C5c6 and nerve pain

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Want to see if anyone has had the same feelings and have gotten good results by doing everything except surgery...This all started in April. My pain is all on left side.. Feels like my scm is always annoyed and my trap and shoulder with some pain and wired feeling going down left arm.. I've tried acupuncture massage chiropractic pain pills and it's still here..I don't do any of these on a regular basis.. Maybe once a week between visits..Do I need to go a couple times a week?? I just tried traction yesterday and did neck tucks but that was my first time for those.. I've done labs just to make sure everything was good and they are..The last month I've had bad anxiety lost weight and no sleep and very emotional..I was very active until all this happened and now I don't want to do anything I feel lazy and week.The doc put me on clonazepam which I have taken for a week but no have stopped don't want to rely on that to get me back to normal..I had an epidural two weeks ago but the doc who ordered it wasn't even in the right spot.ughhhhh So now I got back on Jan 5th and they will do a c5c6 nerve injection,hopefully that helps.. i want to know if I get off the meds and take my vitamins and eat right along with forcing myself to get excercise again can I start feeling better.. I'm tired of this and I need to get back to the old me and be happy to be with my family,right now it's just so tough...Thanks.

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4 Replies

  • Posted

    Hey Chris,

    I,ve had neck issues for 30 years so I feel I have a some experience to draw on.

    I have spondylosis and stenosis at c4,c5, c6 on thr left side no impinngement....yet.

    I too was extremely active until about a year ago when the discomfort became too much and I had to calm down.

    YOU HAVE TO BECOME PROACTIVE and realize that things aren,t going to change overnight . It took weeks of ups and downs before some breakthroughs started to happen.

    The chin tucks are a great exercise when done properly. Don't do them too strongly otherwise you'll be activating your larger muscles such as your SCM etc rather than the deep flexos that you want to engage to improve posture and you won't notice results for awhile.

    You may want to do excercises to stabilize your scapulas also to take pressure off your probably already overworked upper traps.

    But these things take several weeks to begin to noticce differences and sometimes you may feel as though your losing ground especially if you over do it.

    I,ve made remarkable progress over the last 4 months especially

    I also use rollers and physio balls or you can use lacrosse balls to work all your upper back muscles especially between the shoulder blades. and I stretch using bands and stretch my chest muscles to get the shoulders back.

    I do these things almost daily and it's made a huge difference.

    I don't take any meds because I just don't like them, and I'm a registered nurse!

    What's helped me a lot also is curcumin (termeric) and boswellia which are very effective anti inflammatories among other benefits unlike pharmaceuticals which usually only have side effects

    I now lift weights and swim and  I have mild facet joint arthritiis in every joint of my neck but still have 90 or 95% range of motion.

    You have to be aggressive though and I know better than most how scary and frustrating it can be. I haven't known what a normal neck feels like since I was 17 years old

    Most people want a quick fix and that rarely works. You have to put in the time. Medications aren't going to help you they just cover up symptoms. But if you need to take them for awhile then you just have to

    Don't just get down, get aggressive and stop the self-pity. I'm not trying to judge I've been there. Just realize that the change will happen slowly but but you need to get started because this is likely going to be for the rest of your life so best to start dealing with it.

    Sorry I wrote this kinda quick. If you want ny more specific advice feel free to ask

    Good Luck..........Brian (I can't surf again.......yet)

    • Posted

      Ya it's hard.. I now struggle with anxiety and depression because of this I believe.. I have no appetite and no energy to do anything... I mean I was as active as can be and for 6 months I totally stopped.. I've been losing weight from all this and then I start thinking about that and gets my mind going again.. My stomach always bothers me I think from anxiety and stress so it's hard to be active.. I got a c7 faucet injection but nothing yet.. I was told maybe pinch nerve c5-c6 and get another injection.. I'm take clonazepam 1mg and now some ibuprofen 400 sometimes helps.. So you say just stay strong and do my excercise with neck and back and maybe I can get back to the old me.. My family wants me back but it's hard to push and do it... I'll take more advice it helps me,thank you... I just want to know I can do this if I work at it.... will the pain go down if I don't think about it it??

    • Posted

      Hi surfer brian. It would be great if you posted link(s) to the exercises you mentioned. Thanks!
    • Posted

      I've had cervical C4, C5 spondylosis for many years but it only bothered me occasionaly. My new house got flooded 2 ft. in August , rebuilt and back in but I'm 72 and there is still so much physical work for me to do that now I have excruciating pain. When I started doing the neck exercises pain got even worse and now can't move my head.

      I've always been very physically active with different sports and still dance 3-4 times a week.

      I'm a retired LPN, don't like to take medication but would like to know in what form and how much of the turmeric and boswellia do you take and where do you get it.

      Thank you for sharing,

      Gisèle

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