@wil24 Susan, I'm just a couple hours from Madison over the border in IL and we drive past Madison going up to Rochester. I hope you have someone to drive and share the trip with you. I'm sure that will be a tough trip to make, so take it easy and stop when you need a rest to get out and stretch. Take blankets and water with you in case of car trouble. We've had the brutal temperatures here too, and today was the first day I went out since the snowstorm hit. Before my surgery, I used to wrap a bead filled microwavable wrap around my neck and tie it with a neck scarf. It gave me support kind of like a neck brace. If you have a hotel room with a microwave, it is a nice way to relax with a heat wrap and it helps with some of the muscle spasms particularly after a long car ride. I would also take pillows in the car so I could put them in my lap and rest my arms on them and I can do that when I'm driving. That helps take some pressure off the neck too. It's good you can break your drive in half and stay at the cabin. Going to Mayo is the first step in a long journey to recovery. I'm glad you have the opportunity to go to the best place you can be for a spine issue.

Jennifer

@wil24 Susan, I had a few other thoughts for you. I know that my physical therapist who was doing myofascial release before and after my spine surgery, made a big difference in my good recovery. Before my spine condition was evident, I was doing MFR working on addressing thoracic outlet syndrome, and I hit a plateau in my recovery. That was when the spinal cord compression was starting to cause similar pain symptoms and my spine was then evaluated. I continued to do this MFR work right up until my spine surgery, but it also took me 2 years before I found a surgeon to help me. My spine surgeon at Mayo commented that my neck muscles felt "loosey goosey" and that was because of MFR , and it helped make all of the muscle easier to retract during surgery. After surgery, there was tight scar tissue to work on and get back to working on the TOS as well as strengthening in rehab.

I checked, and there are a few MFR therapists trained in the John Barnes methods around Madison and you can find them at this site. http://mfrtherapists.com/

This might be something you may want to explore if you are waiting for a proposed surgery.

You may also get a diagnosis of TOS while at Mayo, and you have a lot of symptoms that could be attributed to it. Mayo does have 2 chiropractors who are listed as doing myofascial release in their rehab department, and you may be able to see them after you have your answers from your appointments. I know that recently Mayo sent some physical therapists to a John Barnes MFR training. My PT told me that. It might take several weeks if you are to be scheduled for spine surgery and you could see an MFR therapist while you are back at home and waiting. These are things you could discuss at Mayo based on the findings in your evaluations and it may help you feel better.

Jennifer