@albeit
The recommendation I would make is to see a neurologist who is familiar with spine injuries. If it has been 8 years since you had imaging done, you don't know if the herniations you described in your spine have progressed or if there is nerve or spinal cord impingement. When a disc is injured and bulges, it causes the distribution of pressure to be uneven, and that can cause bone spurs to grow. If the disc is damaged enough, the jelly like nucleus can be expelled through cracks in the outer fibrous layer. That can happen years after an injury because discs naturally dry out and shrink a bit as we age, and posture plays a role as well because poor posture will also cause an uneven load on the discs. Physical therapy can help try to restore the normal curvatures in the spine and reduce pain, but that also depends on what else is going on.

I am a Mayo spine surgery patient, and when I requested an appointment at Mayo, 5 local surgeons had missed understanding the diagnosis, and I had MRI and X-ray imaging that I sent in for review. I had been turned down for 2 years and none would help me. If you wish to start that process at Mayo, you might ask to be seen by a spine center neurologist first and they would make referrals based on what they find. If you possibly could be a surgery candidate, they would arrange an appointment with a specialist. I did request an appointment with a specific neurosurgeon when I sent in my imaging, and he had me see the neurologist he works with, who then ordered the tests I needed, and some consults with other specialists outside of neurosurgery. All of that was completed before my surgery consult and he had all the information he needed and he explained what he could do to help me.

Spine injuries are different in that the symptoms they cause vary a lot depending on what part of the spine is affected. There is a dermatomal map of the body that shows where all the nerves go after leaving the spine, and this applies if the problem is at a nerve root (in between the vertebral bodies). If the problem is spinal cord compression inside the central canal, it's more complex, and not so easy to understand specifically what would be affected, but that causes a lot of issues and weakness and can affect the entire body even if there is only one level of the spinal cord that is compressed. That was what happened with my case. I had pains all over my body from cervical stenosis, and atrophy of arm and shoulder muscle.

With your injuries from the car accident, there could be some additional issues with something like thoracic outlet syndrome. It can be caused by a whiplash or repetitive stress. TOS will also cause pain and numbness in arms and hands as well as decreased circulation. A lot of doctors do not understand TOS (which I have), and that is also why I came to Mayo because they can diagnose and treat it, and I needed to be where they understood both TOS and spine injuries.

Here are some links that may help.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-stenosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352961
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/symptoms-causes/syc-20377890
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermatome_(anatomy)
https://teachmeanatomy.info/the-basics/embryology/dermatomes/

@albiet
Welcome,
I read John's response to you. I would just like to add that you should not put all your eggs in one basket as far as getting an appointment at the Mayo Clinic.
I don't about other facilities, but I've tried to get an appointment 4 times. I rejected 3 times. I was told that they had the max number of patients with my issues, even though I had been through many, many traditional and not so traditional procedures and shots.
The 4th time, I came close. I had a referral from my neurosurgeon to see a neurologist. When Mayo called to make my appointment, I was told I needed to see some sort of other doctor. You guessed it, they were full up, too.
I am just telling you all this because I don't want you to be disappointed should you not be able to get an appointment. And if you do, that would be FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Best of luck to you!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)