Has anyone been diagnosed with Cervical Radiculopathy

Good afternoon @gussie, Is this the same @gussie who was last posting in 2020? Nice to see you live on Connect today.
What is this about Cervical Radiculopathy? Isn't that also a type of neuropathy or at least somehow related? I just went through several days of testing at the Mayo Clinic and Radiculopathy was the diagnosis. Yes, it is quite painful. Mine is evidently the result of a history of damages to the nerve points from accidents and multiple orthopedic surgeries....like 14 or so. They also called it "pinched nerves". Do you know how your Cervical Radiculopathy was caused? Where is your pain located?

Hoping to hear from you.
Chris

Hi Chris. I have no idea what the cause of my CR it just happened last April out of nowhere. There was some mention that is was related to my osteoarthritis. It started with pain around my left shoulder and I thought it was a muscle spasm but then the next day it landed in my neck. I really am going to try and put off surgery as long as I can. Someone told me about Nerve Ablation so I'm going to try and look into that. At my age if it works for a year I'll take it.

Have you tried physical therapy? I have done that before and they put you in an easy neck traction, and it does help.

I went to PT when it happened in April but all they did was massage my neck which killed me. I didn't go back. It just made it more painful.

Yes, certainly massage can often be not helpful because the area is so compromised. I encourage you to check to see if your healthcare or a doctor could refer you for neck traction from a physical therapist, not a home apparatus, which is a pain in the butt!

I was diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy which affected hand/arm strength (dropped things all the time and had numbness), pain in neck, shoulders, and upper back, and it also affected my walking and bladder control. My legs felt like I had cement boots on and hard to walk in a straight line. All from my cervical spine! I had ACDF surgery on my c5/c6 (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion). It helped me recover bladder control and improve walking. I don’t drop things as much now but still get numbness in my hands. The pain in my neck and upper back is not as significant. You may want to consider surgery if your doctors clear you. Constant irritations and pressure/damage to your spinal cord, nerve roots, and nerves over time may be irreversible. Good luck!

I know that surgery is an option but at 82 I am trying to avoid surgery if I can. I am going to interview surgeons that do Radiofrequency ablation but the nerve can re-build or Direct Visualized Rhizotomy in which the nerve is actually cut. So far no effects on my hands just a little pain in my shoulder. But I know it will get worse if I don't do something about it soon.

I am recovering from a mid-May cervical surgery. I am immune compromised with rheumatoid arthritis, and 75 yr old. It came as a surprise when I had shooting pain down my shoulder, into my hand. Went to my doctor who sent me to a neurologist and after an MRI , I learned that I needed surgery and that my neck wasn't in good shape. Believe it or not, I was not having a lot of pain in my neck. When learning the severity of my condition, surgery was a better option than a wheel chair if I was to fall, have a car accident, etc. I had cervical decompression and fusion on C3-7 and foraminotomy on the right side of C4-7. I will say healing is slow. It will take a year for full fusion, muscle and nerve healing. Despite the long healing time, I say it is better than the alternative.

I am so glad that worked for you. I have the opposite. The horrible pain is in my neck. I am going to try and get in to the Spine Center at UCSF. San Francisco and see what my best options are

I have hyopermobile joints and an SI Joint that got well out of it's old zone from a fall on the ice and a hip operation. My spine is now not totally stable and I woke up one night feeling light headed and all that goes with it. I too am old and cannot do surgeries well with poor healing from connective tissue issues. So....how about checking out a regenerative medicine doctor. Mayo has some that know of the issues of moving joints. After a visit to a Spine Center at a local hospital I went back to my prolotherapy doctor who did some work on my 4th to 7th cervical joints. Because the joints are held in place with ligaments, the prolotherapy treatment did a good job. I have held together for several years. The upper joints are actually made of ligaments evidently

You could also find a chiropractor who has a digital motion Xray. It can analyze your joint movements and tell if cervical joint motion and/or placement is an issue for you.

Good luck

i