Neck vertebrae...Fusing...on its own?

[eeneR 1]

Ok, so last night I found out that two vertebrae in my neck are trying to fuse together via a bone spur/growth. It has not completely fused, but the gap is pretty small. There is no guarentee it will actually ever fuse, but it can.

Has anyone had this? Yes I am working with a Chiro, and will be handed off to an Ortho if there is any risk of nerve damage etc. We are going to take more X-Rays then an MRI in a month to see where everything is at that point.

Just curious of other peoples experince with this.

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[skyrider 0]

My ruptured disc caused a fusion in my back, they did an MRI to see about medically fusing it, and it had already grown together on it's own, so I see no reason why it wouldn't happen to a neck!

If it hurts, look into a nerve ablasion, (sp?) It made a world of difference in my back!

[warpedskydiver 0]

Renee, you could have just asked me or messaged one of the docs.


Yes it does happen, it is not worse than narrowing of the vertebrae or severe bone spurs.

Sometimes they get fused surgically or cages are put in, that might be worse, it depends on the outcome and if you can live with it without problems.

Unfortunately I have both of those, but unless I stop breathing or lose control of my body I am just fine.

[eeneR 1]

It basically started as an annoyingly bad stiff neck. I went to chiro, he took Xrays, did a couple of adjustments and the neck stiffness was gone, and all that is left now is a little soreness in the muscles on one side of my neck. I have most if not all of my range back. However in the xray's he found this, well that and my neck is straight, but that happens more then most people know and is fixable. This just makes curving it a little bit harder.

Good news, I have no problems neurologically on the side showing issues, bad news is well it is not fixable. The guess is it is from a car accident back in 2003. Over time the bone healed itself a little too much. The rest of my disks look fantastic right now, just the one between C5 and C6 is slightly compressed with bone overgrowth.

At this point we are going to do more xrays to pin point exactly where the bone spur/growth is at. Then in a month or so if deemed needed I will go for an MRI to make sure there is no risk of nerve impingment.

Good news...I still get to lift/train and stay active. Probably should avoid anything that might cause whiplash or me landing on my head thought

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[Niki1 1]

In about '88 or '89 I had an opening on a Mavarick that was the HARDEST opening I've EVER had. And I've had Piglets and Starlites. This opening was so hard that I could use my right arm on the way doen. The feeling came back in a few hours but I still wwnt to my chiropractor Doc Gaffney in DeLand. He took X-Rays and I waited in a treatment room. He came in withe the X-Rays and asked, "When did you break your neck?" HUH? The X-Rays showed 3 of my cervical vertibrae (sp) had grown together. No isign of where the discs used to be except that the middle one was a liile out of line. There was a nasty crack going doagonally through the now single piece of bone. He said that probably was cause by the recent hard opening but when had I broken my neck to cause the fusing? The only thing I can remember is when I was 5 or 6 years old I was jumping out of a swing to see how far I could go. Well, the last time I tried I was swinging way too high and wound up comming out of the seat backwards. I fell problably 7 feet and landed square on my head. That may explain other areas of my life byt my neck was sore for a while and I soon forgot about the incident. But ever since, I've had less mobility in my head movement and more suseptable to muscle spasisms in the neck and shoulders. Since I've always had the problem, I've never noticed the problem as a problem. I guess I've compensated for it in the sports I've participated in.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[DigitalDave 0]

Those could be congenitally un-fused vertebrae like those found in Klippel-Feil syndrome .. not necessarily the result of trauma.

[hookitt 0]

Keep up with the chiro and look into getting this nifty little unit. Denneroll

I'm supposed to use it higher on the neck to help re-curve my neck.

Do 50 yes's and 50 no's every day. It will loosen up your neck and be a lot more user friendly even with some degeneration.

Get into perfect posture, then nod your head yes all the way down, then most of the way back, don't look back super far, but look down till there's a stretch.

Then, shake your head no. All the way left, then all the way right.

Up and down, is 1 time

Side to side is 1 time.

Do each one 50 times. If you get disoriented, close your eyes .

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[VideoFly 0]

I also had large spurs attempting to grow together in my neck. Doctors said it was from over 1,200 camera jumps, many of which were done with heavy hi-8 and 35mm cameras. I attached a picture of the spurs.
After breaking my neck on a hard opening, C5-C7 were fused. The doctor cut the spurs off, replaced the discs with parts from my hip bone, and screwed it all together with a titanium plate and screws.
If you’ve already got spurs, you probably want to be careful with your neck when jumping.

[ridestrong 1]

It is basically a result of a progressive arthritic/degenerative process. If you don't have (or don't develop) any neurological symptoms you shouldn't ever have to have any surgery. The spurring or fusion of the vertebrae in and of its self is not particularly dangerous.

Also, should you ever need surgery, a single level ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy & fusion) is not the worst thing in the world, especially if you have no significant degenerative changes at the adjacent levels. Again, if you needed it, you would also likely be a good candidate for a cervical disc replacement. We have done a number of these with great results.

Feel free to contact me too if you have any questions or concerns, I'd be happy to help.

One other note, MRIs are usually reserved for those that have already developed a neurological symptom, if you have to pay much out-of-pocket for it I would avoid it at this point in time, as it will not or should not change your current conservative management.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----