Posted , 6 users are following.
I'm hoping someone will be able to look at my xrays and tell me whats wrong with my neck. my chiro took them and he didn't explain anything. please help. i should add that my atlas was misaligned and he corrected it but it didn't take the pain away. 
0 likes, 4 replies
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Guest jennlamae
Posted
I AM NOT A DOCTOR. Okay, it looks like you have a straightened cervical curve or "military neck." The small arrow on the x ray appears to point to a narrowing of the space between the vertebrae. I wouldn't fret too much about the shape of your neck though - there are people with far worse neck structures who have no pain at all. If it were me I would focus on getting the inflammation down with lots of ice packs applied right at the source of pain, and use of anti- inflammatories. Also pay close attention to good posture. Additionally, you can get a good cervical pillow that can provide relief and gently influence your neck toward the correct cervical curve. Hope this helps you in some way. Oh and be extremely careful allowing any chiro to manipulate and crack your neck. I personally would not do it. There is a very gentle kind of chiro that works to restore cervical curves. I will try to post the name of it later. Try not to stress and relax. Tense muscles can pinch a nerve off worse.
Pinoyboy jennlamae
Edited
I too injured my neck. It started last June after I started using a new thick pillow and started a new workout routine. The pain started on top of my shoulder between the neck and deltoid, then further presented pain between my shoulder blade and spine, and then further still developed pain in my deltoid muscle. The pain went on for a month despite getting three massages per week. Finally, a workout buddy said, "You know, this has been going on for over a month. Go to a doctor." So, like you, I went to a chiropractor. He adjusted my neck, I felt some relief immediately, but then he adjusted my upper spine in the area of the shoulder blade pain. OMG, the pain was excruciating! He made my condition MUCH worse. And the pain didn't go away! He took an x-ray. As in your case, the x-ray demonstrated I had a loss of curvature in the cervical spine. It also showed that I had scoliosis. I went back for 6 more visits. It never got better. I then went to my Orthopedic surgeon. He ordered an MRI. I learned that I had bulging discs at c3/c4 and t1/t2, and a herniated disc at c5/c6. He prescribed physical therapy as an initial assault upon the problem, rather than surgery. By that time, I had developed pain throughout my deltoid, in my biceps, and forearm, with tingling in my fingers and the base of my palm. Physical Therapy helped make the pain tolerable. (It had been between an 8 and 10 on the pain scale.) I resumed a light workout regimen in August, and re-injured myself. This time, much it was worse than the original. I resumed PT. I had 15 sessions with very little relief. I was depressed and defeated by the constant pain. My PT had exhausted my treatment options. I stopped the PT and decided to give it all about a month of rest to see if anything improved. During that time, a friend urged me to do some exercises in the swimming pool. I consulted Youtube and found several videos with exercises for my problem. In the end, I developed my own exercise based upon the elementary backstroke. Instead of sweeping my palms up along my torso and then shooting them out to the side, I mimic the action of a jellyfish with my palms near my hips. The pain relief was IMMEDIATE. However, the tingling in my hands became more intense. I continued doing the pool exercises twice per day. Within three weeks, the tingling subsided too. I am now pain free. Mild tingling returns only when I sit incorrectly, but the pool exercises keep everything in check.
The moral of my story?
Good luck!
jen56473 Pinoyboy
Edited
This is outstanding advice. I saw a chiropractor and thought it was helping but I too started having burning, tingling, migraines. Took the advice of the chirpractor and saw a neurosurgeon. My c6/7 had popped from the chiropractor adjustments. I had to have surgery. THIS DR was highly recommended by everyone. I had ACDF. 1 year later i lost my C5/6.
He re-did my C6/7, did an ACDF on my C5/6. Life went on with me still in a lot of pain. 5 yrs later, I started having trouble again. This time I did my research and went to a very renowned surgeon. C4/5 was bulging into my spine. Surgery 1 week later. A 45 min surgery turned into a 4.5 hr surgery. He decided to take out my old plate. Stripped the screws and then broke them off. I went back for the 6 week appt and he was no longer there. He was on terminal medical leave. (I have a heart and felt awful about this but Ive never been the same). 4th surgery was 9 months later. New surgeon, top 25 Neurosurgeon in the country. New CT
scan. mistakes found.
dr #1. plated my neck in a forward head position. Basically my neck musclses are always at work because head isnt over my shoulders.
dr #2. caused a fracture in my vertebae when removing the plate that they stripped the screws. Plated the new C4/5 too high so its digging into my C3/4. just a matter of time until I need this fixed.
I have to come back later. i have to lay down . if your bored, moral of the story is... dont settle for a referral. Do your homework and find a conservative surgeon who wants to exhaust all non-operative things first. Find an excellent PT. ONLY have surgery if its the only option. Drs love to cut. If you want it...They will do it.
Watch Dr Death. Not all surgeons are created equally.
Suzy47028 jennlamae
Posted
Hello,
Chiropractic treatments seem to work best for me when the muscles are loose and I only get an adjustment maybe once or twice a year. The rest of the time I go to a place in San Diego called RejuVitize. The practitioner uses these smooth, metal tools to release the tension on the muscles and it lasts a long time. If you live in the area, this may be your best bet. I think there is a website under the same name. Hope you feel better soon.
Mary