Neck MRI results

[snapdragen]

I've had a couple of EMGs, not horribly painful. Glad to hear about the neurosurgeon visit, no surgery is good. Mine called my MRI "impressive", I found out later that was not a good thing.

[Catrin]

I've had a couple of EMGs, not horribly painful. Glad to hear about the neurosurgeon visit, no surgery is good. Mine called my MRI "impressive", I found out later that was not a good thing.

Yes, I don't think we WANT to hear a surgeon say that word :-) Interestingly enough, my KB coach AND chiropractor both have been telling me they thought it likely to not actual be my neck that is really causing the problems - and my coach really thought it related to nerve problems in/around my right shoulder. We will see how close he is. The interesting thing about today is the neurosurgeon really didn't seem to want to hear about symptoms - though I guess a neurosurgeon really isn't actually treating symptoms but a specific pathology. Not the same thing.

[snapdragen]

Neurosurgeons are interesting, they have all these little magic tricks. I remember thinking all the stuff he did showed nothing, then I read his report. Dang, I didn't even walk right! My gait was all messed up.

[Catrin]

Neurosurgeons are interesting, they have all these little magic tricks. I remember thinking all the stuff he did showed nothing, then I read his report. Dang, I didn't even walk right! My gait was all messed up.

We are going to speak again early next month after the EMG, we will see what he says then. He did see many of the same things as the MRI report said, just not the stenosis or nerve root compression. You do have to wonder how two people saw such different things - but he IS the specialist... Hopefully the EMG will tell us what is going on.

[Catrin]

Waiting to hear about EMG and next neuro consult. Meanwhile I've strained both bicep and deltoid on that side...it gets frustrating. I just want to be active!

[Pax]

Waiting to hear about EMG and next neuro consult. Meanwhile I've strained both bicep and deltoid on that side...it gets frustrating. I just want to be active!

It really does get frustrating, doesn't it. We want to be fit and active, but it seems everything we do aggravates something!

We are getting ready to buy kayaks again since the only part of me that seems to work well is from the waist up... truly hoping I don't strain anything up there.

[OakLeaf]

Catrin ... hang in there. Pax, hope the wind settles down soon - not very conducive to paddling right now! I got my face exfoliated by blowing sand, on the bridge today.

[Pax]

Catrin ... hang in there. Pax, hope the wind settles down soon - not very conducive to paddling right now! I got my face exfoliated by blowing sand, on the bridge today.

I'm surprised you didn't blow away, it's nuts out there!

[Catrin]

My umbrella broke from the wind on the walk to the office this morning.

[Crankin]

We've had the icy rain, now warm rain in the past 24 hours. It's foggy and going up to 55 degrees. We will be getting the wind later tomorrow and Friday.
Catrin, how did you strain the bicep and deltoid?

[Catrin]

Slushy snow tonight, ugh!

The strain is in the bicep, he said the deltoid/rotator cuff is quite tight. I keep tweaking that shoulder and I'm starting to suspect that my shoulder will be the real root of the problem, with something causing intermittent nerve impingement. The EMG came back normal (no definite signs of cervical radiculopathy or entrapment), which is GREAT! This means no permanent damage. All that numbness has to be coming from somewhere, so hopefully it was a good test and he knew what he was doing. I've read, and have been told, that the EMG test is as much an art as a science as it really matters who does the test and interprets the results as well.

I would much prefer a shoulder root to the problem rather than my jacked neck Did I say the neurosurgeon saw NO sign of the "moderate to severe stenosis with nerve root compression" that the person did who originally read my MRI and only saw arthritis and a couple (mild) bulging discs? While I'm thankful, it's hard to see how one person sees "moderate to severe" stenosis and the second person sees none at all I'm going with the more optimistic of the two :-)

[OakLeaf]

Glad the delt and rotators are okay anyway ...

Yep, it's not surprising to me that indistinct two-dimensional images of a lot of complex structures don't necessarily get interpreted the same way. The surgeon probably took more factors into account than the radiologist did, too. Reading imaging is an art as much as the EMG is.

What's mind-boggling to me is how they're still discovering major body structures, like the anterolateral knee ligament, and last week's announcement of the fifth muscle in what we know as the quadriceps. Medical and nursing students have been physically dissecting cadavers for centuries, and surgeons and nurses have been physically cutting into, viewing and manipulating these structures, and yet they only saw what Grey's Anatomy taught them to see.


Stay warm!!

[Catrin]

I think there is something in the shoulder that is referring/making it easy to strain that bicep. I literally did NO work with the kettlebells for 2 days before the strained bicep let me know in no uncertain terms that it wasn't happy. Oh well, hopefully we will figure it out before I reach my out-of-pocket max for the year! I am done ignoring things, that hasn't served me well in recent years.

Good point Oakleaf, they are still learning things - which is pretty amazing to consider this includes new muscles! I can see smaller things, but like you, it's mind-boggling. It's also true the radiologist is going to say anything that MIGHT be wrong and allow the specialist to fine-tune the results. I'm sure radiologists are subject to malpractice litigation as much as any medical professional is.

[OakLeaf]

I hesitate to describe anything as cause and effect, since it's all interrelated, but I wonder if your pec minor might be involved in your bicep issues. Mine definitely is. It's a troublesome muscle for a lot of people, and both the pec minor and the short head of the bicep attach to the coracoid.

[Blueberry]

Medical and nursing students have been physically dissecting cadavers for centuries, and surgeons and nurses have been physically cutting into, viewing and manipulating these structures, and yet they only saw what Grey's Anatomy taught them to see.

Medical schools are cutting dissection time. We have 9 to a cadaver now, and we learn much of the structure from pre-dissected cadaver demonstrations. When we do dissect, it's very guided - cut here, find this. Not look for that other thing. Not that structures shouldn't have been found sooner - but dissection is a bit of an inexact science (as is surgery - believe me that surgeons don't go looking for extra things - nor does anyone want them to) and we just don't have the opportunity to explore at all with the curricular changes. It's sort of sad to me. I find dissection hard - physically and emotionally. The cadavers are an amazing gift, and I would love to be able to learn as much as I possibly can from them.

/end off topic discussion