Pain, Pain Go Away!

I mentioned a couple posts ago that I have been having chronic neck pain for about 2 months now. Actually this isn't the first time I have had neck issues. Approximately 5 yrs ago I injured my neck in a fall from my Paint mare, Fritzy. After a year of neck issues, I finally went to the DR. I had an MRI and the diagnosis was a bulging disc between the C7 and T1. Since it wasn't effecting my spinal cord, it was considered an inoperable disc bulge and I was sent to physical therapy for a few months, which also included at home exercises. It seemed to work because I was basically pain free for 3 years....until January of this year. But this time the pain just started in the middle of the day and it felt like I had slept wrong and had a stiff neck. I couldn't turn my head to the right. I figured the pain would go away in a couple days. Boy was I ever wrong. It got so bad, that I eventually couldn't turn my head right or left, up or down. It even hurt to hold still. I started icing it and at my next Chiro appointment I brought it up to my Chiropractor.

He worked on my neck a couple times before I left for Scottsdale. There was some improvement, but the pain was still there. While I was in Scottsdale, the pain got worse and worse. It became so bad that I was in tears a couple times. By the time I got home from Scottsdale I knew that I had to get X-rays. I had X-rays done yesterday. This is the outcome...

There are signs of a previous injury in the spinal cord in my neck, but it is not a "smoking gun" of what is causing my pain. Actually I was told that this was most likely not what is causing my pain. My spinal cord does not line up like it should, it actually "stair steps" in a couple places. This is probably from my fall off Fritzy a few years back. I know my terminology isn't all that great, but I am not good with medical terminology. So anyways, the plan is that my Chiro is going to continue doing some new stretching/adjustments on my neck once a week, and I am doing home exercises to strengthen areas in my upper back, lower neck areas. If in a month there is no significant changes, I will go get another MRI. The only other thought that could be causing all this pain is that bulging disc. It could have flared up and it has inflamed the muscle/tissue around that area. Your body does some things to protect an injury, even an older injury. So if that disc is flaring up on me, or has changed in any way, then the areas around that injury try to protect it, not always in a good way.

So for now, I live in pain. I do take Ibuprofen, but I am not one to take pain pills. All the muscles in my shoulders, upper back are extremely sore from being worked on, and from the at home exercises. It really is amazing how many muscles we don't use in our body day to day!!

I have only gotten to get out with my horses once since I have been home from Scottsdale. The weather has been so bad here. Rain, wind, snow, you name it, it does it. So until the weather calms down, there isn't any horse news to report! Come on sun, I could really use you around here!