What helps spinal stenosis besides surgery?

@jojo58 If your question was for me, my stenosis was at C5/C6 in the central canal caused by a ruptured disc with bone spurs that were pushing 5 mm into the canal. Not all surgeons will operate on higher levels right under the skull. That takes a lot of skill, and they want to be sure not to damage nerves that exit the spinal cord to control breathing which is up around C3.

What are your specific levels that surgeons want to address? What type of intervention are they suggesting?

Jennifer

I believe mine is at the same level as yours. There are minor issues above but they’re going to leave that alone. The stenosis is really bad at C5 and C6 and the disc is bulging inward. I’ve seen several surgeons, one wanted to lay the whole back of my neck open. Well that was a NO. There is a new procedure that would give me more mobility turning my head. The surgeon I’m going to see on the 20th does it. Whether I’m a candidate or not I won’t know till I see him. I have no reflexes on my left side, so it’s getting worse. I would not have known anything was wrong with my neck if that guy hadn’t hit me with his pickup. I was wondering about your recovery time. How long, pain, etc. I work self checkout at a grocery store less than a mile from my house. I can’t afford to be out for months. I took a cut in pay to work there and STD is 60%. I’m barely making it now with what I get paid. Just wondering about your experience and what they did and how you are now. Any information would be appreciated. Thank you for responding

@jojo58 C5/C6 hardly affects turning your head, maybe it is 1% of the movement. Head turning is mostly done by C1 & C2 that are designed to rotate with some assistance from C3 & C4, so mobility at this level probably isn't an issue. I have a fusion at C5/C6 and my head turning is normal and the same as it was before surgery. I can no longer touch my chin to my chest like I used to be able to do, but it is darn close. Most surgeons do a frontal approach called an ACDF (Anterior Cervical Disketomy and Fusion). Mine was done with only a bone disc graft and no hardware. To have that, I had to stay in a neck brace 3 months round the clock because nothing was screwed into my spine.

This surgery is expensive, so make sure that the facility, the surgical team, and any accessory workers such as people who do neuro-monitoring are in network with your insurance.

After 6 weeks, I was not in pain anymore and the incision had healed. After that point the scar tissue tightens up a bit. My neck was weak because of the neck brace , so I went to rehab. By about 5 or 6 months, I could forget that I had the surgery. I don't have pain now, but I also keep doing stretching that my PT taught me when my neck tightens up. I also have thoracic outlet syndrome that makes one side too tight, so I need to periodically loosen that.

I am glad that I did this surgery and it doesn't limit my activity. That being said, I work at using good posture so I don't stress other levels and cause them to go bad.

Make sure you ask a lot of questions so you understand exactly what the surgeon says, and they should show you your imaging and explain where the problem is. If you have to choose between fusion and artificial disc, there are risks to both procedures. artificial disk can fail my migrating or screws could push out, and sometimes the body can grow bone around them in an attempt to stabilize them.

This is my story.

Thank you so much for the information. Especially about insurance and all. I have some medical training so not everything is foreign to me. I get in trouble understanding the insurance. I will definitely read your story. I have a notebook of questions to ask. My aunt is a retired RN and she’s been helping me. But we live 9 hours apart so she can’t go with me. Again thank you. That’s the best information I’ve gotten so far. 😀

I apologize for not responding earlier. My experience with all of this horrible pain is NOT normal so please do not worry. I had a cervical fusion in 2019 and my recovery was fairly easy, compared to a lumbar fusion. I am struggling with this one because of my shoulder situation. I was only given hydrocodone 4-6 hours for 5 days and that normally should be more than sufficient then moving to Tylenol. You’ll be able to lift 5 pounds within the first two weeks and then it will graduate up…., I would imagine that your doctor would have you back to work within a month. I hope this helps you. Good luck. I am sorry that guy hit you.

Thank you. That makes me feel a little better about the time off. When that guy hit me he kept going and luckily a good guy chased him down till police got there but he didn’t want to get tied up in a court case. Kinda don’t blame him, T least he went after them.

That was good of him, glad he helped you out by chasing after him.

Exercise, physical therapy . I believe in Chiropractic Care, Physical Therapy, Exercise and Diet are all best alternatives to Surgery.

Find a workout buddy .

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to say "Thank you" for your reply. Right after I sent my original question, my husband fell off the bottom step and pulled his quad muscle in his leg and had to have surgery. I cancelled all my appointments in re to my spine issues until recently. I just had an appointment to review the results of the remaining tests. Now, I'm at the point of decision making and I'm more confused than ever! (I have severe cord compression of C5-6, moderate cord compression of C4-5 , disk bulging of C6-7, Disc collapse of C5-6 and C6-7, cervical spondylosis with myelopathy, and spinal stenosis of cervical region. Also, I have head tremors only when laying flat. (The tremors stop the very second when I sit up). With all of these issues, I still have absolutely no pain and am still pretty active and lucky to enjoy life at age 78. NOW my dilemma is - the surgeon is recommending surgery which will be a two-day surgery consisting of a corpectomy of C5- and C-6, with a C3-7 ACDF and PSF. After listing all the risks of having the surgery he also wrote that the patient understands that there is a risk that I could be no better, or I could be worse after surgery. He said if it was his mother he would recommend surgery, but he definitely could understand if I chose not to have the surgery. I have NO pain or other issues! If I didn't have the head tremors when laying down, I wouldn't even know any of this! He is planning on going through the front of my neck, staying at the hospital that night and the next morning going back to the operating room to go through the back of my neck to insert a rod and screws to stabilize the front surgery from the day before. ( The surgeon said must be done because my bones are thin.) Do you know what the recuperation would be? It just seems to me, if there is a risk of having surgery, and there is a risk of not having surgery I don't know what my answer should be!! Any recommendations would be wonderful!!

@hat My , you have been through a lot. Is your husband recovered enough so you can have your own surgery? Is there someone who can help take care of you after surgery? I do not think you will feel well enough to take care of him if you are recovering. Your surgeon has some extensive plans, and it may be wise to seek a second opinion. Cervical surgery through the back of the neck is going to hurt more than through the front, and I think your recovery time will be longer because so many levels are being addressed. Surgeons will always say they can’t promise you no pain and every patient is a bit different. I think there will be more pain with the rods to stabilize the spine, and you will loose a lot of movement. My recovery was 6 weeks until the incision was well healed, after which scar tissue tightened up. At 3 months, the fusion was set, so I could take off the neck brace. I had no hardware. I had to do rehab for neck weakness after that. I also did this at age 59, so your healing may be slower than mine due to age and more extensive surgery. One thing that helped me recover well was to do physical therapy and myofascial stretching before surgery and again 3 months after when the fusion was set. It is possible to have pain that stays after surgery, and I would recommend talking with a physical therapist about that. Are you planning on getting a second opinion?