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Cervical compression vs occipital neuralgia

Posted by sb4ca @sb4ca, Mar 23 2:24pm

I have bad DDD and have had 2 ACDF's-C3/4 and C5/7. The ones not fused had other pathology but didn't require surgery. Now I'm in some sort of flare and am trying to sort out the difference between occipital neuralgia vs compression of an upper nerve. I will preface that I have always had pain issues in that area no matter what nerve issues were going on. This however seems more concentrated on my right occipital bone area but it is constant and it almost makes me feel like I'm sick/achy. I don't get shooting or electrical pain and I would never describe it as a headache - though if asked if my head ached I'd say yes. But I also have neck and scapula pain. I am already taking pain medications so whatever is going on is breaking through my meds. The last time something like this happened, I ended up having C3/4 fused. I'm hoping to hear from people who have had similar symptoms and what it ended up being or how it was treated. Thanks for reading!

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Mentor
Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Mar 27 1:06am

@sb4ca I know we have talked about your spine condition before. It sounds to me like you may be having muscle spasms causing occipital pain. If spasms are moving your unfused vertebrae, it can cause a lot of muscle pain and pull down to the scapula. I think a physical therapist may help you, and if you find one who does myofascial release that may help you. I've done a lot of MFR work myself and it helped me a lot. You will also have scar tissue created by your surgeries that gets tight and may cause pain. MFR can address this to stretch out tight scar tissue. There is a provider search at http://mfrtherapists.com/

Here is our discussion on MFR:
Neuropathy - "Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/

REPLY
sb4ca | @sb4ca | 21 hours ago

Very thankful for your reply. My whole issue started with myofascial pain syndrome and has just escalated from there. I met with my pain management specialist and he gave me a steroid nerve block at the base of the occipital nerve and it did help quite a bit. He seemed surprised that it didn’t hurt me and said I must have a high tolerance. It just felt numb to me. But the pain has been spreading out and he felt I should get a CT. I’d prefer a mri but just follow his lead because he’s actually a neurologist in trade. What’s fantastic is that I live within walking distance of a highly specialized PT facility where they only do spinal work. I’m in the waiting period so I’ll find out soon what suggestions he’ll make. Thank again. This has just been a bad flare I hope.🤞

REPLY
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Mentor
Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | 43 minutes ago
In reply to @sb4ca "Very thankful for your reply. My whole issue started with myofascial pain syndrome and has just..." + (show)
@sb4ca

Very thankful for your reply. My whole issue started with myofascial pain syndrome and has just escalated from there. I met with my pain management specialist and he gave me a steroid nerve block at the base of the occipital nerve and it did help quite a bit. He seemed surprised that it didn’t hurt me and said I must have a high tolerance. It just felt numb to me. But the pain has been spreading out and he felt I should get a CT. I’d prefer a mri but just follow his lead because he’s actually a neurologist in trade. What’s fantastic is that I live within walking distance of a highly specialized PT facility where they only do spinal work. I’m in the waiting period so I’ll find out soon what suggestions he’ll make. Thank again. This has just been a bad flare I hope.🤞

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@sb4ca That is perfect to be in walking distance of a spine specialty PT center. Lucky you!

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