I covered some of this in a PM I sent you earlier. Check it out and PM back when you have time.....Paul

There are post about nuro or ortho surgeons on this board and I think if you get one that does a lot of work in what you are dealing with and they are good either is fine.

Is it a nuro surgeon or a nuroligist you are being refered to? If it's a nurolisist I think they just do tests to see if you have any damage to your nerves I don't think they do anything to fix the problem. One thing is you will need an MRI no matter who you see, an x-ray does not mean much they will have to look at your soft tissue (disks)to see where the nerves are getting pressure on them.

Take care and good luck.

I saw two different orthopedics before I was referred to a neurosurgeon. Orthopedics took X-rays (essentially useless) but correctly diagnosed my various problems. I had (have) severe leg pain with no back pain. I was told my leg pain could be caused by any of the three problems or by a combination of them. Arthritis in hip, bulging disc and lumbar stenosis L-4 & L-5. Neurosurgeon concurred, had me try all kinds of alternative therapies, none of which made a dent in the pain. Finally had X-Stop surgery 6 weeks ago yesterday, also with no results. Am now preparing for laminectomy in a few weeks. I have a friend in another state who has just recently started having similar symptoms (mine started years ago and have progressed to a point where there's little quality of life) and she was sent by her GP to a neurologist first. The neurologist ordered some tests (not the right ones) and then sent her on to a neurosurgeon who has now ordered other tests. I have no personal experience with a neurologist but it seems to me the neurologist is more or less a middle man. The orthopedic is the doc you see when you've got no idea what's ailing you. If you already know what's going on and what direction you're heading in, I'd get the GP to refer you to the neurosurgeon. Save yourself a lot of time, money, and headaches. I fiddled around an additional 2 years with intermediary doctors before I wound up with the neurosurgeon who is actually doing something. My opinion of the orthopedics is that they are more for sports injuries and pulled muscles. You need the super duper specialist for working with your nerves and spinal cord, etc. Good luck!

I got long-winded and forgot to address your question about nerve tests. At some point after I started seeing the neurosurgeon, he sent me to a pain management specialist who did something he called a nerve conduction study. My friend in another state recently had a similar test but it was called something else--three letters (like an EKG) but I don't remember what the three letters were. The study I had took about 30 minutes and was painless. The doctor and I talked about the local school system the entire time he was doing it and I was surprised to find it was over as quickly as it was, and without pain. I believe the purpose of this test is to see if your nerves (in my case, in my legs) are functioning properly and to compare the left leg to the right leg (since I only have pain in one leg.) It's apparently a necessary part of the process of accurate diagnosis.

Neuro in my experience was MUCH better.... Ortho didn't do anything but look at x rays and send me home with crappy muscle relaxers and kept prescribing them for a couple years. Neuro sent me for a contrast MRI, and flexion/extension x rays.... And also referred me for Aquatic PT, started me on a med for nerve pain, and gives me pain meds without interrogating or judging me. And, the best part is, she's a woman Neurosurgeon Love her!

My ortho is a spine specialist. He has sent me for MRI's many times. If your problems originate from the spine then a neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon are fine as long as they are a spine specialist. A Neurologist deals with the nerves and brain but like another poster said can't really do anything about it if you have a structural problem like a herniated disc pressing on the nerve or something. Also a xray does not show that. A MRI is a must. You can get copies of the MRI when you have it done and bring them to any doctor. So if this Neurologist has you go for an MRI that's good then you'll have the test done and if they find something wrong you can be referred to another doctor that can do something about it.