Hello, I Am Needing Someone To Help Me Completely Understand
I am needing someone to help me completely understand my MRI results. These are from 2019 and I know the neurosurgeon will want a new one, but before I see him, I am confused on what is causing so much pain. My pain is from my neck down to my fingers on the right side of my body. I did have my ulnar nerve relocated after my disc surgery which is noted on the MRI report.
Pain is hot burning from, my neck to my forearm to a cold burn feeling in my hand. The pain never goes away, I have a hard time lifting anything with weight, and typing just kills it. Not pin and needles feeling at all. It just a constant pain and burning. I catch myself rubbing my arm. PT made it hurt more, massage is a quick fix but by the end of the day I am in pain. I was on 900 mg gabapentin daily, and it some what helped but I was forgetting everything and I was having a hard time processing verbally.
Those MRI findings don’t justify the current symptoms.
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome to the “Ask a Doctor “ service.
I have read your question and the MRI report that you uploaded too.
The cervical MRI done back in 2019, states that there are degenerative changes of your cervical spine mainly in the form of disc bulges more prominent at the C5-C6 level.
There is no evidence of the impingement of the nerves that supply your right arm and hand.
The possible nonunion after ACDF may lead to instability, so, if this is true, your symptoms may be justified in a certain degree.
Besides a new MRI, in my opinion, dynamic x-rays of your cervical spine are necessary to evaluate correctly if there is instability or not.
A soft cervical collar may help with your symptoms until the evaluation.
Discuss these issues with your Doctor.
Hope you found the answer helpful.
Let me know if I can assist you further.