Tag: Herniated Disc

Taking the conservative route

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!

Move over, Graves’

2025-11-25

Ah, the curse of getting older (and maybe being too active?). I’m going to be on the shelf and may need to stay there for an extended timeline. I’ve had some upper back/neck pain, on and off, for the last couple of weeks. It wasn’t stopping me from playing pickleball or any other activity. After all, what’s a ‘little’ ache and pain considering how many hours I spend per week on the courts? But then I hurt my right foot so took the last week off.

Well, during that time off, the pain in the neck returned, and shortly after that, I started experiencing some numbness in my right hand. Anyone who’s seen me these last couple of days might have known about the pain. I don’t generally complain about pain but I’ll just say that I haven’t been this uncomfortable since having a kidney stone.

Actually, it’s worse. That one, I was able to ‘turn the pain off’ once I recognized what it was from. This one is more insidious. Laying down, sitting at a desk, working the keyboard and mouse, whatever the activity, I cannot get into a comfortable position so it’s constantly reminding me it’s there, needling me.

I got some guidance from a good friend, who has knowledge in this area, and he recommended I go for an MRI and X-ray. Well, he was pretty spot on with my issue: I have a herniated disc with arthritis in my neck and that’s intruding on the nerve. Working on getting doctor appointments setup and will be reviewing my options for a treatment plan.

This is just a pause – I’ll be back! (Get it?)