.
She was treating me for a pinched nerve that is below my right shoulder.
Was getting the burning needle sensation when I did certain things. Mainly work around home. After 8 visits and an ultra sound treatment as well as the electric stimulation treatment, I had no relief, so she recommended an MRI. It came back normal, it was of the thoracic spine???? So it didn’t show my neck, ok.
So I went to my regular MD. She is wanting to do some research and call me back.
She is wondering if I should have had a scan of my neck also, because this pain is coming from somewhere obviously. Let me just say, this is not a life or death pain.
I sit at a desk all day and am fine.
It is when I start moving around more at home, etc. I have never had this before so it is enough to make me realize something is not right. My chiropractor mentioned refering me to a neurologist. My family Dr. maybe wants to get a scan of my neck to rule out I don’t know what. So what do you think.
I wonder should I go to another chiropractor, maybe my previous one wasn’t doing what I needed?? I think it is a nerve issue. I am at a loss.
I think I have stumped everyone.
6 comments
doc4bax
Hi Steph, sorry to hear youre still having this problem. I tend to agree with your MD, I think it is a good idea to have a look at the cervical spine and get a scan. If nothing is there then thats good news but is discouraging because we still have not found whats going on here. If they find something well thats good news too as we have an idea of what could be causing it and what to treat. I have a patient with the same exact symptoms and she has a disc bulge in the lower cervical spine. Of course it doesnt necessarily mean it is the same for you but it can be a cause of your complaints and needs to be investigated. It never hurts to try another chiropractor, were all not created equal and you may find someone who can pick up something the other one may have overlooked. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the chiropractor you have been seeing, typically cases like yours respond well to chiropractic care. Let us know how it goes. Maybe Dr. Dave will chime in and offer some additional thoughts.
DrDave
OK, Dr. Dave is chiming in… I agree with doc4bax, but I do have a question for Stephanie. I would like a clearer explanation of the problem. Is it neck pain that radiates into the right shoulder? Or is it just right shoulder pain? Is it actually in the shoulder joint or is it in the area between the neck and shoulder? You said “pinched nerve below my right shoulder” can you try and be a little more descriptive. Is it in the front? The back? I know it’s not easy to describe without a diagram, but do your best.
steph
Thanks to both for responding. Ok Dave, the area is below my right shoulder, probably a half -3/4 of finger length below. I don’t think it has anything to do with my shoulder joint and I don’t have neck pain. I think I am just more frustrated than anything. Which leaves me to think, why would the chiropractor that I have seen, not think, oh it could be the cervical area as well, why not do a whole scan rather than not. Hey, just more money out of my pocket I guess. Ok, sorry to vent. I guess I will just see what my MD comes up with. So worse case scenerio, 1- if it is a disk in neck, what can be do to help that and don’t say surgery!!! And 2- nothing is found, then I go see who a neurologist?What would make one think it is not a muscle? Thanks again!Oh, and Doc-what are you doing for your patient that has the same issue??
DrDave
You’re very welcome Steph. #1 – I would never suggest surgery. #2 – It could possibly be a disc (it’s so hard to do this without seeing the patient) but my guess would be muscle but maybe that’s because in my practice at least that is what I mostly see and treat. I would start with the muscles because it’s the easiest, least expensive, least invasive thing to do.
stephanie
Dave,Ok so let me ask you this. How do you tell muscle from a nerve problem? I guess when I think of the burning sensation I think of nerve. I have not lifted weights for a couple weeks to try to figure out this problem? And when I did lift weights, it didn’t seem to bother my back. When I did cardio, the weird thing is that the movement I was doing on the elliptical machine bothered me but when I put it on an incline it was better. So I didn’t figure it was a muscle problem, but now I wonder. If you say that you treat people with this same issue, what exactly do you do for them?
DrDave
The way you tell the difference between a muscle and nerve problem is by testing them. You test each muscle individually and see if there is any weakness compared to the other side. You can test certain nerves by checking reflexes and sensation over specific areas. But realize a couple of things; the nerves run through the muscles. So a problem muscle can effect the nerve that passes through it. Or, it doesn’t have to be a nerve at all… When a muscle is hypertonic, spastic, fibrotic etc. these all cause a lot of problems and pain. Yes, even a burning sensation. I treated a lady just today who said she felt like there was a knife in the back of her shoulder. The pain had been there for a few weeks and nobody could tell her what it was or how to help her (other than meds of course which did nothing). Through palpation and testing I determined that the problem was fibrotic (scar) tissue in her infraspinatus muscle. Yes it can be very painful. I treated this with a technique called “active release” (you can google it) and in one treatment she was probably 95% better. I will have her come in again on Thursday repeat the treatment and she will probably be done. (Of course not everybody gets better in 2 visits)