Neck and head problems after successful fusion of c1 and c2

Covid is over. Start with Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy but call around, really interview the PT providers, for their previous experiences if any with similar type of fusions, go and attend for a minimum of 6 months, do your stretches and exercises, and then, reevaluate where you are with those symptoms and quality of life. C1-C2 fusion is a serious and special fusion. Take extra care to find therapists with previous experience, for the skills needed, insight required, listening capability, intuition, and ka-hootz to back it all up. That plus your honest best efforts will make a big difference for the better.

thank you very much for responding. I appreciate hearing from others who understand

I am starting to check with pt.

Now that it’s over a year later, how are you doing? A common complication of spinal fusions & epidural steroid injections is arachnoiditis. It is inflammation of the arachnoid layer of the meninges, so chronic inflammatory meningitis. Once thought rare, it’s actually just rarely diagnosed! Your symptoms are very similar to mine, having cervical arachnoiditis that affects the flow of CSF. Further surgery, epidurals and doing nothing is certainly not the answer! Medical treatment through the research and validation of therapy success by Dr. Forest Tennant. His website is arachnoiditishope.com and he has a Bulletin on Cervical Arachnoiditis that is very informative! I have lumbosacral adhesive arachnoiditis from failed lumbar fusion and now Tarlov Cysts on my sacral spine. I don’t know why so many neurosurgeons don’t consider this diagnosis, when treatment is simply dosing with Depo Medrol pills & Toradol NSAID for the neuroinflammation, the first component of his 3 component treatment protocol. Everyone with spinal issues from stenosis to DDD should visit his website! I hope you are better now and find this information helpful for future care.

I had a C1/C2 fusion in 2019. It relieved my chronic headaches. I could tell a big difference as soon as I recovered from the surgery. In the last year, I have been having different types of headaches than what I had before the surgery. They sometimes last for a couple of days. Now having pain on the back side and bottom of my head/skull. I am having a CT scan in a week. I certainly hope this doesn’t become something that will bother me the rest of my life.

I am reading this with interest, as I’m recovering from my surgery for cervical fusion of C4 through C7. First time was an acdf, then a loosened screw on C7 caused the removal and then a posterior fusion 2 months later. A much more painful recovery, I’m 3 months out and going through PT to help with the shoulder and neck pain, and it’s helping. But theees still that sharp pain that lasts but a few seconds when turning my head to the left. Reading all my MRI and CT scan reports, it says my C1-C2 have auto fused themselves, somehow.
Last week, one of my therapists gave me some myofacial release (I think!) along my scar, and adjusted my neck in a different way, which unlocked my head so I could turn my head to the left without pain. It was pretty amazing! But she said it would probably come back, which it did.
What can I do to keep this pain away, is my question? And the headache, the dizziness.
Feel for all who suffer this way,and pray for relief and healing.

@ga29 Ask your therapist who did the myofascial release explain what she did. You can do a lot of things at home to self-treat with myofascial release. I'm glad it helped.

@jenniferhunter thank you, I will do that. I see how important it is too, to describe your difficulties to them when you come each visit. I don’t have the same therapist each time, but I know they take notes. When I tell them as clearly as possible what’s hurting the most, they’ve been able to help me better.

@ga29 I'd like to know if you feel that the surgery was better to have had, than not? I am scheduled to discuss surgery again for the 2nd time (this is a 2nd opinion) on C4-C7. I've exhausted all medication and physical therapy options; was diagnosed 8 years ago. I now have severe disability picking up light objects due to pain in my right arm, which sometimes causes me to drop things. I have Cervical Radiculopathy with stenosis and congenital foraminal narrowing of the spine. Surgeon #1 says the surgery will likely cause more damage, surgeon #2 is leaning towards surgery but needs my MRI results first. What do you suggest?