@ajames5 First, let me welcome you to Connect. I am a cervical fusion patient. I see that you are about 2 months past your surgery. I know for me, that period was when the surgical scar tissue started to tighten up. I also have thoracic outlet syndrome or TOS, and this exists right next to the spine where the nerves travel from the spine under the collar bone and down the arm. Those are very small spaces and muscle and facsia tightness will compress the nerves there for me. Adding some inflammation from a surgical procedure next to it, did increase the TOS arm pain for me. Many spine patients also have TOS because it can be caused by an accident, whiplash or repetitive stress type injury or even poor posture.

The remedy was physical therapy to loosen up the tight tissue with myofascial release. That may be an answer and definitely worth a try so it's worth asking your surgeon for some physical therapy. Even though you have moved, you are still a patient under the surgeon's care. Is there a plan to follow up remotely with X-rays to check for fusion status? You may also be having muscle spasms. That happens to me because of the TOS which makes one side of my neck to be tighter than the other, and when it gets kicked up, it starts rotating my vertebrae, mostly C1 & C2, but it has rotated them all down to my fusion level at C5/C6. That causes pain at the occipital area on the back of the skull because of muscles that attach there that are getting pulled.

I think you will get past all of this as you heal, but it helps to learn some self treatment stretches from a myofascial release therapist so you can self treat at home to maintain your condition. Muscle spasms can cause so much pain, and if you can work out the knots in the muscles and release the tightness in the fascia, it allows the body to function and move better, except for the fusion area of course. You do need your surgeon's permission and a script for therapy. I had to wait about 4 to 5 months for that, but I also had a fusion done without hardware and they wanted to make sure it was stable.

I do sometimes get a tight trapezius knot like you described, and I did some deep tissue massage on it with a Theracane to work out the knot, and also plenty of MFR stretching which helped a lot. I have been doing MFR work for at least a dozen years because of TOS and it has helped me a lot, and also helped me have a better result with my spine surgery because the tissue was easier to retract during surgery because it was looser, and after, it helped in my recovery after the scar tissue from the incision had healed.

Here is our discussion about MFR (Myofascial Release) where you can learn more.

Neuropathy - "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 this link. https://www.mfrtherapists.com/

Has your surgeon suggested any physical therapy?