What could cause pain in the neck and right shoulder?

Question

Hello doctor,

My cousin has mild neck pain and severe pain in the right shoulder. Other symptoms include numbness in the right thumb finger and dizziness or a reeling sensation while he goes to bed or wakes up suddenly.

He had visited an orthopedist, and they suggested for MRI scan. Please find the report and scans attached. I suggested consulting a chiropractor before starting any medicine as I recently had a good experience with chiropractic treatment. Can you please check the reports and tell if this problem can be cured with chiropractic therapy, or please suggest any treatment for further proceeding?

Please let me know if you need any more details.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understand your concern.

I have reviewed the attached reports (attachments removed to protect the patient's identity). Let me begin with the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). These are not diagnostic-quality images. Sorry, I am not able to make a diagnosis. But there is a disc bulge appearance present in the images. As you may know, having a disc bulge on MRI does not always correlate to symptoms or severity and should always be confirmed clinically. I believe a trial of care is an appropriate first step before moving on to other forms of treatment.

I would never tell a patient they would be cured of something like this, especially after viewing the images. However, it is entirely possible that he could see symptom relief. If he were my patient, I would perform a chiropractic examination and would most likely recommend chiropractic adjustments and exercises.

I recommend consulting a local chiropractor for treatment and proper care.

Thank you.