neck and shoulder pian and spasm from cervical stenosis

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

Author

Posts
PenPen
Member

March 10, 2012 at 1:35 am

Post count: 1

#5747

I was told after having X-Rays and an MRI that I have Cervical Stenosis in C5,6 and some other narrowing in C4,5 and a little in C3,4. My symptoms started 1 year ago. They stared out with my collar bone feeling like it was being pulled up out of place and then about 2 weeks later it started spreading to the all the muscles in my shoulder and the muscles down into my shoulder blade and ribs on the left side, Now I have constant tightness in these muscles and painful muscle spasm that come and throw out the day. I do get little aces in my left arm and I get pains in my pinky finger and the ring finger but not in my thumb or index finger. My Doctor sent my to a neurosurgeon immediately after he got my MRI back. But the surgeon really didn’t answer any question or really give me any options except ACDF surgery that he said I have about 2 years to decide if I want to have the surgery done but he said that my symptoms made no since to him according to my MRI. he said I should have arm pain and I should only have pain in my index finger and thumb and said he can’t explain why I’m having muscle spasm in my left shoulder and under my shoulder blades. he said I still have good strength in my hands. I have the MRI reports and they say:

Findings: there is reversal of the normal cervical lordosis and curvature of the cervical spine convexity to the right, finding which suggest cervical spasm.
C5-6 there is disc osteophyte complex eccentric to the left where there is significant flattening of the left ventral cord. This also impinges on the left neural foramen with probable uncovertebral joint arthropathy as well resulting in severe osseous left foraminal stenosis. no significant canal or right foraminal narrowing. There is no abnormality within the cord.
C4-5 there is disc osteophyte complex, which does appear to contact and slightly flatten the ventral cord. no significant canal or right foraminal. Left facet and uncovertebral joint arthropathy results in a severe osseous left foraminal stenosis.
C3-4: There is asymmetric left uncovertrbral joint arthropathy resulting in a moderate foraminal narrowing. No canal or right foraminal narrowing.

all the surgeon said was all I can do is the ACDF on C5and6. I don’t understand what is going on with my neck and I am a little scared! I have one DR. telling me it’s not good and I could lose the use of my arm and a surgeon acing like it no big deal and he can’t explain my symptoms for the sever muscles spasm that I am having. ??????? Can you give me answers and is there other option besides a fusion that be done because I am terrified of the though of surgery, I have a panic attack just thinking about it.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

March 12, 2012 at 9:36 am

Post count: 8660

#5754

I assume that the shoulder pain is in your left shoulder more than the right side. The symptoms in your pinky and ring finger sound to me like they are only minimally annoying. The surgeon knows that this area is the region of the C8 nerve or the ulnar nerve and does not fit with your MRI findings of C6 nerve compression (C5-6 severe foraminal stenosis).

The shoulder pain is most likely from the C6 nerve compression. An easy way to diagnose this is to obtain a selective nerve root block (SNRB- see website) of the C6 nerve. Good temporary relief of the shoulder pain (see pain diary) would implicate the C6 nerve and an ACDF or an artificial disc (depends upon X-ray findings) would most likely relieve your symptoms.

ACDF surgery is generally a simple surgery with great outcomes. In the hands of a skilled surgeon, you should have a great result.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

tommysgirl
Member

October 1, 2012 at 4:48 pm

Post count: 1

#7064

I have never ending pain in my right side of my neck, shoulder, arm, fingers, scapular,in my arm pit, down back and now even in my chest area. I had a fusion in November of ’07 of my c5-6 and right after surgery I felt as if something was stuck in my throat, it still does today. I have had many ESI’s, nerve blocks, nerve burnings but still have chronic pain. For about the last 3 months I have this pain that when I lay down or stand up it feels like when the blood goes to my shoulder and arm and even to my outer fingers that my circulation is being cut off and I get extreme pain. It is now starting somewhat in my left arm, ect. I have a tremor in my right hand that started after a fall that I took at work in ’04, but no one can tell me why or what has caused this. I have more bulging disc in my neck, the C2-3, C4-5 and C6-7. I also had a L5-S1 Charite disc replacement in January ’06 and still am having chronic pain in low back and down legs. Please help me figure out what my problem is, as I live in pain each and every day and all conventional measures are not working. I am on so many meds and have tried even more, but know are working. I also have chronic headaches and some mornings I wake up and immediately loose my vision and start throwing up. I rarely get any sleep and it is wearing me out. Any information would be greatly appreciated. I also forgot to mention that I have had 2 EMG’s done and he said that he only sees that I have carpal tunnel in my hands. I feel however, that there is some nerve impingement somewhere in my neck that is causing my pain.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC
Moderator

October 2, 2012 at 10:17 pm

Post count: 8660

#7086

The first questions are what were the symptoms prior to you ACDF at C5-6? Did the symptoms improve or change after surgery? Did you develop new symptoms further down the road after your surgery or did they occur immediately after your ACDF surgery?

The work-up you have had after your surgery sounds extensive. Did you keep the results of the muliple injections with a pain diary (see website for description)?

Unfortunately, the artifical disc implant in your lumbar spine did not work effectively. What work-up did you have prior to that surgery? Discograms? Epidurals? Facet blocks? How did you symptoms change after surgery?

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
Author

Posts

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Average rating:

81 reviews

Eric S

Sep 26, 2021

by Eric S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Successful pars repair at 46 years old

Back in November of 2018 (at 46 years old) I came from Vancouver BC to have a pars repair done with Dr. Donald Corenman at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado. I'm finally posting this review nearly three years later in late 2021. The reason I waited so long was I wanted to know the final result before I posted my review. Unfortunately in that time Dr. Corenman has retired. Nevertheless, I want to post this review of Dr. Corenman and his staff at the Steadman Clinic in their excellent treatment of my L5 pars interarticularis.

I fractured my pars at age 42 back in 2014 when rolling on the gym floor, and was denied treatment by the Canadian healthcare system, probably due to my age. First my GP told me there was no surgical option for a pars defect, which was quite incorrect! I tried to live with it, but the symptoms worsened (periodic random spine slippage and weeks of resultant pain after just bending over to tie my shoe, so I eventually learned to mostly squat and hardly bend). When I finally consulted with Canadian spine surgeons, I was told they believed my pars defect had been congenital (since birth). This was absurd, considering I had done extreme martial arts (including jiu jitsu) for years prior, as well as 5 years of reinforcing steel full time in my 20s, probably the hardest job on the back you can find. No pars defect like mine would possibly have allowed this--ergo it was impossible that I had had the defect since birth. I did however have an asymptomatic congenital spina bifida occulta that made me more susceptible to a pars fracture. In 2014 in one instant, I went from having the strongest back people I knew said they'd ever seen, to being unable to safely bend over and tie my shoe without a non-negligible risk of my spine slipping randomly (which would lead to weeks of pain after each occurrence). This was due to the unilateral L5 pars defect, otherwise known as spondylolysis. It was when lying in pain on the floor 4 years later after maybe the 6th spine slippage event post injury, that I had had enough, and resolved to have surgery. If Canada's "universal health care" said no, I would make lemonade from lemons, and find the very best surgeon in the world at pars repairs. That was Dr. Donald Corenman. Dr. Corenman back in 2018 ran a website https://neckandback.com/ that dedicated many pages to the science of every aspect of pars repairs, from eligibility (good discs on MRI), to best surgical techniques (minimal open compared to minimally invasive), best imaging to use (i.e., O-Arm with Stealth imaging vs. older fluoroscopy), the ideal amount of BMP to use and why not use too much or too little, and much more, all to do with pars repairs, pages upon pages of his site just on the pars, with scientific references and his own extensive expert opinion. As a health research statistician, I was very impressed with this. It was in stark contrast to the websites of other spine surgeons which barely gave the pars a word or two, focusing almost exclusively on fusions. I had found the best surgeon in the world for pars repairs, and so after Dr. Corenman personally screened my MRI to ensure my discs were healthy, I booked the surgery.

Being 46 years old at the time of surgery in 2018, with a 4-year-old pars fracture from 2014 combined with a congenital SBO meant my pars fragment was somewhat atrophied, but it was "very solid", said Dr. Corenman in the operative report. Nevertheless, it was challenging with two things to fix, the pars and SBO, and OR time was around 4 hours. Recovery over the following months was guided by a very clear "Spine binder" from the Steadman Clinic with strict rules of "no BLT" (no bending, lifting or twisting), and illustrated physiotherapy guidelines. They even warned patients to avoid fish oil supplements, which could excessively dampen inflammation and hence slow bone healing. They answered many questions I had during months of recovery, with responses coming from the very supportive Lori Fugate (then director of Dr. Corenman's practice), and Ehrich Bean (then physician's assistant at the practice), as well as a couple calls with Dr. Corenman himself after two of the CT scans. Ehrich Bean offered great advice for taking the spine binder conservatively due to the nature of pars repairs vs. fusions. The final post-op CT scan I had was a couple weeks ago at 34 months post-op, and Dr. Corenman had retired, but I got a very positive and informative call from Eric Strauch (current PA at the Steadman Clinic under Dr. Corenman's replacement there, and who had also worked with Dr. Corenman previously). The staff at the Steadman Clinic were extremely supportive all the way through the process. I should mention, the local Canadian spine surgeon did offer me very good post-operative support including antibiotics as needed to deal with a mild surface incision-site infection early on, booking numerous x-rays when I felt something was amiss, as well as booking all four of my post-op CT scans. I am very grateful for that support also.

My final result shows plenty of solid bone across the pars and a healed SBO, with my vertebral body now a solid bone ring instead of being broken at two places as it was pre-op. Does my spine hold up in the real world? You bet! I have recently dug and moved several yards of dirt and sand and gravel by myself (shovel and wheelbarrow!) to fix our water main, pulled roots from the yard, moved several "portable" (these are HUGE) air conditioners up several flights of stairs my myself, and lifted weights. I now run 2 miles (3.2 KM) several times weekly with a hard 100 meter dash in the middle. I bend deeply before each run I go on, with no spine slippage. My spine feels amazing. I can bend over to do exercise, or real word tasks, with no risk of spine slippage.

My sincere thanks to God, Dr. Donald Corenman, Lori Fugate, Ehrich Bean, Eric Strauch, and the Steadman Clinic, as well as the Canadian spine surgeon who offered me excellent post-operative care back in Canada. You have all given me a new lease on life.

Sincerely,
Eric S

Robert S

May 11, 2021

by Robert S on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

Back Fusion Surgery

I had my entire lumbar spine fused in November of 2018. I had scoliosis , with pinched nerves that were so painful I could hardly walk - and standing for more than a few minutes was impossible. Even sitting was painful.
The fusion surgery produced immediate relief! And the recovery was much easier than I expected.
To this day I can do all the activities I love from hiking, to standing in a stream fly fishing to riding my bike long distances - or just walking down the street with my wife.
Kudos to Dr. Corenman and his staff, (including the two Erics) for taking such good care of me!

Leslie R

Jul 9, 2020

by Leslie R on Donald Corenman, MD, DC

TLIF

I had my TLIF surgery on 6/24/2020 by Dr. Corenman, I can not say enough good things about the Dr or his staff. I was always treated with respect and explained everything throughly, that made it easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend Dr. Corenman and the Steadman Clinic.

Submit your review
First Name, Last Initial:
Email:
Review Title:
Rating:	1 2 3 4 5
Review:

Check this box to confirm you are human.
Submit Cancel