[Maria]

I don't know when your last MRI was indicating a tear or bulge however I still think being the cervical spine I'd want to get it checked out more thoroughly at least in terms of diagnosis.

I am sure the chiropractor is being very careful with the cervical spine and not doing anything too aggressive. Is this who ordered your last MRI? While I personally do not and have not seen a chiropractor I know plenty of people that do that have cervical as well as lumbar probs. I'm just prefer to err on the side caution when it comes to manipulating my neck though I will have gentle stretching done sometimes by an Osteopathic doctor but even that I've not had done in about 5 years at least.

I too have a small disc bulge (or it was small) around C5/6. I cannot really do any exercises that involve using my arms at shoulder height or above without exacerbating pain and bringing on a flare up. Even without any weight just the range of motion repetitively above my head is problematic for me.

It sounds like you have some osteoarthritic changes in terms of stiffness upon waking and then loosening up after a few hours and being pain free (as well as other stuff like the bulge). That's an off the cuff remark so don't take it as a diagnosis ... just sounds possible and even probable esp. with the amount of time from your original injury.

If I had to recommend a neurosurgeon or a neurologist I'd say neurosurgeon although if you are uninsured and don't have $ for an MRI I'm not sure what to say because they're not exactly cheap. I guess the consultation at least would be worthwhile but I would also hope that whomever you'd see would make your consultation worth the $ that you have to pay for it if paying cash. I would go well armed with your list of questions esp. if you're paying cash and want to get the most information for your $.

Do you sleep with a cervical pillow of any kind? I wonder too if something like that might help facilitate less stiffness in a.m.'s or have you tried putting heat on your neck in the a.m. or anything else to loosen up the tight musculature in the a.m.?