Advice for neck and shoulder pain with radicular symptoms

[sarahmareacarr]

A friend has been experiencing chronic neck and shoulder pain for over 10 years. Sometimes her symptoms manifest as numbness/tingling in her arm.
A doctor recently ordered an MRI and on the basis of finding a disc bulge at C5/C6 recommended an epidural steroid injection.
I very recently completed the BBM Low Back Pain course (which was revelatory) and so am aware of the recommendation not to use MRI as a diagnostic and that structural changes are not necessarily the source of pain, but I have a couple of questions for any of the doctors here or people who have experienced similar experiences:

1. Given the fact that she has had these symptoms for over a decade, and that so far no modality has improved them (she has tried physiotherapy, strength training, adjusting sleep position) what should be her next step?
2. Would anyone be able to recommend a medical practitioner who would be able to take a more holistic approach to her pain in the Washington DC area/even online? She is a very anxious, stressed person who is on antidepressants and in therapy (for other reasons not her neck pain). While I hate to play doctor, I can’t help think that that contributes.

Thanks for any help.

[Michael_Ray]

@sarahmareacarr

A friend has been experiencing chronic neck and shoulder pain for over 10 years. Sometimes her symptoms manifest as numbness/tingling in her arm.
A doctor recently ordered an MRI and on the basis of finding a disc bulge at C5/C6 recommended an epidural steroid injection.
I very recently completed the BBM Low Back Pain course (which was revelatory) and so am aware of the recommendation not to use MRI as a diagnostic and that structural changes are not necessarily the source of pain, but I have a couple of questions for any of the doctors here or people who have experienced similar experiences:

1. Given the fact that she has had these symptoms for over a decade, and that so far no modality has improved them (she has tried physiotherapy, strength training, adjusting sleep position) what should be her next step?
2. Would anyone be able to recommend a medical practitioner who would be able to take a more holistic approach to her pain in the Washington DC area/even online? She is a very anxious, stressed person who is on antidepressants and in therapy (for other reasons not her neck pain). While I hate to play doctor, I can’t help think that that contributes.

Thanks for any help.

Hey @sarahmareacarr - thanks for the questions. Glad to hear our LBP course was helpful!

In regards to your friend’s case, we’d really need a consultation with her to talk through her experience as well as prior clinician provided narratives / imaging findings. With that said, typically we can see improvement in symptoms and function in these cases once we start working with the person. When I hear a person has tried physiotherapy, unfortunately, this doesn’t tell us much as those umbrella terms can mean a wide array of different things. I can say an MRI finding of a cervical disc bulge isn’t overly concerning but i need to speak with the individual to see how those findings fit with their symptomatic experience.

We do offer remote consultations via Barbell Medicine. She needs to complete our intake paperwork HERE. Additionally, if she doesn’t mind driving and prefers an in-person consultation, I’m actually about 2 - 2.5 hours west of DC, depending on traffic. My clinic, Shenandoah Valley Performance Clinic, is located in Harrisonburg. If she rather see someone in-person and much closer to her current location then I highly recommend she speaks with Jason Eure.