Slipped Disk?!
Question:
Slipped Disk?
Can a herniated disk cause both sciatica and pain in the shoulder?
Answers:
Yes although commonly one herniated disc does not cause pain in both sites at the same time. If they are both going on concurrently it is likely a couple of things could be going on.
It sounds like Jeffers herniated disc is not only compressing on the nerve root but also compressing the spinal cord which is uncommon. Spinal cord compression usually has other causative factors.
With a C spine herniation and spinal cord compression I would expect symptoms of pain in the shoulder and upper limb and lower down I would expect to see signs like loss of balance, inability to differentiate temperature or spasticity. Pain commonly feel like a tight band across the thigh.
You would not see sciatica type symptoms if the herniated disc was in the neck.
If the herniated disc was causing sciatica it would not give the symptoms of shoulder pain at the same time and it would not compress the spinal cord.