| Nerve pain down arm - scary MRI
Long story short, I stretched wrong in my chair and within a few days I had nerve pain all down my right arm. MRI and orthopedic surgeon, I'm not understanding at all what's going on and I don't know how to make informed choices to get better.
The MRI says that C2-C3 through C6-C7 I have uncovertebral and facet hypertrophy. Plus C2-C3 through C6-C7 there is neural foraminal narrowing. C3-C4 through C6-C7 minimal diffuse disc bulge. C5-C6 has probable annual fissure. C5-C6 and C6-C7 have central canal stenosis. My neck is curving the wrong way at the bottom too, according to the doctor, and first thing he saw on my images was bulging in C5-C6 and C6-C7.
Not only are these scary terms, but I can't find websites that explain in detail in layman's terms. All I've found are over simplified that explain nothing or articles meant for those in the medical field. And a lot of that "neural foraminal narrowing" is bilateral, and the rest are split pretty evenly between left side and right side, but my left arm feels completely fine.
What's weirder is that I had an MRI back in 2016 for a mystery nerve problem in my right arm, definitely not the same thing as this time, and that time every joint but C5-C6 was reported as "There is no herniation or stenosis". C5-C6 said mild disc bulge without focal herniation or canal stenosis. How does a neck go from peachy keen to all these degenerative conditions in 3 years? Not a couple of things starting to go, but all at once?
And how do I get my right arm back to normal? I'm going to be starting physical therapy, and I sobbed and got agreement for gabapentin (I can't go through nerve pain like that again), but what else? Someone mentioned a chiropractor, someone else said massage, what will make things right?
And now just a bit of self pity, this is going to be the third time since 2016 that I've had to put my right arm back together (figuratively). Nerve pain, severe muscle weakness, tendonitis, x2, x3, AC separation, cartilage damage thank you AC separation, and now bum neck. It mentally gets tougher each time because the thought of "let's see how long it lasts this time" looms larger each time.
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