Pain in shoulder after cervical surgery

I found a study in England that found a 95 percent reduction in right shoulder pain when 25-30% less CO2 was used. My doctor tried it and I had no shoulder pain.

Hi. Thank you for your post. I had cervical spine fusion Nov 2019..I have titanium cage w 4 screws. The pain level is so bad in both shoulders now I was put on Morphine..which was also not good. Now I am on Oxy/Acemataphine..I cant work, need serious help. The pain wakes me up every night. I see you take muscle relaxers and Neurontin. Woukd you mind sharing what kind of muscle relaxers you take and what type of doctor I could get the botox..I will try anything to get out of pain, go to work and have my life back. Muscle relaxers seem more appropriate than pain medicine. It makes sense. Thank you for sharing with us.

jryan6220 I know I am new to you, but thought if would tell you the muscle relaxant I am on Flexeril and my primary doctor gives it to me. You poor guy, I can't imagine having all the pain you are having. I feel a muscle relaxant might help, but you may still need the pain med.

Hi, I wanted to respond to you. I am so sorry you are in so much pain after your fusion. It can be tough stuff. The spine is so complicated with so many parts and nerves. I can only speak to my process, the first step for me was to find out the why I was in pain. Your pain doc or your spinal surgeon can order a MRI or better yet CT scan using dye. It will tell the complete picture. If your pain is from muscle spasms due to complications perhaps Botox will help. It basically puts the muscle to sleep. I had bad headaches and spasms since surgery so I went to a Neurologist. I looked for a woman that specializes in MS. She has more practice with spasms. Turned out the spasms in neck and shoulder were my headache cause. She is the one that put in the Botox. After a year of treatment I just tried not having the shots, and now the spasms are back. So I’m scheduled again. The muscle relaxer I’m on is Methocarbamol, it is marginal but worth a try. The best for me was Baclofen but had other complications from it that most people don’t have. You could ask. The best about Botox is you aren’t medicated so you can work drive and have a life. I think it will be used more in the future, hang in there, keep working towards a plan that works best for you. Each person is different but there will be something to help. My prayers are with you.

@ryan6220 I didn't tell you on my last message that I had a fusion on my back from T10 to my pelvis. It was in June 9th. I had degeneration that caused a scoliosis and had stenosis in my L-4 & 5. I am healing quite well and wearing a brace. My bones are soft so I have to do Tymlos, an injection into my stomach daily. the needle is so small you can hardly see it. I am so sad you are having so much pain. What did you have done? I was in the hospital for 7 days. Blessing and healing sent your way.

I have not had cervical cervical, but I have had a Fusion on my back from T10 t0 my pelvis. It was a nine hour surgery. Yours would be much easier. So don't be afraid to have the surgery.

@purdy I am so sorry, you have all ready had to surgery (cervical) So your shoulders are in pain. Have you asked your surgeon or primary care. I'm not a doctor. I had a fusion on my back from T 10 to my pelvis and doing well. It has been almost 3 months post=op. Take care I hope you get better.

I have had 3 spinal surgeries and they will not do more because I am 83 years old.

Hello Elizabeth, I have been searching for information about what caused injury to my shoulders during multi-level ACDF surgery several years ago. Immediately following the surgery, I had a 3 to 4 inch circular bruised area located between my collarbone and shoulder on the soft skin tissue on each shoulder. I wish I had taken pictures! I won't go over every detail between then and now, suffice it to say, I concluded it was caused by something used for positioning the patient during the surgery. I have never located anything online indicating a device or even that this may be done during this surgery, but common sense and injury location led me to conclude this. The result was a brachial plexus injury, which occurs when the shoulder is forced down while the neck is stretched upwards and away from the shoulder. I was thrilled to see that you actually were told about learned about the surgical positioning by a medical professional. The surgeon who performed my ACDF actually denied any knowledge of such an injury. Can you imagine? Thank goodness my husband was there with me to hear the doctor's denial, because I don't know if anyone would really believe me. I suppose he was concerned about some kind of liability, although that wasn't my reason for asking him about it. I just wanted him to tell me what could be done about it. To date, I've had some self-referred PT to address some of the problem and now, two years later, I've reinjured the injury in a fall. The symptoms and decrease in ADL are the same now as then: restricted range of motion with my arms, cannot lift them above my shoulders or use them behind my back. I also have nerve pain run down my arms and very intense pain in my hands and lower arms. I have about a 50% decrease in my physical ability to do housework and gardening tasks such as carrying anything like clothes, or reaching inside the washer and dryer. Forget cleaning floors with vacuums, dust mops, brooms or wet mops, they result in setbacks and more pain. I take Tylenol when the aching and burning get bad, but of course, nothing helps the sharp nerve pain. Because I have stage 3 kidney disease, there are very few pain meds I can take. I'm sorry I don't have a specific remedy for you, but it sounds as if you were questioning whether the positioning during surgery had caused your shoulder injury, to which I say, yes, I absolutely do. I wish you the very best in your search for relief from pain and injury. I cannot tell you how overjoyed and relieved I am that you posted real information about this. By the way, when the surgeon denied any knowledge of my injury resulting from a procedure, I was crushed, it was such a let down from someone I had admired and relied on to perform this complex surgery. I never returned for any follow up care.
My best regards,
Nan
P.S. Dylan and Hope, both doggie rescues who are now part of our family, send doggie hugs to you and Molly!

@nkd123
Hi Nan. Welcome to Mayo Connect. Hopefully Elizabeth will see your post and respond to you, but her last post was in July so she might not be following Connect that closely now. I actually started a discussion a while ago about ACDF surgery. A friend of mine was having one done and I was trying to elicit experiences from others who had had it done. Here is a link if it's of any interest to you:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/anyone-had-an-anterior-cervical-corpectomy-and-discectomy-with-fusion/?pg=1#comment-367661
I am sorry that your doctor will not discuss what was done to you during surgery, i.e. the reason your shoulders evidence these areas of "brachial plexus injury" as you say. Liability issues really drive a wedge between doctors and their patients unfortunately.

In addition to the Chronic Pain Group (here), you might be interested in checking out these other groups to perhaps connect with others who have similar issues:
Bones, joints and muscles: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/arthritis-and-joint-conditions-268850/
Spine health: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/spine-health/

Nerve pain is the WORST! My wife has peripheral neuropathy in her feet and ankles and there is (so far) no cure. But I try to monitor the neuropathy group myself. Occasionally a good idea will appear and we will try it. Some actually have been helpful to my wife.

I'm so sorry for what has happened to you. My heart goes out to you for sure! I hope you are able to get some benefit and enjoyment from using Connect. All my best to you, Hank