Question
I am a 42 year old female who had my entire spine fused when I was 15 with a harrington rod inserted.  When I was 19 I fell on ice and suffered a severe neck injury.  For the past 12 years I have suffered from a bulging cervical disc at c6-c7.  I also have some spurs that the doctor said are quite large.  I have been in debilitating pain that affects my right arm all the time.  The pain never lets up.  I do not take pills as they do not help. If I use my arm at all the pain goes from my shoulder area all the way down to my hand.  Even if i stop what I am doing it feels like someone is twisting my muscles and nerves and it will not stop until someone massages really hard in my shoulder area for about 10 minutes. I am so aggravated by being in this much pain.  The neurologist said I have nerve root compression.  My muscles in my shoulder area feel like banjo strings.  I cannot write as the pain is so horrible.  Sometimes my hand even gets cold.  My left arm is now becoming affected also.  Physical therapy did not help and I am so scared of surgery.  Please tell me what kind of surgery would I need and what would the prognosis be after so many years of nerve pain.  I forgot to mention sleeping at night is painful for me to extend my arms also.  I also have scoliosis in my neck. I would appreciate any help or advice you can give me. Thank You, Kimberly

Answer
Kimberly,

You ask what kind of surgery you would need -- probably because you don't know of any alternative.  I don't recommend any surgery until you have had training to reduce muscular contractures in your neck.

Bulging discs, bone spurs and nerve root compression occur in the presence of muscular contractures (generally reflexively caused by injuries such as the ones you have had).  Contractures are muscles caused to tighten by the nervous system, as a protective reaction -- unnecessary once healing has occurred.

My best advice to you is avoid surgery until you have had clinical somatic education to address the muscular contractures.  That's something surgery can't correct (although bone spurs can be removed surgically).

May I direct you to my article on neck injuries at

http://www.somatics.com/whiplash.htm

and on recovery from injuries at

http://somatics.com/recovery_from_injury.htm

with regard,
Lawrence Gold