Originally Posted by jkl626

Thanks Eight! I find that massage generally flares me up worse, we dont have dry needling in CA but I do acupunture regularly, it seems to be the same thing pretty much as long as they put needles in the trigger points. It doesnt really help me longer than a couple of days. I will try your tennis ball method, usualy ice works better for my nerve pain(numbs it, but am trying heat again for tight muscles.

What kind of muscle relaxants can you take in the day that dont make you tired? I take a flexeril once in awhile at night but I am doughy all the next day.

I had TRP injections yesterday , PT today and acupuncture with Frequency Specific Microcurrent tomorrow-I hope things calm down soon!!

Originally Posted by jkl626

After 2 months of no flare-ups I had a nasty one that is lasting 3 weeks. It happened to correspond with trying to go back to work. This is the worst of my symptoms. I get nerve/burning pain in the back of my neck that gets worse as the day goes on.Sometimes around my armpits and down my arm and in my upper back.I have started taking neurontin and celebrex during the day. Only 300 mg, so I dont get too tired but I dont think it is helping. The numbness in my pinky is mostly gone. My Trapezius muscles get really tight. No one ever seems to talk about the back of the neck or the traps and I continually wonder if it comes from my C-5 6 disc bulge and bone spurs.

Do other TOS sufferers get nerve pain in the back of the neck and top of shoulder? How many of you have c-5/6 disc bulges? I am doing what I did the first time I got it to calm down,(microcurrent and ozone injections) but its all very expensive and I dont know which worked.

I am contemplating getting the disc taken care of now to eliminate it as a suspect-i.e.facet block injections, epidural,disc surgery etc. Will give it a couple more months and going to try a new pain doc to help manage drugs, injections etc.

Originally Posted by brisco71

I had a bulge with bone spurs at c5 last year and the pain was insane. I got the disc fusion surgery done and it was sooo much better. I still had TOS, and had to eventually get the surgery for that, but, the disc bulge had to be fixed or I would not have been able to function AT ALL.

P.s. The disc fusion for the bulge was a walk in the park compared to the TOS surgery. It really is a fairly easy surgery to recover from, I would get it fixed asap.

Originally Posted by chroma

I like inversion and/or neck traction for spacing out the vertebra. If you try this, you have to start out slow. You can find more info by searching these forums and also look up some studies. You can share with your Dr. and PT also to see if they have any input.

Originally Posted by astern

I would suspect the bulging disc. I am dealing with the same thing: 2 bulges in arthritic discs, bone spurs, DDD. The neck refers the pain out to the head, causing the traps and scalenes to brace/spasm... mine has been made worse from too much use of arms.

The spine doc wants to do nerve oblation, but Im not ready (mentally) for that yet. Right now, he says my lumbar is much worse than my neck, so I may have to deal with that first.

Hang in there jkl, you are not alone.
A.

Originally Posted by jkl626

Thanks, how can you tell the diff between the disc pain and the TOS pain? And why fusion over disectomy (scraping the disk and spurs from the back)of the neck. They want to give me an epidural which I have been resistant to but may do it now. Getting two other opinions in the next couple of weeks.