Hello @jmb73 . From the title of your post, it sounds like you have arthritis within the spinal canal. I had that because of bone spurs and a ruptured disc compressing my spinal cord. The only way to fix that is surgery to free the spinal cord. I had that surgery 3 years ago and it gave me back my coordination of my arms and my ability to do my art work which had been affected by spinal cord compression. Prior to surgery, I had muscle spasms that pulled my cervical spine out of normal alignment, gave me bad headaches, and the spasms were rotating and tilting my vertebrae independently. C5/C6 was the level of the injury and compression, and C1 through C4 would rotate, and when C1 & C2 were twisted or tilted, it caused bad headaches and vertigo. I worked with a physical therapist who did a lot of things to realign my spine and block pain with a Dolphin neurostimulator. That works by sending an electric current between 2 handheld devices and it blocks the neurotransmitters that transmit pain signals. She did myofascial release to stretch tight muscles that were locked. My case was complicated by also having thoracic outlet syndrome which was worse on one side, and the tighter side of my neck was responsible for the twisting muscle spasms. I used heat wraps on my neck and arnica gel topically to ease pain, and I wrapped the bead filled microwave wrap around my neck like a cervical collar to restrict my movement because moving would start a muscle spasm. I saw several surgeons over 2 years and none would help me because my symptoms were unusual. I had "funicular pain" that sent pain anywhere in my body from the compression in my neck. The only fix for me was surgery and I came to Mayo for that. My therapist bought me time during those years by reducing my symptoms.

I had only one cervical epidural injection as a diagnostic procedure before I came to Mayo, and it caused more pain than it took away, but it did block the pre-existing pain for about 5 days, and then it slowly returned over a few weeks. The pain it caused was a sharp burning pain with electric shocks into my dominant hand because of the pressure of the fluid that was injected and had no place to go. The surgeons wanted me to do more of the injections and I refused. They are used to put off surgery, are not FDA approved for this use, and I knew that surgery was the only thing that would fix my problems. By the time I was able to have surgery, the bone spurs had grown enough that if I bent my neck forward (across the sharp edge of the spurs), it sent an electric shock down my entire body. I only had compression in the spinal canal, and not at the foramen where the nerve roots exit the spine. My disc had collapsed about 50% of its height, so when I side bent my neck, it did hit those nerve roots with sharp pain because the bones were closer together. Bone spurs also grow around nerve roots and that can be caused by the inflammation from a ruptured disc when the contents of the disc is extruded near them. I do know there are some procedures that can only clean out arthritis in the foramen if there is not a problem with a disc.

I'm not familiar with gamma knife surgery and presume it is to stop pain by destroying nerves that cause the pain. FYI, injected steroids also interfere with getting a clear image on a diagnostic MRI. I had to wait 6 weeks before I could get another MRI that showed that my bone spurs had spread and doubled in volume. It is the body's attempt to stabilize the spine because of an injury by growing bone because the pressure on the end plates of the vertebrae is uneven. Over time, this can cause the spine to fuse itself in whatever alignment it is in, but not necessarily a good thing.

Here is my patient story. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. https://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2019/01/09/using-the-art-of-medicine-to-overcome-fear-of-surgery/

We also have an informative discussion about Myofascial Release Physical therapy. https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/

Wow! You have been through a lot. I am afraid of surgery as I have such a low IgM and am fighting a yeast infection under my breasts caused by a mammogram. The dermatologist could see little cracks in my skin from the pressure of the machine. It has been 6 weeks. I had just gotten over the 8 month infection at the Gamma pin site. Gamma surgery is 240 lasers aimed at a brain tumor. Mine is a benign meningioma. I will ask my PC about physical therapy. Thank you and I hope you have a healthy, pain free New Year. Joan

Hi, @jmb73 – Glad you have connected with @jenniferhunter. I moved your discussion on arthritis in your neck and lower back to this existing discussion on the topic. I think you'll get additional responses here to your question about whether others have had painful headache associated with arthritis in these regions.

@trellg132 @mickeyb2 @lioness @dorisena @pfbacon @looking4advice and others have talked about arthritis in the neck region in themselves or a loved one and might have some comments on how they have coped.

Are the shots suggested by your primary care doctor the same type as the kind that didn't work on your feet and hip jmb73? Did your doctor think it was the arthritis causing the headaches, or something else?