Can anyone tell if these are early symptoms of a cervical disc issue?
Lately, when I wake up in the morning, my left shoulder and arm feel numb. When I tilt my head back, I also get a tingling sensation in my neck.
At first I thought it was my posture, but it's been going on for two weeks now. I'm wondering if it's serious enough that I should see a doctor, or if I can just manage it with stretching. For reference, I sit for 10 hours a day.
8 answers
If it's been two weeks, just go;; I ignored it and three months later I couldn't lift my arm at all. If you just get physical therapy early on, you'll recover quickly.
Your symptoms are exactly like mine. I had a tingling sensation when tilting my neck back plus numbness in my left arm, and eventually got an early diagnosis of a C5-6 disc issue. If you sit for 10 hours a day, it gets worse. Raise your monitor height first, and stand up every hour.
Relying on stretching to get by is something to discuss only after you've been diagnosed. If you do just any stretch without knowing the cause, it can actually make things worse.
Just go to an orthopedic clinic and ask about getting an X-ray and MRI. In my case, the X-ray alone didn’t show the disc, so I got an MRI.
Well, if it's at that level, it's probably mostly a posture issue... Two weeks is common, and stretching alone can likely improve it. Even if you go to the hospital, there's a high chance they won't find much.
If it only tingles when you wake up in the morning, it could be a sleep posture issue. Check your pillow height. I switched to a lower pillow and it got a bit better.
So true lol. I also ignored the morning numbness and regretted it later.
Sitting for 10 hours seems to be the biggest problem. Rather than stretching, getting up and walking every 30 minutes is much more important. I set a timer and stood up, and within a month, the numbness almost disappeared.