Herniated C6/C7 Disc
Hi all,
I’ve seen some similar posts on here but just wanted to mention my story and see if anyone has had any similar experiences to share and what their recovery was like. I’m a 24 year old male who’s very active.
In February of this year i started getting some pain shooting down my left arm, very stiff neck, not being able to sleep at night. I just said oh it’s a pinched nerve it’ll go away in a few weeks. It didn’t. It kind of plateaued and I saw a doctor once i noticed the muscle atrophy and weakness in my left arm. I’m a very active person and my left tricep almost disappeared and I could barely do 1 push up.
Immediately went to the doctor and explained my
symptoms and got an MRI and EMG scheduled. MRI results came back with a pretty serious herniation in my C6 and C7 which was causing a pinched radial nerve. EMG results came back with radial nerve being actively affected by the herniation. Based on these results the doctor said a disc replacement is absolutely an option but I have seen some improvement from physical therapy.
I opted to not get the surgery and the doctor agreed it might not be the right move right now, especially because ive seen some natural improvement over the last few months at PT. I feel like im starting to plateau and my left arm muscle mass or strength has not come back too much.
I wanted to see if anyone else has had any similar experiences and what their recovery looked like, did you get surgery eventually ? When did ur strength come back? When did the uncomfort stop?
Anything helps, thanks!