I had bilateral CTS surgery last year and kept having pain and numbness in my arms down to my hands. In the last month after working 8 hours I felt like my arms were going to fall off they hurt so bad. My hand Dr. kept saying he didn't know what was causing this pain as I shouldn't be having this much. pain. My family Dr. sent me to a Neurologist and he said I had Moderate CTS again and needed an MRI of my neck. The MRI showed Degenerating Disk Disease in the C-spine with mild bulging at C-3 to 4 and large bulging at C-4 to 5 and C-5 to 6 with the disk effacing the nerve root on the last two and also desiccation at the last two also. The back Dr. said I was in bad shape. He is trying me on an anti-imflamatory and muscle relaxer and home chin traction for two weeks. I had got to the point I am having a headache all the time especially on the right side that even my scalp hurts. Is that possible? I have been on the medication for a week and a half and the pain has increased especially on the right side. I still have trouble sleeping and can't sleep on my right side. I feel as though knives are sticking in my neck. From my middle finger to the pinkie is cold and numb. I can't get comfortable anyway I lay down, I can't sit for long. the right side of my face feels as though it is drawing or tingling. The Dr. said if I didn't improve he would set up a myelogram and compair it with the MRI and would have to probably do surgery and this involved fusion of C-3 to C-6 and he wasn't sure of the vertrebres in the T-spine. Have any of you had problems like this and caused these symptoms? What options do I have and what type of questions do I need to ask and how long do you think recovery would be and Would this do any good. I am getting worse and worse. I have put a call into the Dr. and his nurse said he would call me back Monday that she would have to let him discuss it with me and we would have to decide what to do? I already have 42% damage in my hands from the CTS what will this do to me? Please help what you can.
Sorry to hear about all that. Sounds like the problem may have began with the cervical problem, resulting in CTS. The reason for this is called "Double Crush Syndrome." What this means is that disruption or compression at a more proximal(close to body) sight, makes the nerve more susceptible at distal(further away from body) sights. Several of those areas that you are speaking of(nerve roots)make up the median nerve. Did you have a Nerve conduction study or SEP prior to hand surgery? That would have helped to differentiate. Also, if there was numbness over the thenar eminance, thumb part of the palm. The nerve that goes to this actually goes over the carpal tunnel, not through it, suggesting there is a problem before the carpal tunnel. This may be suggestive but is not 100%, but I would think there was a NCS prior to sugery, so not to say there can't be two or more things going on.
Pain in the head can result from muscle spasm and or hypertonicity. Muscles themselves can be pain generators but when it comes to the pain in the head, this could be a result of compression or irritation of the greater occipital nerve and or artery, in particular. See if you have point tenderness at the base of your skull, just below that little knob and there are also two just below and on each side. So this might help to explain where your pain is coming from, not to mention potential treatment, e.g. manual therapy.
As far as the potential for surgery, you may find it the best choice if your are experiencing an increase in neurological symptoms. Have you tried any manual therapies yet, PT, Chiropractic, Physiatry? Not for your hands, but your neck.
Prouzy, I had a NCV/EMG before bilateral CTS Release and it showed severe CTS in both hands and the only option according the the one that did the test and the Dr was surgery. The medium nerve was completely pinched off in both hands to the extent that I had lost all use of my hands and the FCE and impairment rating showed 42% damage in the upper extrementies. I am know using chin traction at home. When I first went to the Dr. My hands were completely swelled, severe pain like cramping and they were numb completely this is when he gave me the splints, vit. B-6, and celebrex and then then ordered my first NCV/EMG. study. I do have pain under the knob at the base of the skull what does this mean. It is real tender and sore. Could this be causing my headache? I can't even lay on my right side. the pain is too great. I did have pain in my hands under my thumb in both hands and this has returned more in the left hand than the right. But my wrist on the under side is swollen on the right more than the left. I have a high tolerance for pain but this is really getting to me. I hurt down both arms into my hands and it feels as though someone is sticking knives into my neck. It gets so intese I get real hot and break out into a sweat and then the coldness increases n my hands on the last three fingers. It is hard to do anything and nothing seems to help but my neurological symptoms seem to increase. I actually feel as though my arms are going to fall off or I have something under my arms and need to get rid of it.
Sounds like you do have more than one thing going on, though related in other ways. For instance, the fact you have entire arm pain might suggest the problems in your neck are a factor and/or thoracic outlet syndrome. So the DDD in your neck may have been related to the bilateral CTS, whic may be why they did not heal properly/totally, as well as rehab, taking away the cause, Vit B deficiency, diabetes. etc. In any event, the neck problem has now really surface and should play a role in the hand problem. The body is one big chain, and as we get older, the more one link in that chain can have an effect of the rest. The pain at the base of the skull may very well be realted to your pain in the head. Ever heard of a tension headache? That results from cervicogenic cause, the neck. Hypertonic muscles themselves can cause pain, as well as compressing other structures such as nerves and blood vessels. When the muscles become dysfunction, the joint is soon to follow, such as the facet joints in the vertebral column, Joints don't have blood flow like a muscle, they get their nutrients from the synovial fliud in the capsule, and stay healthy by movement, allows for exchange. Another example of this would be after your surgery for CTS, you had to restore movement to muscles and joints? My guess is that your neck is somewhat tight and maybe still, not to mention being reluctant to want to move because of pain? The upper cervical region is responsible for a great deal of important movement, especially Co, C1, C2, so when that is gone, it can affect the area resulting in pain generators from trigger point, facet irritation, hypertonic muscles, and so on.
Sounds like you do have more than one thing going on, though related in other ways. For instance, the fact you have entire arm pain might suggest the problems in your neck are a factor and/or thoracic outlet syndrome. So the DDD in your neck may have been related to the bilateral CTS, whic may be why they did not heal properly/totally, as well as rehab, taking away the cause, Vit B deficiency, diabetes. etc. In any event, the neck problem has now really surface and should play a role in the hand problem. The body is one big chain, and as we get older, the more one link in that chain can have an effect of the rest. The pain at the base of the skull may very well be realted to your pain in the head. Ever heard of a tension headache? That results from cervicogenic cause, the neck. Hypertonic muscles themselves can cause pain, as well as compressing other structures such as nerves and blood vessels. When the muscles become dysfunction, the joint is soon to follow, such as the facet joints in the vertebral column, Joints don't have blood flow like a muscle, they get their nutrients from the synovial fliud in the capsule, and stay healthy by movement, allows for exchange. Another example of this would be after your surgery for CTS, you had to restore movement to muscles and joints? My guess is that your neck is somewhat tight and maybe still, not to mention being reluctant to want to move because of pain? The upper cervical region is responsible for a great deal of important movement, especially Co, C1, C2, so when that is gone, it can affect the area resulting in pain generators from trigger point, facet irritation, hypertonic muscles, and so on.
HELP-MRI Results- Cervical Spine Bad 
Linear Mode
