@janagain
Hi, Jan.

I had ACDF surgery c5-c6 in 2022 and ACDF surgery on c6-c7 in June 2025 (last month). I see my surgeon at the 6 week mark in August and will find out if he recommends/releases me for PT.

I have not had posterior surgery but may need it in the future due to where a large osteophyte complex is located (too close to a nerve to remove it from the front). I have heard it is painful from the back of the neck and have experienced the pain of lumbar surgery (l3-l5) in 2024. It was the most painful surgery I ever had but survived (I am female and 56). Make sure to have your home setup well pre-surgery and helpers on standby plus grabbers within reach. You won’t be able to lift things for a while.

What type of surgeons have you worked with? Are they highly rated with positive reviews? I have an orthopedic spine specialist/surgeon who did my surgeries. He needed to decompress my spinal cord and nerve roots which caused cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy. My symptoms before surgery were daily headaches, neck/shoulder and shoulder blade pain/stiffness/knots, arm/hand weakness/numbness (dropped things and handwriting worsened), bladder control issues and walking slowed (felt like I was wearing heavy boots). Many symptoms improved but I also have carpal tunnel (had surgery on right hand which helped and need to get the left done). My problem is congenital spinal stenosis (born with narrow spinal canal), degenerative disc disease, neurogenic claudication and small fiber neuropathy so this will be a future of surgeries for me. 😔

My neurologists didn’t really help me much other than testing. EMGs/nerve conduction studies can help identify what levels are compressed in your spine that cause communication issues to your upper and lower limbs. This information can help a surgeon narrow down levels of problems to focus on (using MRIs, EMGs, clinical exam, symptoms, etc.).

What levels were you originally told were a problem? Were you told you had bone spurs/osteophytes, compressed nerve roots, disc bulges/herniations, or flattening/compression of spinal cord? Do you have hardware or n the front and is it staying in there? Will you be getting additional hardware in the back of your spine?

My concern, if I were you, would be knowing what my MRI/ct scan/EMG/nerve conduction studies show that confirms there is a compressed nerve and/or spinal cord compression that will be relieved/improved with the new surgery. Were the first 2 surgeries failures in decompression or is this new degeneration/compression? What did the first 2 surgeries fail to decompress? Did the fusions fail? Did you start PT too soon or twist your neck in ways that caused problems for the fusion or hardware? Did you make sure not to take NSAIDs while recovering since they make fusion more difficult? Do you have osteoporosis and did this contribute to the problem and if so, did you get treated to strengthen your bones before this surgery? Smoking is also known to be a problem for healing after spine surgery.

You are right that you may be able to regain some strength if you do not have permanent damage to a nerve or portion of your spinal cord (if compressed for a long time). My hope is that this surgery will definitely provide some relief and a chance for your nerves to heal.