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CERVICAL 'RADICULOPATHY'
SYMPTOMS
SUCCESSFULLY TREATED WITH PROLOTHERAPY
About once every two weeks a patient comes in worried because they
believe they have a pinched nerve in the neck. Typically they have had
an MRI which some some degenerative arthritis and
degenerated discs
in the neck and they have tingling in the arm and hand. So is this
Cervical
radiculopathy or is this just a
referral
pain from the upper thoracic area. How do you tell?
THE EYES
I look at people's eyes. People who have a true 'nerve' being pinched,
really can't smile. The pain is awful. The referral pain patterns of
ligaments can be awful but not nearly as awful as a nerve being pinched.
When the eyes loose their luster and the look on the persons face is
'panic' I think cervical radiculopathy. If the person is able to
converse with me and laughs at my jokes, then there is a good chance
they have a thoracic ligament problem.
THE HUB
A person who puts their hand between the spin and the
scapula and says
that is where their pain emanates from, I think thoracic ligament
problem. In cervical radiculopathy cases, the person will point to a
specific area of their neck causing the pain. Thoracic ligament problems
can cause some
neck pain as the case study indicated but typically the
person will tell you this is a referral pain and the neck pain is
minimal compared to the thoracic pain.
NUMBINESS
Cervical radiculopathy gives 'true'
numbness. If a person senses
numbness in the fingers but can feel everything, this is called numbiness. This is a referral symptom typically from thoracic ligament
problems (generally thoracic #1-3). Numbness that is true, meaning the
person has lost sensation in part of their hand or fingers, indicates a
nerve problem. Then one thinks of cervical radiculopathy.
BREATHING
Cervical radiculopathy is not affected by breathing and vice versa.
Breathing can aggravate
thoracic problems and thoracic problems can
aggravate breathing. Someone whose symptoms are affected by deep
breathing, makes me think thoracic ligament problem.
ARM MOVEMENT AGGRAVATION
Believe it or not in my experience, when arm movement aggravates the
symptoms, I think more thoracic ligament problem. Simple movements of
the arm only occur by stabilization of the scapula. Stabilization of the
scapula affects the upper thoracic segments more then it does the
cervical spine.
RESPONSE TO PROLOTHERAPY
Thoracic ligament problems often feel better right away with
Prolotherapy. Cervical radicular symptoms generally need a
nerve block
to feel better right away.
Prolotherapyy can be used with cervical
radiculopathy but often you need other modalities also to treat the
person.
For people who have been told that they need surgery for cervical
radiculopathy I would recommend that they get a
second opinion from a
Prolotherapy doctor. You would hate to get surgery and not be better because
your problem was a thoracic ligament problem and all you needed was Prolotherapy.
The thoracic ligaments that can refer pain down the arm are those
involved with Thoracic segements #1,#2, and #3. The ligaments that
connect these vertebrae together and the ones that connect these
vertebrae to the ribs (costovertebral ligaments).
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