Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
mri of cervical spine
by lisabrl, Oct 27, 2009 07:33PM
i have been having pain my back for about 4 years and have always thought that it was do to my chronic abdomen pain due to multiple surgreys i have been seeking help for a lond time and have not got any results it seems like everyone wants to treat the pain not fix the problem due to my age so over the past three months my right arm has been going numb,burning and i more pain in neck and back it hurts to be on my feet i went to my doctor he sent me to another doctor for carpal tunnel he found a positive blood work in my h27 then that doctor sent me to a nero doctor and referred me to a rhemtiloist or something like that i havent seen them yet i did see the nero doctor and he sent me for a mri of the cervical spine the results was c4-5 some mild thickening of the posterior longitudinal ligament and slight reversal of lordosis at c5-6 level i believe this is all connected but my question is what exactly does this mean how can it be treated how do i take back over my life my knees buckle at times my right arm stays numb most of time i drop things i have massive headaches trouble sleeping and im in pain all the time i work in healthcare and after caring for just a few patients the pain gets unbarable and im starting to think this will never end i have no answers and my nero doctor is ou of town for a week im frustrated living with pain that you cant control is hard what do i do from here what kind of doctor do i need with all of this im am young and have to small children and i just want to get better
Post Comment
Related Communities
Related Expert Forums
Recent Activity
Most Popular Trackers
RSS
Expert Activity
Community Members
I hope this helps and i hope all works out well for you.
Lifting people is not good for your spine. I have been in the medical field for 30 years and am now paying the piper with spinal problems. Just had neck surgery (ACDF).
Reversal of lordosis or the normal curvature of the spine may lead to compression of the spinal nerves leading to pain, numbness, burning in the extremities and headaches. Physiotherapy and medication may relieve your symptoms. Surgery may be required if the medications and physiotherapy are ineffective. Please take OTC painkillers for temporary relief till your neurosurgeon is back. Hope this helps you. Take care and regards!
In the meantime, there are a few tricks to help you hang in until you appointment comes. But first let me say this. Anytime you tear up your back, be it the neck or the low back, it can have a huge negative effect on your sense of well-being. Pain is hard to get away from, and it can make a person angry, and anger builds up pressure and drives you nuts. So, try some real deep breathing anytime you feel like you're going to lose it.
One thing you can do on your own for your injury is to get support going for your spine. This can be done two ways. One way is to get an upper back brace at the pharmacy, the elastic kind that criss-crosses the upper back and comes around the front and fastens with velcro around the tummy, it holds your shoulders back. The other way to support your spine is to do stomach-strenghtening exercises, becuz your abdominal surgeries weakened those muscles, so your main spine support is gone. By the way, this is probably why your legs give out, your lower spine lacks support and could be those nerves occasionally get pressured from swelling and inflammation.
Also, for your actual cervical spine problems, you should strengthen the muscles for that, by getting into lifting hand weights, with your arms bent at the elbow and held next to you and weights at your shoulders, then push them up real easy just above your head, and then back down again, this will strengthen the shoulders, and feels really good.
A second trick is to lay flat on the floor with your legs resting up in a chair, clasp your hands behind your head, and slowly unfurl your body from bottom to top, down to the floor, let your arms fall out, which this position takes all the weight off the spine and makes it feel better. Third is, heat helps pain, so very hot baths, a hot water bottle on your neck, will settle down the almost certainly spasmed muscles in your shoulders. Lastly, ordinary easy walks in the neighborhood, getting a nice rhythm going, will help you unwind from work, release tension in all your muscles, and release feel-good endorphins.
By the way, you could get a solid foam pillow from one of the better department stores, to provide better support for your head when you sleep, thus relieving pressure on the neck. Also, consider a few professional massages for your shoulders, might help to get those muscles really loosened up, so they won't tense up too much and wear out too fast.
I know how you feel about wanting to help patients in your job, but as I think another poster said, too much lifting them is dangerous for you and THEM until you can get some treatment, so try to get the head nurse to let you mostly just do the regular chores, and whilst doing them, pay close attention to your posture. But in the end, you do need a doc's help, and for any future treatments, get a copy of the scan report AND the pictures, if you can, and hang onto them... it proves you have a real problem.
Lower extremity weakness and dropping things could be from Cervical Myelopathy, which is spinal cord compression causing neurological symptoms.Lower back pain can cause weakness, but not dropping things. But if you are only dropping things from the right arm then what the Dr. says makes sense except for the lower extermity weakness. Myelopathy can be unilateral- for example I have numbness in the left foot and my left leg gave way several times. My right arm would ache alot more than my left. Weakness in both arms and legs comes from the neck. You don't always get weakness in the arms. Spinal Cord Compression symptoms occur below the level of compression. That is why any arm, hand symptoms are most likely from your neck. Lower back symptoms do not produce symptoms above that level.I had great difficulties getting specialists to see enough spinal cord compression to cause my myelopathy and had to drive 2 hours away to get the correct diagnosis. Now that I have had my surgery, the surgeon even admitted that my MRI did not look as bad as when he went in my neck and saw the mess. Average time for surgery is one hour per disc. I had two removed and it took 4 hours!!Yes, moist heat and rest were the best pain relievers for me.
You poor thing. If you're home now, some heat on the hurt area with a hot water bottle wrapped in a tea towel helps pain. I hope you did or will go to the ER, they can give you better medicine than whatever you have. You need rest whenever it hurts like that, so call at your work and request a few days off because of your spine problems.
While I agree at this point with one of the posters that exercise is not for you, I assumed you could manage what I suggested since you were still working. So, just ignore what I said and save it for a better time. Alternatives are, I do know that it helps to get kinks out by moving your arms up, forward, and a little ways back, real gently, all whilst standing straight and keeping your tummy muscles tight, just to kind of keep the shoulder muscles from getting bunched up. Also, to help get kinks out, try laying flat in your bed for five minutes, no pillow and knees bent, takes the weight off the spine. But when you sleep, lay on your side with a pillow as usual. Easy short walks are usually okay, too. But don't do any of what I've just said if you're in pain!
I remember before I got ahold of Lyrica, it literally took me almost an hour just to get out of bed, the pain in my back had gotten so bad. I sure as heck didn't do any exercises during that time! The pain in a spine injury is amongst the worst pain you can have and must be respected. It turns you into an old person, and you move stiffly and slowly, so forget what I said about exercising. Thank you, Kay, for warning her. Keep us posted, Lisa, on how things are going for you.
GG
I cannot believe the ER didn't give you some strong meds to go along with your shots, that's not right. But your regular doc ought to. By the way, when you see your new neuro next week, since your back has flared up substantial, you might ask her to order a new scan or at least a plane black & white X-ray in her office, as part of your new treatment plan with her, and to make sure that things haven't worsened. Well, hang in, and know that me and others have been in that same scary place you're in right now. Rest and GOOD medicine is really your only hope at this stage, until you see your neuro next week.
In some circles, that feeling is known as the Kingdom of Heaven. Hey, I just know how bad pain is that is invisible to others. I like helping people, too, it's natural. You, too, like to help others or you wouldn't be a nurse to the sick and feeble. You're blessed and I'm glad I could share your hurt. Just five days away from your appointment, so relief is on its way. And I know you regular doc will work with you if the neuro doesn't.
Always, GG