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shaking, jerking and the spine
Hi,
I have had neck/back pain since a young child. I am 31 now. I had whiplash from being startled by a spider in June. I started doing Yoga which helped until Sept. when I started having severe muscle cramps in my legs and feet. My hand began to "wobble" back and forth when I would set down a drink etc. Since, my muscles jerk, including the ones in my neck, making my head jerk. The tremor then began in my other hand, mostly in one finger. My arms started hurting like I hit my funny bone and now I am having cramping in my hand. My thyroid, potassium etc was checked. I had an MRI of my head and one of my neck. The cervical mri showed a hernated disc pressing into the spinal cord. I was sent to physical therapy for a month, I am halfway through and feel worse than before, I now am having cramping in my neck and back. Do you think the disc could be causing the shaking and jerking? Since to me it seems to be progressing, would you recommend I get an opinion from a back specialist, I am currently seeing a neurologist. I am a student scheduled to start classes in two weeks and am wondering if I will have to have surgery, I am thinking I should drop my classes, especially since I am in this much pain. I don't see the doctor until too late to ask him but am wondering what you forsee medically likely to happen in the near future.
Thank You
Jennifer
Answer:
shaking, jerking and the spine
Hi Jennifer,
Its really difficult to make any kind of prognosis without seeing you directly. If it helps you to decide, I'm a full time student and I also have chronic pain problems, so going to school can be done, but it can be difficult at times, too. It takes a lot of flexibility and patience to figure out how you can best manage. Herniated discs can be very painful and problematic, so I suppose they could account for your symptoms, but I'm no expert on the matter. You may want to consider seeing a neurosurgeon who specializes in treating spine problems. The decision to have surgery or not is a big one that you need to make with the help of your doctor. Conservative therapy is usually the first step, as you're doing now with your physical therapy, and surgery such as a fusion is usually considered if the conservative therapy fails. I would recommend talking to your doctor to discuss whether he thinks surgery is right for you. Good luck and keep us posted!
Answer:
shaking, jerking and the spine
Doctor Sinuhe has answered your question here: