Jane, thanks for the reply. The surgeries I've had haven't been to the cervical area, two to the hand and one to the shoulder. The paraspinal muscles and the levator scapula stay in a state of spasm, and can be a complicating factor for the ON as the nerve passes through the muscles that stay tight, and this shoulder thing has them all confused as this appears to be a result of the injury/surgery to the shoulder which presurgery, was unstable. I had pain to the shoulder post surgery, and with the disc, the pain escalated. It took me four months to get to pain management after being referred to the NS, physiatrist, myelogram, EMG, and then back to the ortho. The NS tried to send me to two different physiatrists who refused to treat me, stating that they didn't believe they could do anything for me. So, the ortho sent me to the PM doctor I'm with, which I'm really happy with him and he is a jem. The delay for treatment stems from the insurance company, which needs no further explanation I'm sure. Anyway, I appreciate your input, but all the research I find doesn't indicate that everyone is bound to get this. Prior injuries do predispose people to these problems. The initial ortho who did the first two surgeries advised me to keep the medical open on this as he foresaw future problems. I'm grateful that he was honest with me.

Take care