anterior cervical fusion and myofacial pain

[patsy12]

I have suffered from chronic neck spasms and pain, arm pain and pins and needles, numbness of my left ear and migraines for about 15 years.  Most of the pain from my migraines are in the area of my right face, head, and neck.

About nine weeks ago I had C4 and C5 fused.  Since they removed the hard collar at six weeks, I have had a lot of problems with neck spasms and more headaches with pain in the face.  Also now have lower back and upper back pain.  This is after botox injections for the migraines. A doctor mentioned that the brace may have been taken off too soon causing me to have the pain in my face worsening.  She also mentioned fibromylasia.  Is this common for a chronic pain sufferer after this type of surgery and how would you suggest I improve this?

[patsy12]

Thank you very much.  It is nice to hear from someone that has hadthe same experience.  Hard to be patient and that comment scared me.

[Kalvin]

What you’re going through is typical recovery for this type of surgery. I know I’ve been through it. It has a very traumatic effect on your body. As time goes on you should begin to feel better. It takes a long time to recover from this. At nine weeks I was still in a tremendous amount of pain myself. The neck spasms and facial pain should lighten up soon; the upper back pain tends to linger a little longer. You probably have low back pain because your body mechanics have changed. When a person has a fusion, even way up in the neck, it completely changes the way you move, which can cause pain.  Muscle relaxants should help with the spasms and pain meds should help with the rest. Just take it easy and don’t try to do too much. You’re probably not even fused yet. Is there some reason why you can’t start wearing your hard collar again?

Take care