Arthritis in the cervical vertebrae has caused the canal to swell shut, so that an MRI in that area shows no opening at all. Does anyone here have this problem? I have no feeling in the tips of my fingers or thumbs. My hands, shoulders, arms, and upper back are in pain, and sometimes shooting pains from when I do something ( like lift something) is awful.

Surgical solutions are iffy/scary. No meds help. Phys therapy only worsens--why was this prescribed????????

Any experience?

The short answer is:

Physical Therapy was prescribed because it is the firstline treatment for most chronic pain conditions. It is less expensive, non-invasive, and generally more successful in the short term than most other modes of therapy.

There are different types/kinds/specializations of PT just as there are for medicine, so getting the right kind of PT is of great importance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_therapy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_therapy

Doc

Once again, Dr. Smith, thank you. Wikipedia is in blackout tonight for political reasons, but I will check it out tomorrow. My neurologist has assured me that PT options have been exhausted, which I guess means I must get used to the current situation.

Did your neurologist happen to say WHY PT options have been exhausted? Sometimes it's because insurance companies will only pay for one course, and if we happen to get a bad therapist, we're stuck with paying for any more out-of-pocket. OTOH, he may have known it wouldn't work, but insurance companies have also been known to require trying PT first before they'll pay for any treatments beyond that, despite what our doctors think. Insurance companies love to play doctor....

If you're an American citizen, I urge everyone to pursue the Wikipedia Blackout and follow-up with your congressperson.

Doc

I'm sorry, justsad - I somehow missed part of this before, and just caught it in the spine forum. Is anything being done to reduce this swelling (NSAIDS, steroids, arthritis meds)?

I do have arthritis in both my cervical and lumbar areas. Probably the whole cussed spine; they never bothered to look at the T region specifically, but the other two regions showed it continued down & up, so....

Massage, muscle relaxers, TENS (to a lesser extent) and stretching exercises have all helped control it some. Mostly I have to keep the areas lose and flexible, which is a constant battle. There are some foods and herbals that have anti-inflammatory properties. I can't take NSAIDs except for meloxicam w/ ONE aspirin on the really bad days, and that can really make a difference.

Not saying any of this will work for you - I don't know (or remember) what all you've tried.

Doc

Is there actual soft tissue swelling, or is it a boney narrowing of the canal (stenosis)? or is it the spaces where the nerves exit?

Hi,

If your cervical spinal canal is not patent you are in dire need of intervention.
Whether it is due to swelling or spurs, if your spinal canal is compressed the spinal cord can get damaged and you can be threatened with paralysis.

If it is not the canal with compression of the cord, there other places where nerves can be compressed (stenosis) that not be as serious and other noninvasive methods may be able to help.

I have had the unfortunate experience to have bone spurs that compressed my spinal canal and damaged my c5. I am not paralyzed thankfully, but have chronic neurological pain after surgery

I had symptoms as you described. However, with little info from the mri it is unclear how serious this is. Please talk to you NS or ortho or get a second opinion. The damage to the cervical spinal area can be dangerous, more so than the lumbar because of paralysis.

I don't want to alarm you, but i want you to know how serious this could be. I am surprised a ortho or ns would prescribe physical therapy if your cervical canal was closed.

Hope all goes well and don't ignore this
Take care

There are no spines. Its just arthritic flammation of the vertabrae in my neck around the cord.. The PT is supposed to straighten the canal or the bones so there's more room for the canal. They want me to wear a cervical collar so my neck stays straight I think too..that way I won't turn and twist it?

Well it was just me with the doctors, and I don't always understand everything they all say. But later my doctor said it was just my same arthritis that I've I've always had, swelling the bones, he didn't say tissues.

what are the surgical options? and the reason they are iffy?