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Hi Melissa,
I had similar pain under my shoulder blade area like you describe. I found relief from going on for regular accupressure massage. It is like a deep tissue massage but massuese works on areas with muscle tightness and ‘muscle memory’. It has helped me immensely. May be worth a try?in reply to: What to do? #25184Thank you again for your insights. The second opinion Dr said levels 3-4 are unstable due to the swan neck deformity and kyphosis. He said having just 4-6 done concerned him that C3 would slip further over than it already has bc of the fusion.
When I met with my surgeon for the final appt to sign consent and ask questions, I addressed these concerns and she said she thinks there is only a 10% chance of future surgery. And disagrees about C3 slipping. When I asked about C6-7 she said my main areas of concern are c4-6 and this surgery will address those. I then went for the flexion extension exray which says C6-7 has the least disc space and most bone spurring.
So it is now the 11th hour. I know the areas C4-6 definitely need to be done and I’m hoping the surgeon I’m going with is right. I believe I’m pursuing this bc I am hoping to get away with a less extensive surgery than the 3-7 proposed by the second opinion Dr.in reply to: What to do? #25132Dear Dr Corenman,
Thank you for your time, energy and expertise in providing insight for me. I deeply appreciate it.My symptoms began when I was age 38 (I’m 55 now) with lower left side neck pain close to the spine that felt/feels like a metallic sticky-burr or thumb tack pushing into the joint n bone area around c5-7 (my perception). On a 1-10 scale this pain ranges from a 4-7. The left side muscles in my neck and shoulder spasm n were also painful. Trigger point injections have helped those. Methocarbomal helps maintain comfortable level of tolerable discomfort. In the past 1 1/2 years my left arm began having tricep/bicep and upper forarm into my thumb-ring finger numbness n pain that feels like a burning deep ache. Other times it feels tingling. The pin needle test shows loss of sensation at my bicep, tricep and a cpl of fingers. My pointer, middle and inside of my ring finger. When I lift things w my left arm, they feel heavier. A bottle of water that weighs 1lb feels like it weighs 3lbs. I have increasing difficulty buttoning, clasping jewelry etc. My neurosurgeon says weakness is 4/5 in the left arm. I do stumble over my left toes when I do a lot of walking and my left leg feels heavy and aches. I feel a burn stop my quaracep that differs from a work out feeling.
I’m told I have severe kyphosis and my 2cnd opinion Dr is quite concerned about the instability of C3-4 in particular. The flexion-extension movement X-ray was unfortunately not done until after my last appt w my neurosurgeon (next time I see her will be on the day of surgery). The X-ray did not mention anything below my cervical spine levels. Showed level C6-7 are the most degenerative with moderate to severe osteophytes.
My fear is that I will need further surgery for C6-7 since my scheduled Sufism for C4-6. I asked about c6/7 and was told my major issues are at C4-6 and that’s what’s being done. So I do not feel satisfied.in reply to: What to do? #25027My MRI findings: 4/13/2017 MRI
The visualized elements of the posterior fossa and craniocervical junction are unremarkable. There is loss of the normal cervical lordosis. The vertebral body heights are preserved. There are extensive Modic type 1 endplate degenerative changes with severe loss of disc height at C6-7, similar to the prior examination.
At C2-3, level there is mild uncovertebral hypertrophy and left articular joint facet hypertrophy resulting in mild to moderate narrowing of the left neural foramina (image 9, series 5) moderate narrowing of the left neural foramina. At C3-4, there is bilateral uncovertebral hypertrophy and mild spondylosis,causing anterior thecal sac deformity and moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing, articular joint facet hypertrophy bilaterally, slightly more pronounced on the left (image 14, series 5).At C4-5, posterior disc protrusion and prominent uncovertebral osteophytes,right greater than left result in mild-to-moderate narrowing of the spinalcanal. The disc and osteophytes mildly indent the right anterior cord. Thereis moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing (image 20, series 5)..At C5-6, there is spondylosis, diffuse disc bulge and bilateral uncovertebralhypertrophy resulting in moderate right and moderate to severe left-sidedneural foraminal narrowing (image 24, series 5). There is no evidence ofsignificant spinal canal narrowing..At C6-7, mildly heterogeneous signal is noted at the endplates consistent withbone marrow replacement for fat, narrowing of the intervertebral disc spaceand disc bulging, causing mild anterior thecal sac deformity and mildbilateral neural foramina narrowing associated with mild bilateraluncovertebral hypertrophy (image 28, series 5). There is no evidence ofsignificant spinal canal stenosis.The visualized spinal cord is normal in caliber and signal intensity. The cervicomedullary junction and visualized portion of the posterior fossa areunremarkable. There is no paraspinal soft tissue abnormality. IMPRESSION: 1. Multilevel degenerative changes throughout the cervical spine overall unchanged compared to the prior examination of 20 May 2. There is persistent mild-to-moderate narrowing of the spinal canal at C4-5 as a result of prominent posterior disc protrusion, and accompanying osteophytes, right greater than left. 3. There is moderate to severe multilevel bilateral neural foraminal stenosis as described above.in reply to: Massage after fusion #24674If someone has a two level fusion and a third level disc replacement, how long should they wait (to be safe) to have a deep tissue massage?
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