Cervical Posterior fusion from C-3 thru C-7. Had this?

@natewitte81
Hi Nate,
My surgery was definitely successful. I am curious what symptoms you are having? I was having gait issues, knees buckling, etc. Got better right away and all gone now. I will be happy to answer any questions you have.

My symptoms are a bit different. I've had two failed anterior ACDF surgeries. C7 through C5. The bone grafts didn't fuse for whatever reason. They are now suggesting that my best option is the posterior route with rods from t1 to c4 which is what I believe you had? I know that the initial recovery is very painful but I would be willing to do it if I thought I would get significant relief eventually. I do actually it sounds like the main complaints after recovery or muscle tightness and guarding in the neck and shoulders. I already have that before the surgery so that would probably equal out. However I have a lot of pain and nerve irritation to go with it lots of pain in my fusion site. However my symptoms are a bit different than yours in the sense that most of my stuff is muscle guarding from the base of my skull through my shoulder blades and traps. So constant tightness. Which also creates a lot of occipital headaches for me. Also I have very unsteady hands and arms and have a lot of tremors in my triceps I think I would really like to just have my neck be stable. My neck gets very tired and I feel like I have a lot of instability and kind of wobbly head. I have to be very restrictive about my activities. I can't move my head fast without pain and irritation. I also was in pretty good shape for my age before the surgeries. Now I can't really do any extended hard work. I can't lift heavy things without pain. Pretty much all of my activities are a lot harder. And I'm pretty much uncomfortable all the time. I would just really like to hear how you're recovery was overall. And how much muscle tightness soreness guarding etc you deal with through your neck traps back etc. very glad that your leg symptoms improved. I don't have much of that as far as I can tell. Most of mine is from my shoulder blades up. Thanks again for reaching out. Can't wait to hear back from you. Maybe I'll have some follow up questions after I hear a little more of your story. Thanks Nate.

Happy Sunday, Nate! As I was reading thru your post, I got caught up in the description of the neck guarding and subsequent issues from you scapula and upward. I had two cervical surgeries the last being in 2018. After being a bit sedentary after a complicated knee replacement, I began feeling the same ‘guarding’ which began affecting my right shoulder. I started myofascial release therapy and it quickly relieved the shoulder symptoms. With further MFR, the traps, scapula and neck areas became less tight and my neck muscles were able to relax. After several years after surgery, that scar tissue plays a role in discomfort. MFR has been a game changer for me. I am anticipating a third cervical surgery and plan to keep on top of that scar tissue formation at the appropriate time in the recovery. Wishing you the best…

@natewitte81 I had a C5 C6 fusion without hardware, and I remember a comment my surgeon made to me was that the fusion heals better with a bone disc spacer rather than a hardware cage. The bone spacer also had a milled space to be seeded with the ground off bone spur fragments. That is what I chose because I have had some issues with metals in earrings. I had no hardware at all, and I stayed in a neck brace 3 months until fused. Movement of head turning is mostly done by C1 and C2 with some help from C3 and C4. A fusion from C4 down may affect that somewhat, but your surgeon needs to answer that.

I did have reactions to titanium that I found out after my fusion when I broke my ankle 6 years ago. That caused pain for me and chronic hives. I had that hardware removed and it improved my health.

As for the muscle spasms and guarding, I still deal with some of that, but I have learned something from my physical therapists about releasing the tension with myofascial release therapy. It is similar to yoga stretches and massage, and it restores movement and circulation to the tissues and helps to reduce pain. I can still have some muscle spasms that rotate my vertebrae a bit and I have learned to self-correct that with stretches. I also have some involvement with the alignment of my lower jaw, and my dentist is a specialist in treating that with oral appliances. There is a relationship between proper alignment of the lower jaw and C1 & C2. All surgery creates scar tissue, and I stretch that too because it causes tightness. I have to do this periodically to maintain a pain free existence. I also need to do this on my lower leg to keep my ankle functioning properly. You can learn more about myofascial release or MFR at this discussion.

Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
There is a provider search at https://mfrtherapists.com/