Expert: Robert A. Arnone, DC - 3/23/2010

Question
Hi,

Thanks in advance for readin this question.

About a year back, I was stretching my neck forward and to the right and caused some sort of damage. Incredibly sharp pain in my neck (where it meets the traps), neck locked in spasm for a week,  and numbness and tingling in my left arm. I got an MRI and the results were "questionable small left c5-c6 foraminal disc herniation with mild associated foraminal stenosis. Mild disc bulging c5-c6". I can tell you there is nothing mild about the pain. I also have terrible (from what I understand) referral pains into my left perispinal, right in my mid back.

I went to a neck and spine center, did physical therapy and it eventually went away. Jump forward to about 3 months ago, im doing a set of pull-ups and I slightly reinjure the area again. I have mild pain but about one month later, I get this super sharp pain when I wake up and, just like a year ago, my whole neck goes into spasms and I cant move. Literally.
It takes about a week for it to "unsieze" and now here I am, two months later and I can move my neck, but I am in constant pain. I am TERRIFIED as it "feels" like it may spasm at any moment. Also, the tension from the fear and, the constant "protecting" that I am doing is causing all sorts of knots and muscle problems in the area.

So, Im now at a reputable Physical Therpay center in NYC and although i am improving, its been over 3 months now, and Im scared im never going to get rid of this. Even the slightest quick movement now can cause me major problmes.
So, my question is: my PT is doing manipulation and craniosacral? work on me, another person is doing massage and some Graston and then, I finish with pilotes.
Is this enough? I seem to be healing at a much slower pace than ever before and I dont appear to even have a major herniation.

I was thinking about getting a home traction unit. Do you think that might help me? I know this is a ridiculous question, but will I ever have as strong of a neck as I used to, again?

Any insight and/or advice is greatly appreciated. I am willing to whatever it takes and, as much work as I need to, to solve this. I am 35 and I want my life back!

Thanks so much!

Answer
Avi,
The major problem that you have is that NOTHING you are doing is correcting your problem and therefore you will get worse.  Just like nothing corrected it when it happened a year ago (maybe the pain subsided but the problem was there all along), and nothing is being done right now to correct it so you would expect trouble to be there.  And not just that, but when this gets bad enough then they send you for surgery, which not only does not help you either but leaves you even worse off.  We see this all of the time and we have a phenomenal track record in handling such cases.  The difference between our clinic and any other is that we are a Cervical Spine Specialty Clinic that locates and corrects the cause of your ill health concerns so that you have the opportunity to get well.
You do not need to do more than what you are doing right now, you actually need less, much less.  But the key is that you need the right thing done.
If you are truly serious about this then you would need to make arrangements to come out to St Louis for 2 weeks so that we could get started on helping you to get your LIFE back.  
You do not need harmful drugs or surgery, just the obstruction to healing corrected so that you can get well.

Yours in Best Health,

Dr Robert Arnone
Upper Cervical Specific Doctor
"Brainstem Specialist"
St Louis, MO
314.995.5719