Oh my god, I have an extra rib (cervical rib!)

im 36....

been suffering with arm numbness and pin and needles in myu arms/hands since I was about 23, NHS gave me accupuncture and tried most of the antiimflammatory drugs but all they did was make my stomach bad so I gave up the pain relief and learnt to live with the tingles, leg numbess, arm numbness, the dropping things and all teh other little treats that you get..

today YES TODAY I went to my osteopath with bad neck and shoulder pain and while examining me he found what he believes to be c-rib on both sides, he phoned and spoke to my doctor and by 11am I had been x-rayed at the local hospital !!! now have a 7 day wait while the x-rays are assessed then I find out how bad and if they will operate etc

obviously there is a chance that its firbrous growth or something else but the doctors face when she examined me and found them was classic, she had never seen another case and told me so.

I will keep you all informed as to how it goes and I have registered with this same name im using here...

Nick

Hello all,

I have one extra neck bone with 2 extra ribs attached. I had severe back pain when I was a child and was diagnosed with this extra bones and scoliosis when I was twelve.

I had no surgery and the only treatment recommended was exercising. When I stopped growing up the pain became less severe. Now I know what makes me feel worse (for example if I sleep on my stomach my arms become numb). If I avoid this things, I feel normal, usually.

I am now 26, I gave birth to a normal baby with no complications for my spine, so everything was fine.

On my last x-ray can be seen that the ribs spliced (united) with the lower ribs, so there is no more danger that they might damage any nerves or blood vessels or organs.

I plan to go swimming regularly as this makes my back feel much better.

My point is that surgery is not always necessary. However, I can see from your experiences that my case isn't that bad...

Good luck to everyone!

HI,

glad im not alone however i do sympathise a lot i dont think anyone understands the pain we go through unless thye have had it however it seems to be a rare thing. i personally have never heard of such a thing!

mine started in august last year 3 days before i went on holiday a trapped nerve in my arm ruined the holiday i came home my arm ached but not to bad returned to work and started to get a really bad headache lasting 5 weeks at the back of my head i had acupuncture for this and over a weekend it subsided.. however i started to get an ache in my neck constantly so off to the dr again he gave me acupuncture again in my neck i was so upset at this as it really hurt not like the previous acupuncture id had apparantly he may have trapped a nerve great NOT! and since then its been downhill an ache in my arm and armpit across my shoulders back of my head down my arm into my hand i constantly drop things an xray brought back results of 2 extra ribs not what the dr suspected as he thought it may be cervic al disc erosion. finally i know whats up and im not going mad however i still havent got the pain under control and now off for a mri scan he mentioned that i could have also a disc prolapse and mentioned arthritis im finally been sent to specialist im pleased to say at least i hope hell know what he talking about today im trying a new medication gabapentin fingers crossed that this works

Hi,

I was so relieved to find this information!!! My 16 year old son has been complaining about a mass in his

neck, numbness in his arm, and back pain. It is obvious something is not right. We had x-rays done and

we are being sent to a spine and shoulder ortho doctor. They can not get him in for another month and we

have been so worried. It is interesting that everyone is affected on the left side and diagnosis has been

around the age of 16. Does anyone know why this is?

Dr. Richard J. Sanders wrote a book "Thoracic Outlet Syndrome".

It is the result of having an extra rib. How many people here had a

extended neck injury when they were young?

well since my last entry,i have got no farther with treatment with the doctors for the extra ribs, we still seem to be going round in circurls,and treating things on a separt bases, migrains..... numbness, tireness, neck pain,and pins and needles,and now we having to treat the sideeffcts of the combination of drugs iam taking,which i have to say dont seem to be workng,as for the comment above i dont ever remember a neck injury when i was young, but i did suffer lots and lots of sore throats and chest infections,and at the age of 10-11 i was told i had st vitas dance,which was brought on by a throat infection or so i was told,and was in hospital for quite some time,i never just get a cold....it always turns in a septic epic........... any help would be greatful........................

what terms use for extera ribs or name of extera ribs

extra cervical ribs ??

I am 58 years old and about 30 years ago after a routine chest xray I was told I had 2 extra ribs. I have to say its never caused me any trouble, and I am sorry to read that other people with the same condition get pain, pins and needles numbness etc. So I `m wondering that if you do have those symptoms, it might not automatically be because of the extra ribs. Incidentally, I have never been an exercise freak, but I have always been very supple. So maybe that helps.

i am 16 years old and i have 6 extra ribs! I had them since i was born and they never caused me any pain, just a bit of stiffnes of my left arm..i dont excersise that much, 2-3 times a week and i eat healthy. I also hear that some people get pain in the neck or arms, maybe the excersise helps. I am just very glad i am not the only person with this condition and if anyone knows y this happens please reply.

christopher

hello all,

i also belongs to this "EXTRA RIB" family and i am suffering since 15 months but it took one year to diagnose it. i m having severe neck spasms which is really very painful. on each and every movement of my hands and fingers my neck experiences severe spasms. not able to have my meals.i m 27 years old and from India. not getting proper treatment here. so please suggest me good surgeon with complete contact details. it took half an hour to type the above few lines and which is very painful for me. so please somebody help.

I injured my neck in 2008 at work. I have had constant sever neck and shoulder pain. I have also had severe tingling and numbness in my left arm and hand and occasional tingling and numbness in my right hand. In 2010 I had a bone scan and was told that I have an extra cervical rib on both sides. I was already in treatment for my neck and the bone scan was ordered by my primary so I never put 2 and 2 together. I have undergone 2 MRI's, 5 sets of cervical facet injections, and radio frequency ablation of the cervical nerve roots. I have also seen 2 different physical therapist and have had numerous PT visits. I am only getting worse. I had to medically retire from my job as a police officer as I have lost so much strength in my hands that I drop everything. I am finally scheduled to see a thoracic surgeon in July to hopefully remove the ribs as the spine doctor thinks I have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

hi i dont think its that rare to have extra ribs ive had two in my neck for 57 years