neck pain

[Donna969]

     I just got a MRI on my neck, the doctors said there is nothing wrong, I had 3 neck surgeries I have plates and screws in c3-4   c5-6  and  c6-7 but on my MRI it states that I have a  PROTRUSION AT C6-7  is this possable if I don't have a disk there and could this be causeing all my pain?

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

If your surgeries did not involve discectomy, the C6-C7 disc can protrude even if there are plates and screws.

There are some newer techniques which can be used as alternatives for the traditional surgeries. These are called "percutaneous perispinal pain procedures", as described by Witzmann. One of these techniques is the Radiofrequency Facet Denervation. Facet joints are the joints between two vertebrae. They provide mobility. The joint capsule has a rich nerve supply, making it vulnerable to pain. The nerve supply of the facet joint is ablated by radiation, thus, reducing the pain.

Regards

[Donna969]

        Hi
              Well it's been 6 months since my last surgey and I still have alot of pain, I tried everything, physical therapy,pain shots and lots of pain pills[which i'm still taking] I lost my job because of this and I am so unhappy.Just reading your comment has giving me some hope I go to the doctor on 3-27 and I'm gonna tell him your story and tell him he needs to do something! I don't know what DENERVATION means or what they do but I'm finding out if it's what I need.  
                                                    THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[C124Ace]

Yes.  I have a plate and screws and started to have horrible pains---so much so, that I told the doctor that I thought the plate/screws had popped out.  Of course, they had not popped out....But, as I was warned 5 years ago when I had the surgery, above the plate it is bulging enough to be affecting the nerves.   So what to do.  The neuro-surgeon and ortho-spine surgeon I saw (I now live in  NC) told me that they really didn't l ike the idea of surgery --- we tried, first, physical therapy. They issued me a tens unit to use at home.  Muscle Relaxant (my shoulders would get like stone and the rest of my back would start hurting to include my arms).  After 3 months (this is what I asked them to give me on the above therapy--as I didn't want surgery, either).  After 3 months, docs decided nothing was getting better and that the spine therapy might be even aggravating it some (I was the one pushing for these alternative treatments).  What was next if I wouldn't agree to surgery?    I was scared that it was tooooo close to my brain and another spine surgery was not welcome.  

After some more tests, they decided that I was a candidate for DENERVATION.  I had it done and it is amazing how much it has  helped.  Gone from taking megadoses of pain killers for the neck and shoulder/back pain to letting my almost full bottle of pain killers expire.    The nerves do grow back but hopefully the protrusion has receded enough to not be afecting the spine/nerves.

ALSO, found that this pain is not uncommon for those bending down to read the computer screen for hours on end.    

Hope this helps.