2025-12-08
Finally saw my neurologist regarding herniated discs, and most notably, what to do about the nerve impingement at C5-6 that’s at the root of my numb/tingly finger on my right hand.
We talked about the varying treatment options and evaluated what makes the most sense. At the extreme end of the spectrum would be surgery and whether that means disc replacement or fusion. Fusion would be really bad as it means that I would have limited range of motion around my neck. Disc replacement is complicated and made more complicated by my age and the arthritis that is present. For now, this is a hard pass.
Next level down are some kind of steroidal injection to manage the pain and inflammation. Luckily, after about a week of really severe pain, that has largely subsided through rest. There is still some inflammation, which is why the numbness is still present but it’s less than it was, and maybe it’s closer to being tingly at the fingertip all the time. Regardless, seeing that my condition is improving, I’m taking a pass on this, too.
That leaves 2 more options to consider: physical therapy and chiropractic care/massage therapy. As I am pretty stubborn about resolving things on my own, I am opting to treat my injury with physical therapy for the next several weeks. I can still fall back to seeing a chiropractor or massage therapist if we find that pt is really not working, with some caveats: manipulating my neck with my condition is not without its own risks. So pt it is.
So right now, I’m working on getting scheduled for pt. That requires a pt doctor to interview me and also getting insurance approval. It’s probably going to be a week before all that is settled so the waiting game continues.
The upside, I’ve been given a provisional ok to start occasional play but definitely not at my 2 to 3 times a day for 5 or 6 days like I have been before all this started. See you on the courts and golf course again soon! Let’s Go!
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