Swelling and stiffness after PCDF

Any one can help

@wsmd I wanted to say welcome to Connect. You had a pretty big surgery. My surgery was just one cervical level fused ACDF and 6 weeks is about when I started feeling better. I think it is still very early for you since your surgery was much more involved and posterior surgery hurts more than anterior because they are going through muscle. That would make the recovery longer too.

Hopefully some other members can share a similar experience. Every patient recovers at a different rate. I hope you start to feel better soon.

Thanks alot for sharing your experience, yes it is major surgery, and iam struggling with Pain and stiffness.

I hope you’re doing well. I’m scheduled for posterior cervical fusion C3-T1 later this month. While I have no answers for your question, I am wondering how you are coming along in your recovery. I’m trying to gain an understanding of what recovery will look like, and I’m not finding many references to a fusion this long. Thank you (and anyone else) who can provide insight.

Hello, thanks iam fine , actually I feel my self after week 4 ,iam now in week 6, but still feel pain and swelling that make the muscle very rigid in neck and shoulder .
Wish you a successful surgery and quick recovery

@wsmd I'm glad to hear of your improvement. I know those muscle spasms can be pretty tough after surgery. Does a heat wrap help? You may want to ask your surgeon if you can take magnesium to help the muscles relax. It might not make a huge improvement because you are recovering from a big trauma from surgery. It is a slow journey to recovery. I remember by 3 months I could forget I had surgery although my neck was weak from the neck brace. Hang in there!

Actually the hot water pack and the ice pack are not helpful , I have made two physiotherapy set before 10 days and swelling and stiffness has been increased and since then the swelling is not decreased , iam very depressed with my health status after 8 weeks of PCDF surgery , the can send to you photo of muscle my muscles look likes balloon 😢😢

One of the things that can cause swelling after surgery is wound infection. It may be that your physiotherapy was rigorous enough to cause the swelling. You might contact your physician's office. Lab values would indentify infection. I would want reimaging of the surgical site, as well. With medical care it is better to be wise than stoic. Add the photo to the post and post it to your surgeon.
Best wishes

I have uploaded lat x ray I took yesterday as well as the image of muse and incision, the blood test done by Dr didnt show any infection . I want to add that while moving my neck I hear squeaking and noise in the last two days.

Wsmd, good that you had the x-ray and labs. X-ray isn't good at showing inflammation but would alert you to infection. And it doesn't look like allergy to the metals. Physiotherapy may have aggravated the hardware rubbing, hence the swelling and stiffness Three months is the healing time usually with one year for the hardware to fully integrate. I see your muscle balloon. You might ask for something to reduce swelling, I wish there were something for the pain.
You've had big surgery in a mobil area. It looks like you are on course. Keep us posted.
"During surgery the hardware is affixed securely, but other surrounding structures (tissue, vertebra, etc.) can potentially rub against the hardware and cause sound. Patients often report squeaking, creaking, clicking, popping, or cracking sounds from the location of the hardware." https://sinicropispine.com/can-spinal-hardware-make-noise/#:~:text=The%20most%20likely%20cause%20of,get%20used%20to%20the%20hardware.