I was born with a fusion Anamoly. My c3 and c4 are fused together.

Posted by chrisbr88 @chrisbr88, 1 day ago

I was born with my c3 and c4 fused together but did not find out about it until 2 years ago when I went for a check up and complained about persistent neck pains and and frequent head aches. They found it in an x ray. The doctor recommended that I just change my diet and start taking an anti inflammatory medication. He suggested that it might not be wise to see a specialist because they would just try to sell me an expensive surgery. He may be right. I want a second opinion though and I would definitely like to see a specialist. I dropped my health insurance cuz it was just a joke. Where do I even start? Who do I talk to? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Spine Health Support Group.

Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | 1 day ago

@chrisbr88 Welcome to Connect. Are you looking for another health insurance? Seeing a spine specialist would be expensive, and they may not see a patient on a cash basis because spine surgery is really expensive.

What I suggest is considering a therapist who does myofascial release. That can help a lot of body pain by stretching out the overly tight tissue with a special technique. I have done a lot of it and it has helped me a lot.

Here is our discussion about MFR. There is a provider search at http://mfrtherapists.com/
Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Have you heard of myofascial release therapy before?

dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | 1 day ago

@chrisbr88
You may want to look into options for insurance coverage and financial support, if needed and qualified.

Once you have coverage, it would be good to get an mri of your cervical spine to see if you have any spinal cord or nerve root compression. An orthopedic spine specialist and/or neurologist can help you with diagnosis and treatment options. Good surgeons won’t push unnecessary surgery. A neurologist can help do EMG/nerve conduction studies to see if you have radiculopathy in arms/hands.