Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Pain Two Years after Motorcycle Accident

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Ask your medical question here. : I had a motorcycle accident 2 years ago (Aug 2010) Had broken neck. I now have two titanium rods in neck and 10 screws. Still having pain in neck and back. More severe the past 3 weeks. Hurts to take a deep breath and cough. I have been seeing a massage therapist for over a year. There is no sensation on dermis of skin area between the shoilder blades. Pain is more severe when turning body to left than right.

Gender: Male
How tall are you (feet and inches)?: 5-08
What is your weight in pounds?: 180
How old are you?: 62
How long has this been going on?: A few days
Check all symptoms you are currently experiencing:
Difficulty Breathing
Vomiting
Musculoskeletal Pain

What have you done so far to remedy this condition? Please include tests and relevant studies here.

Heat therapy and Stim. Aleve at night.

Check all conditions present in your immediate family... :
Cancer
History of Back Pain
Please list any medication allergies that you have : : CIPRO
Please list any medications you are currently taking (and dosage if known) :: Sertraline (100mg)
Flomax
When was your last menstrual cycle?: I'm a man, baby!
Are you currently using or do you have a history of tobacco use?: No
Are you currently using or do you have a history of illegal drug use?: No
Please describe your alcohol consumption :: Rarely
HOW QUICKLY DO YOU NEED THIS TO BE ANSWERED?: As soon as possible
Why is the pain still there after two years.

2 comments:

MDSTAT_ER_DOC_1 said...

If you have had no imagind studies, particularly an MRI of your neck, since the surgery. It's probably time to get one. The type of doctor I would seek out would either be your operative surgeon (ideal) or a Neurologist. It may be that you have a hernitated disc above or below the level of your surgery. If this is the case it is unlikely that you would need another surgery. There are good medicine such as neurontin that can help with nerve pain, but the point is to find out WHY you are hurting. This will need to be done by an MD, either the neurosurgeon or a Neurologist. A chest Xray is also needed. This needs to be done as soon as possible.

space doc said...

I agree with MDSTAT ER DOC 1 that follow up MRI would be helpful in determining the cause of the persistent pain. Sometimes scar tissue can entrap some of the surface nerves and create pain (or sometimes numbness), there may also be some pressure on the discs in the neck which would show up on an MRI.

The difficulty in breathing and pain on turning your body should definitely be looked into. A chest x-ray could determine if there was something (like pleurisy or other lung infection) going on that might be unrelated to your surgery.

I do think seeing the surgeon who did the original operation would be the best first step, and he could evaluate the need for a follow-up MRI (or C-T) scan. and he could also have the chest x-rayed (or have you see your family doctor for this).

If the vomiting continues, it would be unlikely that it would be related to your previous surgery, but it shouldn't be ignored if it persists.

Good Luck! Keep us posted.

Space Doc
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