Pinched Nerve At C5, Seeking Wisdom

[seeh2o]

Can anyone tell me about their experience with a C5 cervical neck injury in a greyhound? Carl has a pinched nerve at C5. He's on Tramadol, arnica and warm damp compresses, had a chiropractic treatment this evening. Vet said it IS NOT OSTEO!!!!! I'm interested in what I can do in terms of helping him rehab and build rebuild muscle strength in the area. He weighs about his normal racing weight, 71 - 72lbs. Eats raw, still looks ripped. Injury happened Sunday night. Thanks in advance.

 

ETA: pain radiates on right side up to neck, down front right leg. Lots of improvement since Mon night Ties morning. He is able to raise head, finally, and walk much easier.

Edited November 14, 2013 by seeh2o

[tbhounds]

Rest, rest and rest. I find robaxin a great benefit along with Tramadol and a NSAID. Warm compresses help too. Sorry, not a fan of chiro in this case. I would only use a harness from now on--sadly ivdd is not an uncommon problem with our retired hounds.

[krissn333]

Rest, DEFINITELY Robaxin in addition to the tramadol and NSAID.

 

ACUPUNCTURE.

 

Harness for walking.

 

Massage. Definitely acupuncture. Cannot say ENOUGH about how much massage and acupuncture did for my old girls when they had issues of this type.

[seeh2o]

Thanks, fortunately it's not a debilitating injury and I want to keep it that way, hence the post. I never use collars for this very reason. Vet gave me Robaxin and Tramadol, though it's not bad enough to use the Robaxin she gave it to me as a precaution. I've been doing warm damp compresses, but didn't know the exact location, so I wasn't doing a lot of good with it along the back of his neck and top of his spine (it's on the right side). I'm not letting him up on my bed (scene of the crime) or on the couch either.

 

I keep being told cold laser, I'll ask the vet about it if it's not better by next week as I know she has one. I guess she didn't feel it was bad enough to use it tonight.

[3DogNite]

Some good essential oils: copiba, wintergreen,

Valor. From young living oils. Directly on site. One drop each/3times day. Lightly massage in.

[seeh2o]

Some good essential oils: copiba, wintergreen,

Valor. From young living oils. Directly on site. One drop each/3times day. Lightly massage in.

 

Thanks, I was wondering if there were any oils that might help. My vet is homeopathic, but didn't mention those. I'll have to hit the store tomorrow!

[GeorgeofNE]

That's a pretty precise diagnosis--

 

Any neurologist will tell you there really isn't much you can do for a pinched nerve except wait for it to unpinch.

 

Oils and herbs? Wouldn't it be nice if that actually worked!

[tbhounds]

I did want to question how the clinican ruled out any other pathology over a disc issue--radiographs?? Radiographs are only partially helpful when looking at the spine. Rads should always be performed prior to any chiro adjustment.

[duncan41]

I-therm and an herb combination called "Cervical Support". My Dalton was just treated for the same thing a week ago, was pain free within 3 days and did a full body shake after 5 days. Acupuncture can help, too.

[seeh2o]

I-therm and an herb combination called "Cervical Support". My Dalton was just treated for the same thing a week ago, was pain free within 3 days and did a full body shake after 5 days. Acupuncture can help, too.

 

Carl did two full down stretches this morning and a full body shake and his injury happened Sunday night/Monday morning. I take that as a very very good sign! I googled "Cervical Support", but can't find anything pertinent (only supplements for female gyn issues and pillows for...cervical support). Would you please post a link to it?

 

How it happened: he was on my bed, had his head burrowed into my side, I was sound asleep and must have moved, he jerked his head away and squeaked in pain, which woke me up. He was laying there with his head up looking at me like, "what just happened?" He was in sort of an awkward position, too, so that must have played into it. That morning as I was getting ready for work I noticed that he was rather muted, came home and it was worse. It was an injury caused while sleeping in bed with me.

Oils and herbs? Wouldn't it be nice if that actually worked!

 

Bless your heart, Susan, thanks so much for not letting me down. If nothing else, you are extremely consistant.

Edited November 15, 2013 by seeh2o

[Newgreymom]

 

 

Oils and herbs? Wouldn't it be nice if that actually worked!

 

Obviously, a person who knows absolutely nothing regarding Eastern Medicine...

[Batmom]

 

Oils and herbs? Wouldn't it be nice if that actually worked!

 

Obviously, a person who knows absolutely nothing regarding Eastern Medicine...

 

But maybe she knows something about science-based medicine .

[seeh2o]

My vet knows about both science based medicine and homeopathic medicine and I honestly wouldn't change that for anything.

 

FYI, I came home tonight, Carl had no tramadol on board and he was moving as if nothing ever happened. In fact, as I Swype this on my phone he jumped up on the bed behind me (faster than I could say no) and looked over my shoulder as if to to offer his agreement.

 

Please, at the very least, be respectful of others differing opinions.

Edited November 15, 2013 by seeh2o

[o_rooly]

Glad to hear that he's coming along well. Pinched nerves SUCK.

[Burpdog]

Acupuncture & chiropractic. You are already seeing results. The only thing western meds do is treat symptoms. Doesn't fix the problem.

[tbhounds]

Acupuncture & chiropractic. You are already seeing results. The only thing western meds do is treat symptoms. Doesn't fix the problem.

With all do respect--muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs most certainly play a great roll in treating the underlying condition as do pain medications. There have been some wondeful documented studies lately showing how much more quickly patients recover from surgeries and injuries when their pain has been managed. I'm not saying chiro and acupuncture are not to be tried but, I do have a problem when chiro is used prior to rads being taken.

[Batmom]

The other things that are well-known for effectively treating muscle strains and back injuries are plain old rest and time.

 

The problem with acupuncture, chiropractic, essential oils, homeopathic preparations, and most heavily marketed herbals is that for the most part they not only haven't been shown to provide benefit, they've been definitively shown to NOT provide benefit and in some cases to provide harm.

 

A pinched nerve can't be diagnosed or distinguished from osteosarcoma, a herniated disk, or a simple strained muscle by looking or feeling. If there were a pinched nerve, chiropractic manipulation would be strongly contraindicated.

 

It is impossible to know in advance which modalities an individual believes in despite all evidence. Even if one did know in advance, it would be unfortunate if no one ever spoke out, particularly in cases where a proposed treatment would not help a suffering animal or had the potential to cause harm. These days many people tend to speak up -- and thank goodness they do -- if someone suggests an alpha roll as an effective method of training a dog, hydrogen peroxide for cleaning deep wounds, or amputation of a toe for biopsy to confirm SLO. Those things have been shown to be ineffective, potentially harmful, and sometimes costly. So too here.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Batmom

[seeh2o]

Carl update: He is moving and acting as if nothing had ever happened. I gave him Tramadol yesterday before I went to work, came home late and you would never know he'd had a problem earlier in the week. I'm trying to keep him quiet, but he managed to jump on the bed behind me when I was changing my shoes last night. This morning, same thing, head high, no limping, full long body stretches that look like play bows, full body shaking (in the good way). He is one very happy boy, the light is bright in his eyes, so he is feeling good!

 

Vet wants me to continue the arnica 2x a day for a week. I did find wintergreen essential oil at Whole Paychecks, but couldn't find the other oils there or at a health food store - weird!

These days many people tend to speak up -- and thank goodness they do -- if someone suggests an alpha roll as an effective method of training a dog, hydrogen peroxide for cleaning deep wounds, or amputation of a toe for biopsy to confirm SLO. Those things have been shown to be ineffective, potentially harmful, and sometimes costly. So too here.

 

Speaking up respectfully is one thing, being dismissive and snarky - not so much.