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Cause of pain - left side Head; neck; shoulder & back muscles
Woke up with sudden pain on left side, upper body - head pain in rear and top; still neck; muscle cramping of shoulder and upper back. No pain or tingling in arms. Doctors referring to this as my muscles are constantly "firing". They are tight and tense and it feels like a hard knot when being examined. Constant pain 2 months now. Had x-ray & MRI. Have seen 2 orthopedic doctors; family doctor; chiropractor & acupuncturist.
X-ray report states: there appears to be osseous (bone encroachment on left C3-4 neural foramen by uncovertebral osteophyte. No prevertebral soft tissue thickening. But MRI report appears to state opposite; C3-4 normal height. Minimal central disc protrusion. Canal & neural foramen widely patent. Mild degenerative change in the facets without nerve root compression.
I have been on prednisone; muscle relaxers, strong pain meds. None helped at all, only applying heat (cold aggravates) . One orthopedic doctor (thinking it was nerve related) performed multiple nerve blocks MMB on C2, C3 & C4 and block on left Occipital Nerve in head. None helped alleviate pain at all.
Second orthopedic doctor (thinking it was muscular) performed 12 to 15 injections in 5 various muscles (ipitalis; trap; rhomboid minor; rvical paraspinals; supraspinatus) with Lidocaine& additional meds. This alleviated pain for approximately 8 hours. Chiropractic did not help at all. Acupuncturist helped the most in that the treatment alleviated the pain for approximately 18 to 20 hours.
No one seems to know how to stop the continuous pain ( I can't sleep as any pressure on the back of my scalp or left shoulder/ back makes it worse). Any advice on the cause and how to stop the symptoms/pain? or who else I should see?
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My neck pain which occurred 11years ago seems similar to yours. My neck X-ray report said I had mild arthritis and yet the pain was severe. After trying many treatments and pain meds including opioids with no relief of pain, I paid for an MRI. I live in Canada so the wait to see a neuro orthopedic surgeon was 8 months and one year for surgery. As I was desperate, I had a double neck fusion at a clinic in Kirkland, Wa. The surgeon told me I had severe osteoarthritis. The surgery relieved most of the pain but two years later, My pain got worse from the area above the surgery -C1-3. He could not operate on this area as it was fused from arthritis. I have been going to a pain clinic for ablation and cortisone injections with good results. I hope this helps as severe pain is unbearable.
Since the injection of lidocaine injected into your muscles helped for 8 hours (lidocaine is a short acting med), Botox may give you lasting relief. It is given every 3 months