← Return to PJK: I can feel my rod through my neck. Should I be worried?

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@nicholaspohla

I don't think the surgeon is being dismissive really. I was going in like every month right after the surgery to get xrays done to see and I would always ask all these questions after seeing that the xrays were all good and everything was going as planned. After the 7 month appointment my surgeon and dad kind of convinced me that everything was fine and they said that anything happening after the 6 month mark is very rare. But everything that happened after the first surgery happened after the 6 month mark as well so that's always in the back of my mind. I've been doing Schroth therapy for physical also ever since coming home for the summer that I just got discharged from a couple weeks ago. I've also been doing physical therapy since around March as well just not the specific Schroth spine specific physical therapy. I think the myofascial release would be beneficial though because my neck is super tight and has been ever since the surgery. I think just the combination of knowing last time everything happened around this time in my recovery timeline and not getting to see an xray and seeing everything is fine and having that reassurance every month like I did at the beginning is messing with my head ya know?

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Replies to "I don't think the surgeon is being dismissive really. I was going in like every month..."

@nicholaspohla The mind is very powerful. Our brains are hardwired to react to danger and when your brain learns that your first surgery caused trouble, it goes straight into trying to avoid that problem again. Can you get your brain to accept and believe the results of all your X-rays? All you need is a little bit of pain, and your mind runs away with it. Take a deep breath.

I'm glad your surgeon has done the imaging to calm your nerves and answer your questions. What you have now is an opportunity to educate others about this condition and what it is like for you and how you are progressing in your recovery.

Can you tell me what is different about the Schroth Therapy from traditional physical therapy?

You may also like this discussion about overcoming fear. I was there too.

Just Want to Talk - "How can I defeat my anxiety about medical tests and surgery?"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/how-can-i-defeat-my-anxiety-about-medical-tests-and-surgery/