Pain in upper back/top of fusion

[sccrm08]

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone else get pain at the top of their fusion...it feels as if the muscle is getting caught on the top of a rod and when I move the wrong way it hurts like ****. I mentioned this to the Dr. months ago and he seemed to brush it off and not take it to seareously but now it is just getting worse. It even hurts to pull the blankets on at night, I wake my husband to do it every time I get up to use the bathroom. If I reach for anything, I get the same pain. I don't even know if it would be possible for the muscle to get caught on the top of the rod. Any input would be appreciated.

[crepehanger]

Hello Patty- It sounds like a pulled muscle to me. My gosh, you hurt to lift your blanket? Bless your heart, that's pretty bad. My surgeon told my husband while I was in recovery that my rods were not going anywhere, but I could tear the muscles if I bent, lifted or twisted before i was supposed to. Sure enough, I
overdid it trying to stop my dog from eating one of those "do not eat" packets they put inside the lunchmeat package. Does it feel like there is a knot in it? I had my husband massage it very, very gently over a couple of weeks, until it got better. Keep telling your doctor about it and have him check it. I hope you get better, dear, that stuff gets old quick.

[sccrm08]

Thanks Lisa,

Hi again everyone,
This morning the pain got so bad, I couldn't do anything so I e-mailed my general Dr. she had me come in this afternoon. Of course it did not hurt nearly as bad this afternoon until she started putting light pressure on my spine and she hit a spot at T2 right above my fusion that brought me to instant tears. I'm now going back to a local spine surgeon for tests so when I go back to my surgeon the tests will be done. I'm very scared when she hit that spot my husband thought I was going to pass out and she felt awful, but glad she located the exact spot. I'll keep everyone posted hopefully nothing serious.

[Susie*Bee]

Patty--so sorry to hear you are having this problem! When do you go see your surgeon? Do keep us posted.

[Shari]

I'm not sure if you and I have the same problem, but my right rod is slightly longer than the left one at the top and when I find myself feeling stress, it causes me a great deal of pain. My doctor has offered to go in and trim some off but I am still reluctant.

I also had a screw that was poking me around T-5, and he told me that it would probably stop after I gained some weight.

Hope all goes well for you!!!

Shari

[sccrm08]

Shari,

My right rod is also slightly longer, but they are not sure that is the problem. Right now I'm doing more PT and they think it is muscle that was stretched to the limit and is irritated.