no one at all?

Hi, did you happen to have xrays before this also where it didnt show this fusion? I guess the question should be do you know how long you have had this.

If you had since you were born i would not worry about it, but if it is new somehow then maybe they can do something for you. Do you now have pain?

Hi ~ I had had spinal X-rays several times before they found that I had an L6 ~ an extra lumbar vertebra. You would have thought someone would have seen it before! Eventually, this L6 fused itself to S1, so you can say now that I have the "right amount" of vertebrae.

Saying that it's no big deal is WRONG. It throws off the whole SPINE. In your case, you are more likely to have cervical problems than someone with a normal spine. In my case, I was told by my Neurosurgeon that due to the extra vertebra, my spine had become unstable and that had something to do with why I herniated ~ although that wasn't the WHOLE reason.

Best of luck! I hope & pray you have no serious problems! God bless. Hugs, Lee

THANK You gals, for the response...

Well... "they" said... that it was Congenital - something I was born with and not that big of deal... well... from what I read... it is RARE (so I assume, that they dont know a whole lot about it) especially when the two are fused BUT not lined up together... (the Spinous Processes of the Vert.)
oh no... Im a frankenstein person! The spinous process- just like a bolt in my neck! Oh noooo!! Kidding ;)

Anyway ...I'll keep reading on and see what more I can find - I hope someone will see this and know something or which group to direct me to.

Thanks again ladies!

I fully agree with Leeall... This is also called a transitional vertebra. This is an anomoly that happens in about 6% of the population. It can lead to instability of the entire spine, early degeneration, PAIN, imporper alignment of the spine, which can lead to bulging or herniation, and a host of other problems. I have a chart at my work that explains this quite well. It's nothing to scoff at, it CAN cause quite a bit of problems, or it can be completely benign, just depends on the person. Often times, this is an incidental finding when X-rays are being taken for another purpose. While it is most often incidental, it does not mean it can't, over time, cause problems.

I have an anomoly (meaning an abnormality from birth) called a tropism where one of my facet joints on one side of one vertebra is turned the complete opposite and wrong way when compared to the rest. Yeah, I've had bone on bone contact my whole life!!! My boss said that while this itself MIGHT not cause pain, it could have led to my current problems by causing instability. Whenever something is not supposed to be there, or is in the wrong spot, it can lead to other problems.

When medical doctors and chiropractors take the same X-rays, they are looking for completely different things. I know my chiro boss looks for things such as a transitional vertabre to explain the beginning of the instability, although this does not always explain the current problem or current pain. I've seen elderly patients who have lived their whole lives without knowing they had this condition. Others, younger patients, come to us with problems that are possibly caused by this anomoly. So... It's about a 50/50 chance it can cause problems, but it CAN cause problems such as herniated discs, bulging discs, scoliosis, DDD, and misalignment of the spine which can lead to bigger problems.

I hope this helps a bit!!! I'm sorry if I repeated myself a lot... :-D

Much love,
Lisa

I know this post was from years ago. But I’ll try anyways.. My daughter (8yrs old) has been complaining of neck pain we got xrays done. And low and behold it’s exactly what you also have C2-C3 congenital fusion. Did you ever get any help for it? What did they say? Any surgery eventually needed? Are you in constant pain? I worried if she’s hurting at 8yrs old how is going to feel at 35!!

I haven't seen Ladyfairhair on the site in years, she hasn't posted since 2016 and I don't know if she's even on the Site anymore.