Can I somehow improve my condition after spinal surgery to my neck?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Last year I under went emergency surgery for a collapsed disc in my neck. Afterward I regained some ability to walk but was left with extreme numbness in my hands and upper torso,no strength in my arms and legs (balance), little to no control of my bladder and bowels and an absolutely horrific snapping/cracking in my neck. In the last month or so i've found my condition worsening however almost to the point of before surgery. is there something l can do to arrest this and/or start to improve my condition?
0 likes, 2 replies
caroline2071 bobby_d69771
Posted
Hi Bobby, are you under physio? You should really be speaking with your doc, neuro or physio on how and when to start building up your strength, I really hope your being looked after, if not really push to get the help you need to get your life back on track, also it's very early days and nerves can take a long time to heal, good luck with your recovery 😊
Yukonjak bobby_d69771
Posted
About 15 years ago, I fell backwards on our icy driveway, and hit the back of my head on the ice. A few hours later, I felt simultaneous numbness and tingling in my right arm, and lost almost all strength in it. I went immediately to a neurosurgeon, who took x-rays and ordered physical therapy to see if I could avoid surgery. He was doubtful the PT would solve my problem, but wanted to follow the protocol of PT before surgery. As expected, the PT didn't improve my symptoms, so he did a double diskectomy in my neck. He used cadaver bones which we irradiated before implanting them to replace the disks that had arthritis spurs impinging on the "spinal' column. Easiest surgery I've ever had. The numbness and tingling went away immediately, and the strength came back via PT for a few weeks after the surgery.
I never had the other symptoms you have now. I'm not a Doc, but your symptoms sound like there may still be something impinging on the nerves at the back of your neck. Not sure if an MRI would show more than X-rays, but I'd go to a neurosurgeon, rather than to an orthopedic or general surgeon. Your description didn't indicate which type of Doc did your emergency surgery.
Best of luck with follow-up care.