How do steroid injections help treat bulging disc?
Patient: My arms & hands have been going numb so my PCP ordered a CT Cervical Spine w/Contrast. Results are At C5-6, mild to moderate cervical spondylotic disc bulging results in mild central canal stenosis and mild to moderate bilateral neuroforaminal narrowing. At C6-7, mild to moderate spondylotic disc bulging and a left paracentral and foraminal disc protrusion. There is remodeling of the left paramedian cord but without overt impingement. Moderate left-sided neuroforaminal narrowing. My PCP is wanting to send me to a pain clinic for injections. How will injections help a bulging disc? What else can be done besides surgery? Doctor: Hi,  My assumption is that you're complaining of pain symptoms that your primary doesn't feel he can effectively treat... or you're not responding to the treatment he feels comfortable giving and that's why he's sending you for injections.    Personally, I wouldn't go that route as a neurologist because I know there are other things that can still be tried before going to a pain clinic.....if pain is even an issue (which you've not really presented thus far that it is....).  I would consider sending you for an EMG/NCV study to more precisely to identify which of those cervical lesions are really the important ones.   Just because you see it doesn't mean it's relevant to your symptoms.  You may also have something called thoracic outlet syndrome and not cervical radiculopathy although imaging is compelling for at least some degree of cervical pathology causing or majorly contributing to your symptoms.    Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.  Regards, Dr. Dariush Saghafi, Neurologist