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What are people's experiences with spinal fusion surgery?
Spine Health | Last Active: Jun 30 3:25pm | Replies (222)Comment receiving replies
Wow you have done a lot of research and good on you xx I have been struggling for years now with all over pain chronic fatigue, heavy legs and have seen numerous doctors some have said oh it’s your weight loose that and it will be all okay they didn’t listen to me at all very frustrating x I finally had a CT , MRI scan on my cervical area diagnosed with severe cord compression at 3 levels C 4 to C7 so I see one neurosurgeon and said why was I seeing him ? I can’t help you very depressing as my GP and PT were very concerned so when I seen my rheumatologist he was very angers in that doctors response and sent me off to see one of he’s colleges and he has offered me surgery up to me but I don’t fit the category of my arms and hands being effected? But my concern is better to get it now before it gets worse I am 58 atm as the nerves are compressed it’s a matter of time before they have had enough xx any thoughts would be helpful
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@mincer It sounds like you just hit the wall from the doctors who say that that the pattern caused by cervical spinal cord compression is only that your arms and hands should be affected. I was told that too, but it was wrong. The doctors should know this. If I as a patient can find the medical literature that describes leg pain caused by spinal cord compression in the neck, they should be able to find it too, and good surgeons go to surgical conferences to learn about the latest research and case discussions from the spine societies who host these meetings every year.
If you look at a dermatome map which shows where the spinal nerves go when they reach all the way to the end of the nerves at the skin, this is true. Theses are the nerves that come out between the vertebra and yes, they are very specific to where they go. If the spinal cord is compressed BEFORE it gets to the spinal nerve, it will also cause a problem, but you can't predict specifically where it will be when the whole bundle gets compressed because you don't know which nerve cells in that giant bundle are affected. A lot of stuff gets compressed together.
When I found the medical study that described this, I had just been dismissed and refused surgical help. I had been a patient of other doctors at that medical center for several years, a neurologist and a thoracic surgeon and they would not help me address the issue with the spine surgeon who missed it. No one was willing to point out a mistake to a surgeon who was at the head of his department. That surprised me, but they did tell me to get another opinion. I had to find another doctor at another medical center and that is when I came to Mayo where this issue called "funicular pain" was known.
I had heaviness in my legs too. You might want to find a better surgeon, and start your inquiry with the question about your legs and your cervical stenosis and ask if the doctor thinks this heaviness and weakened walking gait is funicular pain. You will find out if they understand funicular pain, and if not, don't waste your time there. I sent a copy of the medical literature with my inquiry when I contacted Mayo. 5 years ago when this was an issue for me, there was only the study in the first link about funicular pain, and now when I search, I can find a lot more. Spine surgeons should know this if they are keeping up with the knowledge in their field.
This explains dermatome maps and where the nerve pathways go.
https://www.healthline.com/health/dermatome#dermatomes-list
Funicular Pain
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20938789
https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/neck-pain/types-neck-pain
https://neupsykey.com/neurologic-evaluation-of-the-cervical-spine/
https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-020-03299-x