Hey Barbell Medicine crew!
First of all, I would like to congratulate the barbell medicine crew for the excellent work you have been doing, myself being an avid consumer of all of your content.
So, and topic related…
I’m a 32 year old male who has been lifting for the past 17 years. I started with bodybuilding, then I transitioned to powerlifting and nowadays I just train for strength (since I don’t compete in powerlifing anymore). Sports related, I also practiced bjj for 6 years, until the past 2 years.
All was going well until the last late december when I, 72h post workout, started to feel a sharp pain between my left shoulder blade and spine. The pain irradiated to my left shoulder and left arm, and my left index and thumb fingers became numb. My left arm was really week and activities such as eating were difficult. I couldn’t sit down for too long, since a spot between my shoulder blade and spine started aching.
After three days without proper sleep due to pain, and no working out at all, I went to a chiropractor who, after 3 or 4 days, eliminated the pain I had in my back, but the numbness in my fingers subsisted for some days.
Sports related, I couldn’t do a single pushup – I used to do 40/50 pushups in a row – or a single chin/pullup – I used to do 20 in a row.
When feeling comfortable to start lifting again, the (low) back squat is the only movement which didn’t take a toll, because when benching, a few days after the “injury” I couldn’t lift the bar (I was doing 4 reps at 8 rpe with 120 kg). And the deadlift, well, the last workout before the “injury” I lifted 4 reps at 8 rpe with 185 kgs, and then, a few days after the “injury”, 60 kgs was way too heavy. When trying to chin/pull up, my body started to oscillate to the right (uninjured) side. The press also took a toll.
During the next weeks I would only squat (the only movement unharmed), do pushups (they were more comfortable than the bench) and body weight rows, progressing these movements adding reps.
Nowadays, I have some atrophy and soreness in my left peck, left lat, left biceps and triceps, and my left hand grip also took a toll. It seems that I can’t properly use those muscles when lifting. I have been doing chins again (I can do 4 or 5 without oscillating to the strong side to much), deadlifting, benching and pressing, trying to progressively add weight. The weight when deadlifting, benching and pressing is really low (50-60 % lower than what I did) but what will I do, not train? 
Clinically speaking, I did an MRI with the following findings (translated from portuguese, sorry):
(…) regular alignment of the posterior body walls is identified, indicating an outline of inversion of the physiological curvature of the cervical rachis in the study position. In C4-C5 there is a left paramedian disc edging, obliterating the pre-medullary subarachnoid space, without insurance root compromise. In C6-C7, there is a postero-median and paramedian disk-osteophyte border, obliterating the premedular subarachnoid space with admitting contact with the left C7 radicell, with possible space conflict. The permeability of the remaining intervertebral foramina is preserved. Normal evolution of the MRI signal of the spinal cord parenchyma. Conclusion: Discrete degenerative changes, pointing a left postero-median and paramedian disk-osteophyte border at C6-C7, not being possible to exclude space conflict with the left C7 radicell - to be clinically valued.
Well, I’ve been trying to climb my way back to where I was, regarding to lifting, but is there any recommendations or any moves I should be avoiding/doing? Is there any straightforward correlation between those symptoms and what’s described on the MRI?
Keep up the good work, and thanks in advance.