cervical spondylosis

Hi,

Read your post. It seems that your c/s is lower down the neck, thus affecting the areas you describe. Most visitors on this site seem to have c/s middle neck (4th/5th/6th vertebrae) and are inclined towards headaches/muggy head etc. as it is with me. I've posted some stuff on self management previously and you might like to browse..just look under

cervical spondylosis in search. I don't know about any herbal aids but would be glad to hear of any suggestions.

hello, i m a fellow sufferer for the past 17yrs. i also suffer with chest pain and have more or less from the beginning. to me it feels like a bad chest infection , it hurts to breathe and move. my gp hasbeen of little use as you will find out, cs is not a diagnosis most doctors will ever make. it took me quite some years to get a diagnois. the only option i have eard of is maybe a muscle relaxant. good luck and i hope you soon feel better. merry christmas and a happy new year.

Hi

I was diagnosed with CS at the age of 38 too. I am now 43. I too suffer chest pain, pain in the mid back, pins and needles, numbness, sometimes in both arms, mainly in the right. I also drop things involuntarily. I also have pain in the lower back, that radiates down my right leg.

The chest pain and pain in the back is possibly muscle spasm. This is very painful and needs to be dealt with in its own right. You can hurt in what seem to be strange places that are totally unconnected to where the CS is. The affects can be painful and long term however. For example, if you breathe shallowly, for a long period of time, you are in danger of a chest infection. Means of dealing with it - pain-killers, sometimes a necessary evil, chiro, heat, or whatever works for you.

However, pain in the lower back can be quite common if you have a neck problem, and there could be a weakness there that needs to be addressed as well. In my case the back problem is not as bad as the neck problem, although, until it was addressed, the back problem was adding to the neck problem and the vice versa. Addressing the lower back problem through chiro, has definately helped me however. Something I really appreciated after the pain in my lower back had been removed.

It can be a slow process, finding out what works for you. Working out what is part of CS, and what isn't. Not everything should be attributed to it. That can be a problem too. CS affects everyone differently, and you have to find out what works for you.

I wish you well.

Regards

Juniper

I'm a student, 20 years old and last year I was diagnosed with:

cervical spondylosis

mild scoliosis (my neck leans to the right, noticable and

degenerating/protruding discs in L2/L3 and L5/S1

Caused by acurvature of the spine (i.e. almost NO curvature): my discs are getting squashed and damaged because of the unnatural pressure from my body (average weight, but 6'3\"l).

My symptoms for CS include neck pain that is worse with stress, severe right arm pain on occasion (so bad that it's hard to grip a pen and write), tension in lower neck and shoulders, tension headaches, rare/mild chest pain and now (recently) a tingly spot under my left shoulder blade (feels like the bra tag tickling but it's not! I checked :lol: )

For 2 weeks in November 2008 I had severe sensitivity of the left side of my neck - so sensitive that I could not tolerate skin contact/held hand over area most of the time to protect it.

My lumbar spine symptoms are a LOT of lower back pain - I can't stand for long amounts of time (leads to feelings of nausea from the pressure on the discs, not necessarily pain); leg pain, joint pain, joint stiffness

Dr suggested physio which was heat, massage, and nerve-interruption therapy - it all sounded pretty bogus, but felt real good. I was also given a load of cervical and lumbar exercises to loosen muscles and re-align the spine, which provide some relief!

Also no high-impact sports, no carrying heavy things (the usual rap)

I use a scarf wrapped snugly around my neck acting as a not-so-awkward neck-brace: it supports the muscles without making me seem like a whiplash patient.

I also sleep with one of those funny curvy form-fitting pillows (the ones that form around your head and neck) with a thin cotton pillow on top, so my neck/shoulder angle is just right -- it took a lot of effort and persistence to get just the right level, and boy does it make a difference. Before, I used to wake up with stiff muscles, shoulder pain, grouchies! Now I sleep better and wake up fresher.

Getting my husband to massage my neck also helps relieve the tension: also makes him feel less helpless against it.

It's hard when no one understands what CS is-- so many people look at me like I'm some sort of quack! I've taken to describing it as neck arthritis - at least people can relate to that!