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Chronic pain management tips
Learn how straightening up can ease your pain
Chronic pain management tips
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Frustrated and need to vent
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I saw my neurosurgeon for my results of my EMG and to get checked out after a mishap last weekend left me with my neck frozen again. The EMG shows chronic permanent nerve damage at the c7 root nerve but no new damage. My neck being tilted to the side is due to muscle spasms brought on when i dodged a dive bombing bug of all things. Who would think you could be taken out by freaking beetle. I do see the humor in that but i'm not laughing at the moment. I know I should count my blessings that there is no new damage but even with the pain medication I am on for the pain that radiates down my right arm from the damaged nerve, these muscle spasms in my shoulder and neck have me totally miserable and to top it all off I have to wear this rigid cervical collar again and the heat index where i live is above 100. Thank god for AC. I realize it is important to pull my neck up straight and try to stretch the muscle back out but this collar has made the muscle spasms 10x worse. I got absolutely NO sleep last night. The trapezius muscle on my left has turned my shoulder and neck into one big huge searing knot that no amount of rubbing will dissolve. I see my PM specialist today. I am hoping he can adjust my muscle relaxer to give me some relief. He had just started me on baclofen 3 weeks ago which has to be started on a low dose ( 5mg. 2x a day ) It was working so much better than the soma that he had me on previously until I got the killer spasms from hell. This set back has me really upset. I was doing well with my ROM and learning to cope and adapt to the weakness and pain in my right arm and hand and now i feel like i'm going backwards. I haven't been this miserable since before my last fusion surgery. This truly sucks :(
Posted on 07/06/12, 09:51 am |
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Wow..that really does suck.
As a bug-phobic person...I can easily imagine just how this happened. I've always gotten worse musxle spasms from trying to wear a collar..it has something to do with the way you hold yourself in it... ...and..the more uncomfortable you are in it..well..the more uncomfortable you are in it. I hope your PM can work some magic for you.. I can only empathize and sympathize with the spasms...and the frustration of steps backward. Hugs...jc 
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Would a chiropractor be able to help? I personally have never seen one, but many people swear by them.
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I can relate. My back has gone out just by shaking my head yes or throwing a paper clip in the trash can at my desk. When we have spinal colomn problems, the smallest, dumbest things hurt us the most. I pray it will ease up real soon. My thoughts are with you.
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Buffy, I was told that due to the hardware and fusions I have had no chiropractor will even think about doing anything with my neck. Before I moved to PA I lived in a town where there is an excellent osteopathic school and the Osteopathic doctors in my home town were all firm believers in physical manipulation which is one of the principles that type of medicine is geared towards, so I'd be open to it but that boat has sailed since i now have a multilevel fusion. My pain management doc raised my dose of baclofen and doubled my ms contin which he says will also aid in relaxing my muscles in addition to knocking my pain down to a manageable level so i should be feeling better soon. At the very least i will be comfy enough to get some sleep and to be able to sit through the home traction without bawling my eyes out. I couldn't even let my hubby finish rubbing my shoulders and neck last night. Thanks for the support. It really helps knowing there are people who understand. I'm headed to bed, hopefully for some well needed sleep.
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The collar makes muscle spasms worse because the non injured muscles are being stuck in the same position constantly. THey need to flex and bend to reduce the lactic acid that builds up from non use.
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Gosh that's hard news to take. Hope the med adjustment helps. I have one of those microwavable rice/sock that helps somewhat. Whenever I wear a collar I constantly have to take it on/off bc of what you described, so my heart goes out to you. Hope the pain settles down and you find some relief! Btw, at least your bug was real :0 I've hurt myself ducking ones that aren't there - ya know the kind that seem to "show up" due to sleep-deprivation :0?!?! Such is the CP life...
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My husband picked up this nifty little device at the local CVS pharmacy. It is wonderful. I don't know if it's just our local store or nationwide but it was on sale 75% off if you can believe that. It was definitely more than worth the 6ish bucks we spent for it. I just wanted to share in case it might help someone else get some momentary relief. http://www.homedics.com/massage/nec...
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Why do bugs exist? Just to bother people (and cows and horses). And to be food for other disgusting creatures.
I'm sorry this happened to you. It's amazing how such a little thing can cause such big problems! I hope you're feeling better soon! Sandy
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Wow, thanks for posting that link, that looks like the ticket for me too. I have the same pain- neck, shoulder arm and when the whole thing goes into spasm, I am truly miserable. This happens daily and I'm constantly walking around with a warm rice sock around my neck.
If you have those lidoderm patches, you can cut those up and put them on your shoulders and other places to stop the spasms. I hate bugs!
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Hope your neck massager and meds are giving you enough relief! If not, perhaps some simple neck stretches would help losen up the muscles.
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