Back Pain Forum - Cronic Neck Pain

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Q: Cronic Neck Pain - Nerve Block

asked by: berak on July 24th, 2005

New User

I was in a car accident 12 months ago. I have had neck, upper back and shoulder pain every day since. I have had an mri, bone scan etc. The mri didnt show much. The bone scan showed inflammation around c3 and on my shoulders. I have tried several things, physio, acupuncture, chiropractor. None of these have helped, at times they make the pain worse. I have also been taking pain medication. The pain at times becomes too much to handle. The pain is mainly an aching sensation but it is constant, it varies in strength from day to day. It also consists of intense burning sensation down my neck and across my shoulder. My whole neck and upper back feel very tight and it also causes restriction of movement. The pain stats at the top of my neck and runs down my spine to the bottom of my shoulder blades. As well as the whole top section of my back (shoulder blades) also hurts.

My specialist has me booked in to have a nerve root block. If the problem, which he thinks is in my neck, can be located he wants me to have the nerves in that section burnt away. Apparently they will take 11 months to grow back.

Is there anyone that can help me. I dont know if the nerve block or the burning away of nerves is the best path I should take to start making some sort of recovery, or get some pain relief?

Is the nerve block painful? Is the nerve block risky or dangerous?
Will the nerves grow back? Will they grow back where they are supposed to?

Is there any other option to having the pain block and nerves burnt away?

Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated.

Replies(10)

Piglady

replied on August 3rd, 2005

New User

Chronic Neck Pain-nerve Block

Have you been checked for a possible chiari malformation? Talk to your neurologist about your mri's and see if that could be the problme. Good luck. Piglady

tigerlady372

replied on January 8th, 2006

New User

Neck Pain

Hello, I am a 39 year old female with a recent diagnosis of herniated disc in my neck. I have the whooshing in my ear, tingling and numbness in left arm, pain in neck, left arm and shoulder. I havent worked since the day after christmas, was in the er with symptoms of a stroke. After I went through a series of test, they said it was a cervical herniated disc in my neck, just started therapy 2 days ago. If I do anything at all, I pay for it the next day. Cant sleep, just cant get comfortable at all. I know these things take time, but it is so hard living with this pain and discomfort, wondering how long it will be until I get better. I cant take pain pills, they make me so sick. I am on my second round of prednisone, had several injections. Just need to get better. :cry:

tigerlady372

smcneil

replied on January 10th, 2006

New User

Me too, have a cervical herniation and arthritis, will be going in two days to a brand new doctor to start from scratch and get the proper treatment...Never had shots, etc....So I need help darnit!!!!!

smcneil

replied on January 10th, 2006

New User

I am 34 years old

Tamadrummer

replied on January 10th, 2006

Active User, very eHealthy

The best I can say as far as going in for steroid injections is make sure that the doctor you are using for these injections uses floroscopy and also make sure you will be put under consience sedation.

Floroscopy is basically a real time xray that allows the doc to see exactly where he is guiding the medicine to in your back/neck so he/she does not cause more injury than help. I was surprised to find that there are still a load of "old time" docs that do not use this technique and there is no reason for not using it other than ignorance or cheapness and neither of those reasons cut it for me. When doing lumbar epidurals it probably is not as important to have the live view as much as it is in the cervical spine but still no doc is going to put medicine in my back blind!

As far as the sedation goes, it is a preference not a requirement. I also will not be going in for these injections awake! Even though theey do use a local anesthetic, they still are very agressive with the injections and so being under for a short time is worth the extra couple hundred bucks they will charge your insurance and then you will pay a bit higher co-pay.

Good luck and don't be worried, as long as you have a decent doc you wont be harmed at all. Do your research if it is possible about the doc you are seeing and ask people in the waiting room how this doc has been for them. Is his bedside manner good or is he miserable and you know the routine.

Good luck,
brian

pwise221

replied on February 27th, 2009

New User

nerve block and burning of nerves

If anyone has had this done please respond

Aust45

replied on March 7th, 2009

New User

Burning of nerves

Yes, I had this done 3 weeks ago, 4 levels each side. The relief has been amazing, still a bit stiff but so much better.

Users who thank Aust45 for this post: pwise221

luvstond

replied on March 20th, 2009

New User

I was in a car accident 2 1/2 months ago and I have a buldge disc in my neck, strained muscle tissue. I have had numbness in my arms for about 3 weeks. Just recently about two weeks ago have had horrible migraines. I had a nerve block done on my occipital neuralgia top neck near my skull...and i felt almost normal for about 2 days till today. The migraine is back. I also can't look up cause my neck still hurts. This Blows! good luck with your pain...

pwise221

replied on April 5th, 2009

New User

burning of nerves in neck

I have a couple of questions to ask, after the burning of the nerve in neck do you have to be very careful on what you do, and will it take the numbness out of the arm and leg?

VTSportGirl

replied on August 21st, 2009

New User

Chronic Neck Pain

I am going on day 38 of chronic neck pain which entail burning sensation starting from neck down to the middle of my shoulder blade. Sometimes that pain gets so bad, that I get a headache. I also, get numbness down my right and left arm which cause tingling in my pinky and ring finger. I get numbness down the riht side of my right leg and my left toe goes completely numb too.

I have had to start working from home since two weeks ago, but going back half days there and half days at home.

I have had two MRI's one of my brain and blood flow to my head, all was normal. The second one, just had on 8/20/09 and this showed that I have C3 to C7 buling discs as well as my neck being completely straight with no curve.

I recently switched primary care physicians, she sent me to a pain doctor, which I saw today 8/22/09 and he was going to do a Posterior Ocipital Nerve Block. However, he told me to research this before I do it because he feels my headache is not migraine related.

Doea anyone have any thoughts on where I should go from here, either a neuro surgeon or an orthopaedic surgeon? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

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