Im hoping someone can help me out. I had a decompression surgery in 2005 with good results. I had gotten very chiari sick in 2004, what a nightmare that was, horrible, and Ive been through alot of stuff in my life too.
Anyway, Ive had many surgeries during the years to my spine. However the one that added to my physical stuff was in 2012 when they fused my neck front and back from C3 to C7.....The problem is that between the chiari surgery and the C spine fusion surgery.
Now the muscles in my upper neck and back of my head are in severe spasm most of the time unless Im laying down.
Do any of you folks have a solution to this problem, please???
I had the same problem from when they clamped my head to table during surgery. Was like charlie horses in neck. Muscle relaxers and heat help some. But stretching neck helped more. A little everyday. Massage before the spasms hit help too.
Hope this helps
Allura
I had the same problem from when they clamped my head to table during surgery. Was like charlie horses in neck. Muscle relaxers and heat help some. But stretching neck helped more. A little everyday. Massage before the spasms hit help too. Hope this helps Allura
I Understand, Ive been to physical therapy both times after the decompression surgery and the fusion surgery. Yes Ive done the excercises too.
The deal is the spasm in the neck muscles which run up into my head have never calmed down after the last surgery in 2012. In fact now its much much worse and Im getting sick for the spasms.
I thought someone might have some experience on this forum with this issue.
I belonged to chiari forums 10 years ago, where lots of help was available. Obviously not many folks on this forum for helping others. Ive not seen much anyway.
Buck up Julio, you got one response from someone trying to help! Level of responses vary according to activity levels and the experience of the people on the site. What did you find for information in past posts? I have written quit a bit about rehabilitation. Did you find anything applicable to your situation?
Anyways... if you are still lurking about, here is some advice that you can take or leave. Physical therapists are not all equal in their ability to treat chronic pain and people with Chiari. You are vague about what you actually did in physical therapy. So often, there is just a slap-dash approach to a very complicated situation that does not end up helping. There are hoards of Chiari folk who report that physical therapy does not help. It depends on what level of competent treatment you have received. We all know that there are good, competent, and caring doctors and also the many poor ones that we have met along the CHiari jouney - same in the physical therapy world - they just tend to smile and listen more.
Segmental isolation of muscle contraction/awareness and motor control of the cervical segments where you do have movement available (and motor control of the shoulders and thoracic spine) are vital in a patient with multiple surgeries and long-standing pain. Also graded motor motor imagery exercises very helpful with pain representation. The central nervous system is a crazy beast and often poorly understood in the medical field for its role in pain sensation and magnification. The neuro-orthopedic institute has excellent resources available for understanding pain and increasing your knowledge so that you can help yourself and advocate for your self.
No magic bullet for treatment and a lot of work on your part. Finding the right health care professionals or educating yourself on what to do is paramount. Good luck in findings answers to a situation that is painful and seems neverending.