Cervical Spondylosis - Neck Massager Advice

[Green]

I have Cervical Spondylosis - I get massage 1-2 times/week, having extreme tense muscles in neck, scoliosis of cervical spine, daily pain, radiating into arms, numbness in finger tips when using computer. Seems to also run through the whole body, lower back, legs, mostly on right side, and into right foot. Was thinking of getting one of these electric neck massager's, the ones with the rotating strong circular motions which you lie down into. Something durable for daily use...anyone have one or can recommend where and what brand to get? Also was wondering about things and treatment you have done which may help. Was looking at an inflatable neck tracktion, pump it up as needed, i got a soft collar which doesn't really help at all. Thanks for Any suggestions .

[jrtmedic]

You are probably aware that your Cervical Spondylosis is an age related and chronic condition. The symptoms you describe indicate the possibility of a nerve root (or spinal cord) compression (suggested by your suffering referred pain and and "tingling"

My advise is to seek a full of evaluation your condition by an Orthopaedic or Neuro surgeon.

Whilst a "cure" for Cervical Spondylosis is not available it is possible to alleviate symptoms by constructing an individualised care plan, Such a plan (devised by the surgeon in consultation with yourself) may include the use of medication and carefully chosen physical therapy. In some cases steroid injections are helpful and in a few (rare) instances surgery may be an option.

In summery I would urge you to seek professional medical advice ASAP and in the meantime to just use simple analgesics and avoid any "unprofessional" attempts at massage or cervical traction which may have unpredictable sequelae.

Best wishes

Edited October 26, 2012 by jrtmedic

[Sheryl]

Massage witll only temporaily relieve associated muscle spasm and not do anything for the underlying condition so at best you'll feel a little better for a short while and then be right back where you were. And at worst, it may dio serious damage.

There are simple gentle neck traction devices that you can get online which I think are poretty safe, and physical therapy departments would also be able to provide it. How much (if at all) this will help depends very much on your specific situation. It may like massage provide only a transient relief (although it is probably a safer option for that then letting soemone manioulate your neck).

In some cases specific exercises can help but these need to be tailored to the individual i.e. you need to see first an othro and then a physio to develop a regimen.

I don't know how long you have had this, but the fact that you have numbness radiating down the arms as well as to the lower exteremities could indicate nerve compression and you should most definitely see an orthopedic specialist with sub specialty in spinal problems. I highly reccommend Dr Wicharn at BNH hospital.

Will the numbness in the hand and fingers could be from the cervical spione, it could also be from another problem such as carpal tunnel syndrome. That numbness and tingling sometimes radiates up, making it difficult to distinguish fro mthe radiculopathy of cervical spondylitis..and it is quite possibel to have both conditions. There are tests that can be done to determine exactly which nerves are responsible for your pain and numbness.

As jrt mentioned, sometimes sterid injectiosn are helpful, sometimes surgery is indicated, each case is different. I would add that for pain (as opposed to numbness/tingling), in people who are not surgical candidates and in whom the pain is well localized =nerve blocks or nerve ablation can sometimes be used, depending on the precise nerves involved. these give long lasting relief but as they do deaden the nerve can only be used on ones that are peripheral and not essential to daily fiunctioning.

There is no substitute for seeing a good specialist. Evert case is different.

[Green]

Thanks for that advice. And thanks for the Dr recommendation at BNH. I did see one neurosurgeon there, as a follow up from seeing an orthopedic at sukhumvit hospital. I had an MRI done on the neck at sukhumvit hospital. The ortho just said dont take it too seriously, use a small dose of neurontin (which helps, but after a week of use I find that my muscles get even more tense than usual in the neck because you dont feel the pain, but the muscles still seem to spasm?), dyno-stat injection, basic analgesics, vit-B, anti-inflam...anyways i thought it didn't seem too thorough, so went to BNH, but really nothing much different, he added a soft collar. I have had this for about 15 years or so, 40 now, since a bicycle accident where i landed on my face, woke up in the hospital, but nothing broken. I think sitting at the computer is the most aggravating thing, and considered getting an orthopedic chair that leans you forward so your weight is mostly on the knees, taking pressure off the spine. I did traction a couple of times, whole body heat pack and ultra-sound, but not sure how effective that really is. Also wear a lumbar support which actually does help alot, but need to find a good new one, any recommendations there? Also where Velcro stretching adjustable knee supports, which helps too. I do yoga, yin yoga, very slow, which helps, but massage, strong massage while yes temporary relief, is the only thing which brings me back to feeling normal again. I was assessed about 4 years ago with fibromyalgia, but they didn't know, and I didn't know, about the cervical stuff, but now i see that everything seems to be a result of the spondylosis. Sheryl do you think seeing Dr Wicharn at BNH hospital would be useful in this case?

[Sheryl]

I think it is definitely worth seeing him. Bring all test results, films etc with you.

I wouldn't necessarily be sure your problems now are from cervical spondylosis (which is actually a catch all term anyhow) especially since lumbar support seems to help, and there is some numbness/tingling down to the legs (i.e. there may be something going on in ther lumbar region too). Any way Dr. Wicharn is in my experience the besdt for spinal problems and will take tyhe time to try to sort out exactly what is causing the pain. Sometimes disk problems found on MRI are putely incidental and not the cause of the pain (which is one reason why some back surgeries are unsuccessful)