Neck pain from car accident

 

      Good morning Marie!...and welcome to our chronic pain forum!

          Sorry to hear about the accident, and even more sorry to hear that it has caused damage to your crevical spine.

    Epidurals!...well I'm not sure why your Dr was speechless as it is well known that these may or may not work for patients with spinal pain. It may be worth a try, but there are absolutely no guarantees for a positive result.

    Also a anular fissure and or tear, is extreemly difficult to heal, as there is no blood supply to that type of tissue...and it can take months and months to heal. I'm sure he knows this as well. Now, the protrusion at the c6-c7 might be actually impingeing the spinal cord...and may be the worst of your pain. Have you been through physical therapy yet? This is usually the first thing they will try before electing to try an Epidural.

     You can recieve a series of three epidurals but they must be at least two to three weeks apart, and it looks like he is headed in this direction with you. The only other option short of surgery that may give you best results at pain relief are the meds. Are you taking anything for the pain at this time?

     We do understand chronic pain here, so I hope you continue to spend time with us and make this your chronic pain support home.

       Again, welcome and enjoy the forum and it's members.

     SE

HI there...

Sorry to hear about your pain issues:(

I am also wondering why this Dr. was speechless about the treatment?

Are you seeing a Board Certified Neurosurgeon? This is who I personally recommend for anything in the cervical region.

As Suzane asked....do they have you on any nerve pain medications or muscle relaxers? This can be very effective for lowering those specific types of pain. An opiate is added by many Drs. in addition to these meds. But an opiate is a medication that just overall makes us "not care" as much about pain. But they do not help muscle or nerve pain.

So a comprehensive approach is usually best.

Have they ruled out doing any surgery?

The good news is that 85% of disc/spine issues will heal or go down enough in inflammation where surgical intervention is not needed. You won't read much about this as it's usually the other 15% that is online and on boards like this for chronic pain...

So I will still pray that you can get better over time.

Did they put you on light physical therapy and an exercise program? Laying in bed too much or being on the couch or a recliner can actually cause more pain and injury over time.

But obviously a program to be more mobile should be discussed with you by the BC Neurosurgeon.

I have had 3, two-level, cervical fusions and have active severe herniations right now but am avoiding surgery at all costs unless it's emergent. Just back in July I accidentally lifted a suitcase the wrong way and was in excruciating pain...up to an 8-9 from my regular 5-7. So I rested completely for the first two weeks and then slowly started walking again with a walker (actually it's a Rollator which is much better).

I used my muscle relaxers...ice.....(heat is not good for any type of inflammation)...and started walking to the mailbox....then the next night a few houses down and back. And so on...And now I am back to my regular nightly walks of 45 minutes. It's not very far..about a 1.2 miles...but it's good to be mobile.

There is also treatment using acupuncture which I find very effective. As well as GENTLE massage around the muscles but obviously not touching near the actual spine. This helps keep the spasms from getting too much.

There is also aqua therapy which can be very helpful for spine issues as it is not putting any pressure on the spine but keeping you from getting to stiff.

All of these things, and including the medications I mentioned earlier are all non surgical ways to treat spine/disc issues.

So, I would make sure you get a few opinions from different Board Certified Neurosurgeons on whether they feel that surgery could alleviate the majority of your symptoms or figure out the best comprehensive program to treat the symptoms. They may decide to send you to a Pain Management Dr. as well.

Keep us posted..

...Cogito pretty much said what I really wanted to say about the Dr being speechless about it not working, and then already scheduled another. Bottom line,... there is a good profit in it for them! However!...it often takes a second round for many patients to see positive results...so I myself would at least try it again, and if then no good results are seen, then I would not attempt a third.

I have had several of them and decent luck with the cervical...but no responce in the lumbar area of the spine.

Again...I have to think that the Dr is pulling the wool over your eyes a bit in his dismay. Also, surgery should be the very last option, should that conversation come up,...and it is not an easy decision to make. What ever you do...don't let the Dr make that for you....it's yours to make not his. If you should happen to go the pain med route, then again be careful with them, and educate yourself as much as you can if you happen to travel down the long tough road of chronic pain.

The best advice I can give you, is to seek support from those who suffer chronic pain on a 24/7 basis, like most of us do here on this forum. Friends and family simply will not and cannot grasp the concept and you will be better off sharing and seeking support from those who suffer likewise.

Again, good luck and take care!

SE

thank you so much for making me feel right at home, i needed someone to talk to and you all have excellent wisdom, i will try and be more specific, after the accident it was suggested that i go to chiropractor, which i did and he could not adjust my neck or would i let him, my right side of my face on occasion would swell up, i started having these dizzy spells and falling over then right after that within seconds would have these horrible lines in my left eye, the doctor said it was visual optical migraines, cat scan showed not clots, just gave me imitrex and a muscle relaxer with pain medication,vicodin, i am sensitive to pain meds so even this i can only take half, my neck pain would radiate down my spine and split to the left and right shoulder and send sharp pains down both arms, they then tried me on a nerve pill, i also did physical therapy but for the 6 weeks i did this it seemed to cause more pain, the mri and then more pills, more cat scans and i was sent to specialist for the headaches and blurry vision, as well as the pain, i would also like to say some mornings i feel like ive been punched in my jaw, my ear hurts but no infection, the doc says part of the inflammation still in my neck, the shot did not help, have not had a good night sleep and the last month i have new medication, they put me on neurontin, which so far has not helped either, i still use the heat and ice but he said it was up to me about the 2nd shot, he left and open spot if i changed my mind, im trying right now with your help to educate myself on what other methods might help and what to expect with those new methods or surgery, again thankyou so much for everyones help..........

Hi Marie,

I was reading your post and all I could think of was oh my gosh thats almost everything I've dealt with in the last 7 years from being rear ended. At first all the docs kept telling me 6 months and you should be all better. Then it was up to 2 years. I was originally told that all my symptoms the headache, neck, shoulder and back pain, ringing ears, TMJ, left arma nd hand being swollen were all symptoms of whiplash. Have you googled long term whiplash effects?

I can certainely understand how frustrated you are. I also have 4 kids and some most days its a struggle to get moving.

Like everyone I think any of the injections or having your nerves burnt are hit or miss. At one point or another I've had facet injections, medial branch blocks and RF's done to C3 to T1. For me the injections don't help but the RF gives me partial pain relief for 6 -9 months.

Did you have migranes before the accident? If so are they different than the migranes you had before?

I tried neurontin and lyrica but for me Topomax worked better for me. Didn't touch my headaches but they use it off label for chronic pain and it helped some.

Have they done any testing to see if your facet joints may be the problem?