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  • SB629
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    Post count: 1

    Hello,

    I had ACDF on 8/31/17 on c4-C6 and was in a hard collar for 3 months and went through physical therapy for the neck at the 3 month mark. Around week 6 or 7 post operation I began to have slight pain in the flank area and has slowly progressed to be in shoulder blade as well. Not sure to where the point of origin is for the pain but where the pain seems to focus on lower rib in flank area. The thoracic area is all tense in that right side. Massage therapists, acupuncturist, chiropractor all day how tight that side is from traps down. Sports medicine doctor thinks it is scapular dyskinesis with serratus muscle pain/strain. I’m in physical therapy again for this post op pain and it has not helped so far. I just switched therapist last time so hopefully he will be better. He believes it is mostly from compensation in thoracic are and being trained to turn with my torso for 3 months in the hard collar. So traps down to obliques are tensed. People do still tell me that I turn with my torso and my traps are tensed up a lot. I contacted the surgeon and he doesn’t think it’s related. This was via phone and by relay of the nurse as communication mediator. I’ve had ct, mri, ultrasounds and all come up negative regarding thoracic/abdominal area. I do twinges of pain into the chest at times and rarely the neck itself. Before surgery those areas hurt a lot but my pain has morphed into a different form and location post op. I think doctors are having a difficult time what to do. I’m seeing a pain mgmt doc soon and a neurologist later in the month.

    Does prolonged compensation pain like that sound right as a specialist?

    Thank you for your time.

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    Flank area pain has to have pulmonary embolism in the differential diagnosis. Room air sat, pulse rate and EKG are used to help rule this out. The medial scapular boarder is a common area for radiculopathy referral. I call it the “buttocks of the neck”. If this is not pulmonary in nature, look to the cervical roots to see if there is continuing root compression.

    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.
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