Cervical disc problems anyone?

Has anyone here ever experienced a ruptured disc or any kink of problems associated with the spine, vertebrae, cervical disc(s), and/or chronic back pain? If so, what is your story and how have you dealt with it? What has helped you and what has worsened your condition?

I have been dealing with a somewhat debilitating “protruding” cervical disc for the past 6 months and have tried many related theraputic remedies. My problem began earlier this year in June when I woke up one morning with what felt like a common pinched nerve in the neck. Now the most frustrating component of my story is that I am (was) an extremely active person and got in usually at least 3 hours of training per day which usually consisted of weights and cycling or running in addition to my PE workouts. I continued to work out for the next two weeks only to have the pain become more intense and half of the strength in my left arm disappear. The pain I felt was deep in my neck and shoulder, extending to my upper back and down my left arm. Since then, I have basically terminated all activity and have seen multiple therapists and M.D.’s including a rolfer, physical therapist, multiple masseuses, chiropractors, and acupunturists. I have also been sleeping on a cervical memory foam pillow and using an over the door cervical neck traction device (both of which I belive have relieved some pain). Though the problem still exists and this is why I am looking for other psooibilities? I know about surgury and its discouraging success rate and I have read about Prolotherapy but would like to avoid putting more scar tissue in my neck then there already is.

I know this does not have much to do with PE (although it definately has gotten in the way of my PEing), but this forum seems to have so many competant and very helpful people I was hoping I might be able to elicit some advice and personal battles with this ailment. Thanks for any comments!

I don’t know if it helps but my mother threw out a couple of disks in her back and instead of surgery they did some kind of steroid thing with her back along with rehab, it really helped a lot. It did take about six months for her to get to the point where she was half as good as before she hurt herself but before this program she couldn’t even walk without pain and a walker. Now she can walk a couple of blocks and she goes to the gym twice a week she is also in her 70’s

Your symptoms sound exactly like mine, with crippling pain in the neck and upper back and pain down the left arm and numbness in two fingers. I lost just about all the muscle in my left arm. It was horrible, but after I finally got myself to a holistic chiropractor, he was able to correct my problem.

Have you seen your neck X-rays? My neck was way out of alignment. Instead of having a nice rearward arc, my cervical spine had straightened out and was even starting to arc forward. After about of month with the chiro, I was a lot better, but it took a year for the cervical arc to be restored to normal.

If you haven’t seen your X-rays, I would definitely find a chiropractor that likes to “see” what he is up against before proceeding with adjustments.

I must say, I was a total non-believer in chiropractors until this guy literally saved my life

I think that is called “military neck” - no? I have seen a Chiro and taken x-rays, he has helped put my spine back in line, but I am dealing with more of a disc problem where it has slightly ruptured out of the bone (regardless of where the bone sits out of place). I am actually going to be starting with a PT this morning that specializes in these kinds of problems. We’ll see if it helps? Thanks for the replies.

Good luck to you. I hope you get relief and also some sort of permanent fix. That pain was a nightmare.

It’s been a few years now since my ordeal, but I have been able to fully build back all of the muscle in my left arm and then some with weight training.

I had two bulging cervical discs. Numbness in right thumb and index finger, and weakness and atrophy of the right bicep (I am a weight lifter for life).

I tried everything like you, but traction is what I believe fixed me. Most physical therapy is a bunch of crap designed to get your money. Chiropractors can help but I think the best way to relieve pressure on your nerves is traction.

I have a weight stack at home which made it easy for me to set up for a good pull on my neck. Most home traction devices require hanging a water bag over a door or something so inconvenient it is hard to do it frequently. I would try and do 20 minutes 3x/day for a month and see if it helps. It might be useful for you to find a gym where you can take your head harness and hook up to a weight stack. It looks a bit unconventional and will not attract any women, but forget about that and just do it.

Of course some people eventually need surgury. There is no guarantee. Good luck.