Periodic neck pain ACDF

Posted by mishea @mishea, Apr 7 1:53pm

Worried about periodic neck pain 3 months post op. ( occipital region & some muscle pain toward shoulder. )Collar off in 2 days. Will start PT then

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dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | Apr 8 6:58am

@mishea
I had ACDF surgery on c5-c6 with metal implants but did not need to wear a collar (only had a soft collar for a few days post op). I am planning to get ACDF surgery on c6-c7 next month.

My understanding is if you wear a collar for an extended period of time, it can significantly weaken your muscles which is probably why you need PT (I did not need PT after my ACDF surgery). This may be behind your pain.

How have you had to sleep the last 3 months? Sleeping positions can cause a lot of neck pain.

Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Apr 8 5:44pm

@mishea I'm sorry you're in pain. Some of that is likely due to weakness from being in a neck brace for 3 months. I did that too because my cervical fusion was done without hardware and it needed to fuse before removing the brace. Some pain comes from when the surgical scar tissue tightens up. Your physical therapist should be able to help with that and stretch out scar tissue as well as strengthen muscles. Hopefully, you'll start feeling better soon.