Hello,
I am tired of being in pain...Any comments/advice appreciated...
When hearing of my pain/symptoms, several people have advised me to see a neurologist rather than an orthopedic....
I'm not sure what to do.....Here's a brief (HA HA) history....
May 2006....c5/c7 fusion
Oct, 2006 to Sept, 2007.....no pain to speak of
Sept 2007...total body numbness came back..tightness in the back of my head behind my ears came back...had an x-ray...showed detioration of c-7
family doc referred me back to surgeon...they basically brushed me off
Sept 2007 to March 2008....
Occasional numbness, "heaviness" when dropping my shoulders, and occasional pain spasms in the back of my upper arms (I experienced this type of pain before my surgery)
March 1...
Car accident...head on collision at 35mph
Neck & back felt fine..did not have medical treatment
April-June...
occasional mild pain..collarbone/neck area
July...
more noticeable and frequent pain spasms in the back of both upper arms...enough to warrant taking muscle relaxers on a handful of occasions
mild, low back pain
Mid July....
SEVERE pain spasms in the back of my left upper arm....
family doc did neck x-ray..showed 2mm subluxation between c-7 and t-1
sent copy to neck surgeon. (heard nothing from him)
back pain was still mild
July 18...
crippling back pain..unable to maintain any sitting/laying position for more than a minute or so...
went to chiropractor...better..still stiff & sore for 3 days...then
July 21...
crippling back pain returns...different chiropractor...better results, but still continual mild lower back, right hip pain.
July 29...
Called ortho for an appointment...can't see me until Sept 11th
August 15...
Called family doc for prescription for PT
August 20
1st PT appt...one leg was 1.5 inches shorter than the other....hips were "out"..PT said my left shoulder blade was severly shifted to the left...she actually had a little trouble locating it!!???!!
August 21
2nd PT appt...leg only 1/4 inch shorter...back felt better...lots of upper back arm pain (both sides)...the prescription for the PT is just for the lower back, so she can't treat the upper...but says that she thinks the arm pain could be caused by the c-7/T-1 subluxation ?????
I am really getting discouraged....I'm only 43 and a single mom..don't need all of this crap !!
ANY advice/comments would be very welcome!!
Thanks so much!
has anyone thought to actually send you for an MRI yet of your c spine? given your progressing symptoms and the findings upon just the plain x ray, and what you have been thru with the MVA there could be alot more going within the spinal canal or at the nerve root level that simply would not show upon plain x ray. i would try and get this done first,before anything else and that includes going back to that chiro for any adjustments until AFTER you know for certain just what it is you are dealing with inside the spine. some adjustments made by chiros can actually cause many more problems when what is going on inside is simply not known. there are just situations that you can have going on with your c spine that could be a very big deal with even slight movement of the vertebrae. i would definetly stay away from the chiro or do anymore PT til that MRI tells whats going on. it can just be avery risky thing when all you have had is only x ray that does show something significant that is actually out of place. that also affects the placement of the inner spine structures too. hopefully it is not a huge issue up there,but you do really need that MRI at this point just to know what IS going on in there. the MRI results would kind of dictate your next step,which would probably be seeing a good neurosurgeon for a consult/eval of your situation. please keep me posted,Marcia
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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
You should consider a Neurosurgeon or Orthopedic Spine Surgeon. A Neurologist is not a physician that can do surgery - that requires a Neurosurgeon or Orthopedic Spine Surgeon.
I have had my neck and back care done by an excellent Orthopedic Spine Surgeon.
I have also had treatment by a Pain Management physician (both before and after surgery) for epidural spinal injections to relieve the nerve based pain as well as oral pain medications.
has anyone thought to actually send you for an MRI yet of your c spine? given your progressing symptoms and the findings upon just the plain x ray, and what you have been thru with the MVA there could be alot more going within the spinal canal or at the nerve root level that simply would not show upon plain x ray. i would try and get this done first,before anything else and that includes going back to that chiro for any adjustments until AFTER you know for certain just what it is you are dealing with inside the spine. some adjustments made by chiros can actually cause many more problems when what is going on inside is simply not known. there are just situations that you can have going on with your c spine that could be a very big deal with even slight movement of the vertebrae. i would definetly stay away from the chiro or do anymore PT til that MRI tells whats going on. it can just be avery risky thing when all you have had is only x ray that does show something significant that is actually out of place. that also affects the placement of the inner spine structures too. hopefully it is not a huge issue up there,but you do really need that MRI at this point just to know what IS going on in there. the MRI results would kind of dictate your next step,which would probably be seeing a good neurosurgeon for a consult/eval of your situation. please keep me posted,Marcia
Thank you so much for your advice....
Have a wonderful weekend!
You should consider a Neurosurgeon or Orthopedic Spine Surgeon. A Neurologist is not a physician that can do surgery - that requires a Neurosurgeon or Orthopedic Spine Surgeon.
I have had my neck and back care done by an excellent Orthopedic Spine Surgeon.
I have also had treatment by a Pain Management physician (both before and after surgery) for epidural spinal injections to relieve the nerve based pain as well as oral pain medications.
Thank you so much for your advice....
Have a wonderful weekend!
Neurologist or Orthopedic ??? 
