Opening c6-c7, movement at c6-c7 and plate not flush ...IS THIS NORMAL

I had surgery in Nov 2009 on neck  C4-5 into first month it was fine then I went from fine to AWFUL I have badddddddddd pain ...I had a plain xray that showed a opening in disc at 6-7, plate is not flush with the c4 vertebral body and it also showed movement at c6-c7........NEXT PLAIN xray says ACDF plate is not flush with the c4 vertebral body and does show some movement with flexion at the c6-c7 space .....and she does appear to have some instability in her cervical and thoracic spine, on flextion it appears that he disc space opens at c6-c7

......THE above xrays were both on different dates and on flextion shows opening and plate not flush......a CT said completely incorporathed within the disc space however if I would not had a xray and looked down it would appear normal until I look down then it shows open space and thats when it hurts badly...........  QUESTION IS ......should plate be flush and should there be ANY opening in these disc?      I can't look down it kills me to put chin down and to lay is awful as soon as neck goes out of straight position it cause awful pain with numbness........WHAT is normal ,,,,,,,,what should I do My doctor is not being helpful at all..........I want to know why it moves and why opens when I look down and if it should do this when I look down............

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

Without the ability to examine you and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of your symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

I am not a surgeon, I am a neurologist, and you may be better served to post your question on a surgical forum. Regarding in general back pain following spine surgery, this could be due to scarring, fibrosis, or arthrits at the surgical site. This is not uncommon and some scarring is seen to some extent, but when it is significant, it can lead to pain. Pain shooting down the neck on neck flexion could be due to some injury that may have occured to the spinal cord prior to your surgery (this is likened to Lhermitte's sign seen in MS). Often, pain after spine surgery is best not treated with more surgery unless there is a definitive indication based on MRI of the spine or other imaging. Treatment is rather usually conservative. This treatment may include medications (non-steroidals such as advil), sometimes steroids if there is swelling (edema), temperature therapy (hot or cold packs), stretching and controlled physical therapy, muslce relaxants, injections, and so on, these are best prescribed by an experienced physician, each has its own indications.

Continued followup with your surgeon is recommended.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.