Shoulder Injuries/Conditions - severe piched nerve in shoulder blade

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severe piched nerve in shoulder blade

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Forum Name: Shoulder Injuries/Conditions
Forum Description: Patients can post questions and experiences about shoulder injuries/conditions.
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Topic: severe piched nerve in shoulder blade

Posted By: Carole
Subject: severe piched nerve in shoulder blade
Date Posted: Jul 25 2009 at 11:04am

I have had a pinched nerve along my upper spine between the spine and under the right shoulder blade for the past 7 days. Day 1 and 2 were an excrutiating nightmare, pain was unreal, brought me to sobbing tears as if I had been shot or impaled. Went to the chiropractor who confirmed the pinched nerve, did some adjustments that reduced the pain from horrific to seriously uncomfortable. I have constant stabbing pain down my right arm with tingling, swelling of the arm/hand, and occasional numbness. Went to a medical doctor yesterday who got me an immediate MRI because he suspected a herniated cervical disc. No MRI results yet until Monday, but the doc said I will most likely need surgery, which I cannot aford. I have no med insurance, and my mother paid for the doc visit and MRI out of her pocket...yeah...her pocket. Been out of work for 7 days and don't know when I can return. Slowly going broke while my friends and family are pooling together to pay my rent/bills for the next month. I don't want and cannot afford surgery for this! I've now got Vicodin, Naproxin, and a muscle relaxer from the doc, but if I don't get the surgery, will I have to live my life on pain meds now???? I don't want an addiction to these things, but I just want this pain to stop. It has been (from 1-10) at a consistent '7' for the past five days with no relief but for the pills. What can I do???? Family is willing to pay for PT/Chiropractor but can PT fix this??? Anyone know what to do?

Replies:

Posted By: grpt
Date Posted: Jul 27 2009 at 10:52am

Hi Carole- Just wondering were you involved in some type of accident which resulted in your current condition? Surgery should definitely be a last option. Once you get the MRI results your MD should know more as far as the next step ie, seeing an orthopedic surgeon. If your injury is not too bad, PT can help with your condition with helping your disc bulge to reduce, managing pain, increasing range of motion and strength, improving function, etc.

Posted By: Carole
Date Posted: Jul 27 2009 at 11:12am

Thanks grpt for responding. No, this didn't come from an accident. It's something that started about 6 yrs ago, and this has been the most severe flare up. 6 yrs ago I pinched a nerve in my upper back out of nowhere, doing the most random, innocuous thing--I was sitting on the edge of my couch one morning, and I simply stretched! I raised both arms over my head and did a typical morning stretch and a yawn and POW! Like a lightening bolt in my upper right back, a sharp pain knocked to my knees out of nowhere. I broke out into a sweat, saw stars, and felt extremely nauseous. I couldn't straighten up again without terrible pain. Went right to a chiropractor who diagnosed it as a pinched nerve, did some adjustments, and within a few days it subsided and went away. I had no prior history of back problems beofre then, but since then I'll have a flare up about once or twice a year. It comes on gradually, and I always know what it is. Sometimes it's not so bad, and I can manage. Other times I've had to take a day off from work to rest, but it still always subsided. This time it just escalated to unbelievable agony with numbness/pain/tingles/swelling in my right arm, which brought me to this point--facing surgery. Just not sure what to do. Thanks for the advice.