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Herniated Disc C6-C7

A herniated disc C6-C7 is one of the most common locations for a cervical herniated disc to occur. This intervertebral level lies at the base of the neck and is an area of significant disc degeneration in most people by the age of 30. C6/C7 herniations are one of the most common diagnostic scapegoats for upper back, neck and arm symptoms, but can actually be responsible for causing pain, tingling, numbness or weakness in some unfortunate patients.

What is a Herniated Disc C6-C7?

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C6/C7 bears the brunt of the wear and tear from neck movement and athletic strain. The head is a large and heavy object on a rather thin pole of vertebral bones and thin spinal discs. As the head moves about voluntarily and involuntarily due to accidents or trauma, the forces which act upon C6/C7 can be extreme. Degenerative disc disease at this level is normal and expected and not generally the source of any severe or lasting pain or neurological symptoms. However, disc degeneration in the neck is certainly is one of the main causes of cervical herniated discs.

Herniated Disc C6-C7 Facts

Along with C5/C6, this level is the most commonly implicated in a variety of pain syndromes and some often illogical neurological symptomatic expressions. C6/C7 is a small and delicate intervertebral level which is virtually guaranteed to look beat up on x-ray and MRI films, especially as a patient ages. The region is prone to not only disc herniations, but also a loss of normal spinal curvature (loss of lordotic curvature) and a build up of osteophyte material enacted by the osteoarthritic processes. However, even with its predisposition to all these common diagnostic scapegoats, pain in the neck, arms and upper back is blamed on herniated discs at C6/C7 far more often than it ever truly occurs.

Herniated Disc C6-C7 Advice

I was shocked to see my own horrific looking herniation at this level just recently. My C6/C7 is pressing deeply into the actual spinal cord, creating a disturbing image on the diagnostic film. The effect was the typical nocebo and enacted symptoms in me that I never had prior to discovery. Luckily, I understand this process and used knowledge therapy to regain control of my body and my life long before any real symptomology could be established. Actual structural concerns at C6/C7 do exist and may even be the real source of symptoms in some patients. However, if your pain has resisted a variety of seemingly appropriate treatments, I can say without much doubt that the diagnosis is likely to be wrong and the herniated disc is NOT the actual reason for the pain, but merely a coincidental imaging finding.

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Herniated Disc C6-C7 to Herniated Disc
2/23/10 Revised 7/18/11

THIS ARTICLE BY:
Sensei Adam Rostocki

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