neck and arm issues - Spinal Cord Disorders Message Board

firepiper66 · 12-09-2006, 07:02 AM

hello everyone,

i've been having problems with my neck and arm off and on for a few months now. i've been to the neuro who did a mri of head and neck w/wo contrast, she said all the serious had been ruled out but i never saw the report, i plan to pick it up this week.

i swear there is something wrong in my neck area, and am just wondering why symptoms would come and go as they do. my main problem is vertigo when i move a certain way, my neck cracking and spasms in my back, my forearm also feels weak, my right pinky and ringer finger and half my palm will get numb and a few times has felt like it's gone flaccid. but it's not constant. i had a ct scan last the "dead" feeling came and blood work, cardiac workup and ent for vertigo, all negative.

i guess my question is, can they miss something in a neck mri? would they see any of the t spine or nerve roots during this test? and i guess more frantically, if i had some kind of tumor or compression wouldn't it be continuous and painful.

i'm not in dire pain, although my forearm the other day for the first time hurt really bad, the neck discomfort and back spasms are fine with motrin

any ideas from people with neck issues i'd appreciate.

thanks
firepiper

PearlDoves · 12-09-2006, 10:05 AM

Well the question I guess is what kind of neuro are you seeing? Neurologist or Neurosurgeon? You may want to see a Neuosurgeon about this, and some people see Orthopedic surgeons too. Surgeon might have a lot more insight.

Well I've heard that sometimes an MRI doesn't pick up everything, in which a Discogram might need to be done to see what is causing some pain.

MRI's scans down to T1 I beleive and then stops if doing the neck. I may go a little further, but am not sure. You could always have a scan of your T-Spine. its possible that you may have a pinched nerve or a nerve root being aggitated. A Tumor should have been picked up by your MRI or CT, so I guess I wouldn't worry about that.

You may have a concervative doc, or it could be that she sees something there, but she may not feel its bad enough yet for surgery, in which case some people go the route of getting injections to help block the pain.. Has she suggested physical therapy at all? Sometimes this can help, and other times it can make things worse. In some instances, surgeons will suggest Physical Therapy for a few weeks and if no improvement or getting worse because of it are told to stop and move to the next step whatever that might be.

Sometimes its a matter of quality of life, and if you're in that much pain and that symptomatic, I would seek out every avenue until you get the right answers and treatment for your problem. It never hurts to get a second opinon and don't be afraid to ask questions or to request tests.

puparoo · 12-09-2006, 02:05 PM

We're not docs, but alot of us have the same issues. Have you had a dose of prednisone or steroid in case this is a mild pinched nerve or some type of tendonitis? How about an emg/ncv? Those studies are *usually* sensitive enough to pick up a pinched nerve or something going on with your forearm, etc. An mri w/ contrast, even w/o would have picked up a bulge, herniation, spurring, etc. in your neck. Like your other reply mentioned, maybe something going on in your Tspine too... but frankly - your symptoms point a little bit to carpal tunnel or cubital tunnel. These syndromes always have weird syndromes that go into the hand and will have pain up the underside of the arm (different from cervical radiculopathy). Do you have tenderness in your wrist, elbow areas? If your hand is numb, you may want to pursue this route with an orthopedic doctor that specializes in this.

But, yes, the tumors and serious items would have been ruled out with the MRI and Cscan of your neck and head. Keep us posted.