r/cervical_instability

Hi everyone, struggling with a diagnosis. What I do know is, I have military neck and a bone spur and some mild buldging disks in neck. I have what the radiologist says mild stenosis. With that being said, neurologist suggests PT. I did 3 rounds and need to go back but here are my symptoms:

Neck pain radiating into the occipital region creating at times debilitating head pain, neck pain and shoulder pain. Muscles are tight. dizziness, vertigo. I have had that for several years prior to the pain. I also have unpredictable vision which can have good days and bad. Multiple eye exams show normal aging vision changes, no optical nerve damage.

I get a sensation of the base of my brain being squooze. Cognition terrible, insomnia. Pain through the night waking me up. Headaches, I also have what I was told possible neuralgia spreading to teeth causing strange tooth aches. Full ears just to name a few. This really kicked in with pain and concern one year ago. Prior to that, I just lived with these strange symptoms and they were manageable. When it began severely back in July of last year, I went to the ER because I thought it was viral meningitis. ER said it was muscle strain. I am frustrated as is my MD and quite frankly, I don't think anyone is interested or cares at this point. As I type this, my neck hurts pretty bad and shoulders are extremely tight. I have been living on magnesium supplements. Over the counter stuff not working well and flexeril is not an option for me. Anyone else does this sound familiar?

Good evening Tomorrow I go under the knife again. This will be the 5th time in two years. What was supposed to be resolved with fusion of my C5-C7 two years ago has lead to L4-L5 fused, my tethered spinal cord released, then an occipital to c2 fusion. Meanwhile the entire time my symptoms have worsened. Now the occipital to c2 fusion has failed and they are going to remove it tomorrow and then play it by ear. I share this with you because I don’t want others to rush into surgeries like I have. Spinal surgery is uncharted waters regardless of what the doctor is telling you. They can make no guarantees and if you do your research almost as many fail as succeed. Go the other routes. Injections, etc. Anything but fusions. Take it from a 46 year old dad of 3 who has been put through the wringer the past two years.

For those who have had posterior PRP, how long after did you notice improvement?

Any tips for bumpy dirt roads? I live rurally and moved to the end of a long dirt road(12 miles total but it’s the last 1-2 that are the worst), not knowing it would be so difficult on me. It’s been a few months and I rarely leave the house now because I’ll wind up in bed for at least a day after. What will help?

hi all! i’ve been trying to figure out some accessible low grade exercise that won’t aggravate my symptoms to prevent deconditioning in my other muscle groups. i’ve been ~70% bedbound for the last two years (brag) and am worried about the muscle loss in my calves/glutes/etc. i have hEDS, which is obviously also a constraint. i would love to hear anything you’ve found to safely engage other parts of the body. TIA!!!

This condition is pretty isolating as we know. I spend a lot of time at home and in my local area. I love dogs and considering getting one for company and support etc. I wondered if anyone had gone through that toss up of the obvious benefits vs the downsides of having to walk it when you feel like crawling under the duvet etc!

How do you find it?

Has anyone here undergone the CCI/PICL-type procedure at Alpine Spine & Orthopedics with Dr. Richard McMurtrey? How legitimate is the clinic, and did the treatment actually improve your CCI symptoms/instability? I’d especially like to hear about long-term results and objective improvement on DMX/MRI. I guess his charges are also lesser compared to picl.

https://www.alpinespineorthopedics.com/craniocervical-instability

hi all - has anyone here had any success with prolotherapy/PRP for retrolisthesis (vertebrae sliding backwards in extension) lower in the neck (c6-t1)?

Hello everyone, I hope everyone is doing well. I need some help and advice. I used to be a mechanic and I injured myself at the work and some overtime issues as well. I’m a 32-year-old male dealing with ongoing cervical spine issues, and I’m looking for advice from people who have experienced something similar. I have cervical lordosis problems and small disc bulges at multiple levels (C4-C5, C5-C6, and C6-C7).

My symptoms include:
Neck pain
Nerve-related pain and numbness radiating into my hands
Inflammation and muscle tightness
Cold hands
Dizziness
Heart palpitations
Occasional mild episodes of blurry vision
I’ve had these symptoms for quite a while, and they affect my daily life, exercise, work, and overall quality of life.
Has anyone here experienced similar symptoms related to cervical lordosis or cervical disc bulges and recovered, either partially or completely?
What treatments helped you the most?
Physical therapy?
Strength training?
Chiropractic treatment?
Dry needling?
Posture correction?
Something else?
Like when I am texting or writing or using the hands, they get tired and in pain easily.
I’m especially interested in hearing success stories and learning about the recovery process.
Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I have a straight neck (loss of lordosis) and severe SCM muscle tightness. No trauma, no EDS.

My symptoms:

· Dizziness and feeling off-balance when walking/standing

· Heart palpitations and neck pulsations

· Brain fog and derealization

· Head pressure and severe neck tension

hard to turn my head both ways

Can SCM syndrome alone cause symptoms that mimic CCI? Or could CCI still be possible even without trauma or EDS?

I have been dealing with neck and left shoulder and arm issues( numbess and tingling into pinky and ring finger and on the top of my hand) with mixed in upper chest pain with ear popping and floating sensation in my head. This has been going on for over a year now. With a sudden onset of issues last August. It was 9 months of Dr visits and scans before being seen by Physical therapy. The previous scans and tests did not give any proof of issue or diagnosis. Im currently at 14 weeks of Physical therapy and have seen and felt most improvement with 1 round of trigger point injections but still have good days and bad. While my left shoulder and arm symptoms are minimal now. I still have issues with pressure at the base of my head and headaches every so often. I have a constant floating sensation that comes and goes in waves along side constant ear popping

Been seen by

Primary care

Neurology

ENT

Cardiologist

Orthopedics

Scans

MRI Brain, Neck, Shoulder

Xrays head, neck, shoulder and back

CT sinuses

Blood panels

EMG

Echo and 7 day EKG

I have symptoms of head pressure, pressure behind my eye, brain fog, feeling like something stuck in my throat, foreign body sensations in back of throat or behind face and eye. Some of these symptoms line up with eagle syndrome however I have been diagnosed with CCI.

Doctor centeno has some videos where he talks about how the trouble with the eagle syndrome diagnosis is that often times people have elongated styloids but are asymptomatic. Additionally he says that the styloidectomy could make CCI worse so he always reccomend treating the CCI first. However PICL is not covered by insurance is incredibly expensive and doesn’t have medical research to support it.

Has anyone had any experiences looking into eagle syndrome along with CCI and their treatment options?

Has anyone noticed a significant connection between their SI joint and Neck? I have an SI that upslips. When I see my Osteopath he gently pulls down on my leg, pushes down on my pelvic.hip bone while kinda shifting the weight back and forth then does a little myofascial work on my neck and when I leave there, I feel completely different. Like I can go in in serious neck pain and when my SI is in place, my neck feels completely normal..until later in the day when I start to feel my Si slip out again and with it goes my neck. Its quite amazing actually. Curious if anyone has noticed stabilizing their Si joint has helped their neck?

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience with the PRIME Program at the Hruska Clinic in Nebraska and hear from others who have been through it.

After years of hesitation, I finally decided to make the trip and be evaluated by the people who developed PRI itself.

After spending a full week at the clinic, I came home with prescription glasses (I'd never worn glasses before), a dental splint, and a long list of exercises.

The glasses and the splint have honestly helped me a lot. From the very first moment, I felt an immediate sense of "release" and relaxation, almost as if something had finally unlocked. Thankfully, I still have that feeling today.

I've continued doing all the exercises they prescribed, but this is where my experience becomes more mixed. Most of the exercises don't seem to produce any noticeable improvement. It almost feels like my progress stopped with the glasses and the splint, while the exercises haven't taken me much further.

Some exercises give me temporary relief, but it usually disappears within a few hours or by the next day. Others don't seem to change anything at all.

Despite the improvements, I still have several restrictions and areas of tension, especially:

* Difficulty alternating properly between my right and left side while walking.
* Difficulty breathing efficiently with my diaphragm, getting my ribs down, and keeping them there.
* Difficulty maintaining trunk flexion. No matter what I do, I seem to fall back into extension shortly after the exercises.

If anyone had a similar presentation, I'd be especially interested in hearing how your recovery progressed over time.

I'm not posting this to praise or criticize the clinic. My goal is simply to share my experience and learn from yours. Maybe we can compare notes and even help each other, especially if one of us is overlooking an important detail.

This journey has answered many questions, but it has also created many new ones.

Has anyone else who completed the PRIME Program experienced something similar? How has your recovery progressed over time? Did you eventually reach another breakthrough after the initial improvements?

I'd genuinely love to hear your story.