Question: I was having neck pain and tingling in my shoulder and upper arm. I went to a chiropractor who did x-rays and said my neck was curved in the wrong direction and that I needed a series of adjustments to try to fix the problem. During my first adjustment when he 'cracked' my neck I got severe pain that traveled down my entire left arm. On the second adjustment the same manipulation caused severe pain down both arms. And on the 3rd adjustment there was such intense pain down my left arm that it felt like my nails were going to blow off my fingers. It actually caused me to get off the table and crouch on the floor for 2-3 minutes until the severe pain eased off. I believe these adjustments somehow actually injured a nerve causing the severe pain.

Needless to say I was done with chiropractic adjustments and have since gone to my doctor for an MRI of my neck and nerve studies of both my arms. I will be meeting with the doctor tomorrow for his assessment of the results but I wondered if you could comment on the severe pain I encountered and whether you think there has been any permanent damage to the nerve in my neck going to my left arm.

As well would you recommend a consultation with a neurologist or orthopedist.

Thank you for any help or advice.