pain after surgery

I had my surgery to treat arnold chiari malformation 10 years ago with no problems afterwards. Over the past year I have had bad chronic pain in the back of my head and down my neck. I also have a lot of stiffness in my neck. The pain is there everyday and gets worse with physical activity. The recent MRI was normal and physical therapy did nothing. Heat packs don't work but painkillers take away most of the pain. Is there anyone else that has had these symptoms or knows what is wrong with me?

[selmaS]

Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Wow 10 yrs and no problems that is great !!

U said ur recent MRI is normal...is that a MRI of the brain , cervical spine...?

I can't say what is wrong, but it is possible u r having chiari issues and it is possible it isn't related....I know that doesn't say much mot=re than u already heard from ur drs....but , was the dr a chiari dr?......if ur MRI indicated a herniation less than 5mm they may have classified it normal. My recent MRI shows my herniation at 2mm and my dr said to expect to continue to have chiari symptoms.

There r also other chiari related conditions...were u checked for a syrinx or tethered cord? If u had TC back when u were decompressed and did not know ....it could have slowly been pulling on the brain stem causing this .....

Also it could be scar tissue.....

I can only suggest get copies of ur MRI and the report and send to a chiari specialist.

"selma"

[mark759]

Thank you for the information Selma. My MRI was of the brain and cervical area. It was reviewed by my neurosurgeon who did my surgery and he didn't say how big the herniation was. Only that it looked normal and could be scar tissue. I wasn't aware that the symptoms could come back after surgery because the area had been decompressed and there was no pressure..

[selmaS]

Yes, the way I understand chiari is once u have it u always have it and the herniation can reoccur..this is y were r told to avoid certain activities as they can trigger it into growing again.

If it is scar tissue did he say what could be done for it?

Have u ever had ur thoracic and lumbar spine checked?

"selma"

[mark759]

He said the only thing that could be done for scar tissue was physical therapy, which didn't do anything, or medication for pain management. Ive never had the thoratic and lumbar spine checked because there are no problems with my back or spine.

-mark

[selmaS]

Well if u had a syrinx in one of those areas it could be asymptomatic and not typical back pain.

Many of the chiari drs that I have either heard speak or read info on believe in checking the entire spine for chiari related conditions......

May I ask, did u have a fall or involved in an accident of some kind b4 ur symptoms began again?

"selma"

[KYKY84]

HI, my name is kyla and i had my 2 surgeries for my arnold chiari 9 yrs ago in 2001 when i was 17 yrs old and yes i have all my same symptoms back, and for the past 3 months i have alot of problems with my neck. i cant turn my head to the left without pain and stiffness and the back of my neck feels very tight n tingly, and yet it feels numb. i yet have to see the doctor to see if the A.C.M came back. i hope nothing is wrong for u or myself seeing how we both are in the same situation right now.


GOOD LUCK AND KEEP ME UPDATED.