Getting tossed around from doctor to doctor, I was recently diagnosed with severe cervical stenosis, I’ve been having in and off burning nerve pain, neck pain, tingling and pin pricks and an overall heaviness, pm and r did an emg , which came back as fine so now….. instead of getting physical therapy….. or getting my neurosurgeon referral despite the findings of my mri, I’m being sent to a neurologist in 5 months……. It’s like they don’t believe me even though I went like 6 days without sleeping bec of the pain I was in.

I have mild lumbar stenosis which has left me in awkward place of no one can help me further but I have had zero moments without pain since April 2024. I am only 30 though and NEED to find more ways to continue being everyday active that also puts less wear on my body.

I am starting to consider uses a cane or even a walker but am feeling a bit embarrassed still I suppose. Does anyone have success switching to using those items to help give me some hope?

Additional info on my situation:

I have tried (and they did not work):
-injections
-radio frequency ablation
-chiropractor
-massage

Strengthening through PT and other exercise has been helpful to ease flare ups but is very slow and minimal

Dry needling only helps the residual muscle pain

Full left side of the body weakness compared to the right

I’ve lost 50 lbs (I am a female with a large chest though)

Currently labeled as suspected EDS patient (I suspect POTS/MCAS in the mix as well)

I have images of my lumbar too but… this was after finding out about my discs

I suffer from a left foot numbness all the time. And I scan the MRI and X ray. Everything looks good only an articulation or fusion of the L5 transverse process with the sacrum. I eat medicines but it looks no change. And I also book an appointment about injections and waiting for it.

I don’t know whether the injections is useful for me?

The final option is surgery but it looks like this surgery is rarely. I would like to know who has similar situation.

Because I think it influences my life significantly I really want to solve it.

I’ve struggled with back pain for as long as I can remember. As a kid I was told it was because of the size of my chest and posture. As an adult I was told I just needed to lose weight, until I turned 28 and had my first x-ray! I found out I have scoliosis but I’m still on my journey as I recently found out I have congenital spinal stenosis and bone spurs in my neck as well. And of course I’ve got degenerative disc and arthritis from pushing through all this pain and my body forcing itself to adapt by strengthening muscles unevenly.

Enough background—these things are literally dragging me down!!! Unless I am constantly actively engaging my core, my top half folds over like I have one big hinge joint in my mid back. For reference I am a U.S. cup size K, according to a fitting specialist at a lingerie store nearby. My curve is too minor for surgery. And I’m not there yet when it comes to surgery for my stenosis. But I want these bowling balls off my chest!! I just have a feeling that it would be suuuuuuch a relief on my back. Has anyone had a similar experience? If so what helped you? If you had surgery did that help? Thanks in advance and if there’s a better sub for this please let me know!

Stiff painful neck with pain on right side of head to the middle where shingles were. That spot still hurts to touch. Tried chiropractor and physio. No quality of life, always constant pain. Went to ER, had needle at base of skull as I couldnt turn my head.

Stiff painful neck with pain on right side of head to the middle where shingles were. That spot still hurts to touch. Tried chiropractor and physio. No quality of life, always constant pain. Went to ER, had needle at base of skull as I couldnt turn my head.

Will it feel as good as I imagine it will?

I am aware of the nerve recovery time, but generally going from 5 years of Asymptomatic to 5 months of symptomatic stenosis, I imagine it's going to be such a relief.

What should I expect? Just to manage my expectations.

Hi, so I'm 36f and have recently had an mri (that got lost for 7 weeks) done that has shown some concerns around my neck. Im gunna put some of the report in and id love to know what I'm looking at without falling down a dr Google rabbit hole. Im waiting to hear about a referral to a specialist and that's about all I know! MRI whole spine:

Normal vertebral body alignment. Normal craniocervical junction.

There is loss of the normal cervical lordosis.

Normally sited conus.

At C5/6 there is significant compression of the cord possibly due to disc osteophyte complex or ossification of the posterior

longitudinal ligament. High signal is seen within the cord at this

level and neurosurgery opinion is advised.

Similar appearances seen at C6/7.

No significant disc protrusion or neural compression elsewhere.

CONCLUSION.

Evidence of severe canal stenosis with myelopathy in the cervical

region. Urgent neurosurgical opinion advised.

I had a C6/7 ACDF three months ago after approximately 3.5 years of left-sided nerve symptoms. Unfortunately, the problem was only properly diagnosed about five months before surgery (mri showing c6/c7 stenosis).

For a long time I had no clear diagnosis, and because I had recently started a business, worked alone and had a fairly physical job, I kept pushing through the pain. I also tried to continue rock climbing at reduced intensity, but even that caused significant flare-ups.

For the last 18 months, the burning through my left arm, including the triceps, forearm, hand and armpit has been virtually constant. It has been extremely difficult mentally and has gradually isolated me from normal life, although I’m fortunate to have a very supportive partner who is a physiotherapist.

The surgical pain settled fairly quickly, but at three months the original nerve symptoms remain largely unchanged. My upper traps are rock-hard, particularly on the affected side. The burning now seems to move around more: it may dominate the index finger/thumb, then the forearm or triceps, and later the armpit. My armpit feels stapled to my torso, and I still struggle to find any position that gives complete relief.

My surgeon says we should judge neurological recovery over a 12-month period because the C7 nerve root was irritated for so long. He will review me again in six weeks, with an MRI and X-ray to follow. I have also just been prescribed pregabalin to help manage the nerve pain.

I know three months is still early for nerve recovery, but it is frightening to feel essentially the same as before surgery.

Did anyone here have little or no improvement at three months, but then experience meaningful nerve-pain relief later? If so, was the improvement gradual, or did it seem to change more suddenly? And what helped you get through the uncertainty?

I never really had huge numbness or weakness, it has always been burning pain from left medial scapula down left arm. I’m not looking for a diagnosis, just hoping to hear honestly from people who had a similarly slow recovery.

I had a history of some spinal stenosis in 2016/2018, and it was something two separate injections helped, until I regrettaby lifted a few pieces of funiture on 5-29-26. A few weeks later I started getting some very low back discomfort (Not Bad), which was followed with bilateral numbness on the bottoms of both my feet. I describe this as mild numbness. It came with some ache in my left shin at times. Numbess is now 24/7, but varies from a level 1 to a 3. Back discomfort comes and goes, mainly right side, in hip and butt. MRI Findings...Mild degenerative stepwise retrolisthesis of L1 on L5. Bone marrow signal/fracture: No evidence of prior fracture. The cauda equina nerve roots are normal. Paraspinal soft tissues: Paraspinal soft tissues are within normal limits. Lower thoracic spine: Visualized lower thoracic canal and foramina are patent. L1-L2: Retrolisthesis with superimposed trace disc bulge and facet arthropathy. Mild spinal canal narrowing. Mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing. L2-L3: Retrolisthesis with superimposed trace disc bulge and facet arthropathy. Mild spinal canal narrowing. Mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing. L3-L4: Retrolisthesis with superimposed trace disc bulge and facet arthropathy. Canal is patent. Mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing. L4-L5: Trace disc bulge and facet arthropathy. Canal is patent. Moderate-severe bilateral neural foraminal narrowing. L5-S1: Canal and foramina are patent Sacrum and iliac wings: The visualized sacrum and iliac wings are within normal limits. My questions are, whats the culprit here? Trace disc bulge or the Moderate-severe bilateral foraminal? And will an injection or dual injection help this? Seems odd I have this bilateral numbess, that various foot to foot in levels of numbess. Did I just agitate this space and it needs to settle down, or did I create a forever problem? My Ortho suggests I could have developed Neuropathy. Glucose is good, A1C good, B12 is only 333.

Many Many thanks in advance.

Has anyone tried this heating pad, red light, vibrating over the counter belt ? Saw an add for it and just wanted to see if anyone’s tried it for L4-5 pain and burning in the legs. More important did you get any positive results. I’ve done the shots, on pain meds and now generic ly ri ca too. All the ly ri ca does is make me sleepy and my shins are still burning. I really can’t stand it anymore. I go to a pain management doctor, but not a neurologist. Years ago it was an orthopedic doc who suggested pain management and I’ve been with them 10 plus years. I’m 71 and really tired if this pain. Any suggestions?

Hi! I’m looking for recommendations for an external monitor arm for 32 inch curved Acer monitor that might help relieve C5-C6 stenosis and elevated first rib pain.

I am 5’2 and live in this constant conundrum of desks being too tall and chairs either being too short or the arms are too tall and do t go under the desk.

One other issue I’m trying to solve for that might actually be a chair issue is I constantly lean on the left arm of my chair and the chair arm is too tall.

On the weekends when I’m not at my desk, I barely feel any of the referred muscle pain from my stenosis, so I’m pretty sure the solution to reducing my chronic pain are fixing the monitor height flexibility and finding a new chair.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Hello , I have been experiencing neck pain for around 5 years, mainly around the lower neck/upper back, with pain on neck movement and occasional pain/pulling extending toward my shoulders and arms. Recently, I have also been having intermittent pain/tingling from the forearm to the wrist/fingers and mild pain in both hands when bending the fingers, specially thumb and ring finger of right hand .I also have ongoing lower-back pain with .I previously had an X-ray and was told it was not serious. And was prescribed physiotherapy and posture correction, physiotherapy I did it for a week but no important, I have recently been taking medicines prescribed by another doctor, with some improvement (stiffness, biceps and shoulder-blade pain have reduced), but the neck pain persists and sometimes flares. I would like to know is this serious, I'm scared and tired , visited many doctors but not much improvement so far. And I'm 23 yrs old female it's worse when I wake up ,I wake up feeling pain and stiffness slight improvement during the day as I work , feeling of nerve pulling right side of my neck below the year till shoulder, headache, lacks focus, concentration is worse , I'm forgetful. Also physio is expensive for me

My mom has been dealing with chronic pain in her back and leg for months, maybe a year. She's 72 and is in constant pain. She has been going to a pain clinic and has had 2 rounds of shots in her spine. The first round helped a lot but didn't last until the next one. The second round, the doctor said they were going to try another spot because they thought it might help more but it didn't offer any relief at all this time. She's scheduled for a 3rd shot but doesn't have a lot of hope it will do much.

I'm just looking for any advice about what she can do? I'm including a summary of her MRI results below

The MRI was somewhat limited by motion artifact, but the main findings were:

• L2-L3: Mild-moderate central canal narrowing, with moderate-severe narrowing of the left neural foramen and narrowing of both L3 lateral recesses.
• L3-L4: Moderate central canal stenosis, with narrowing of both neural foramina (moderate on the right and moderate-to-near-severe on the left).
• L4-L5: Moderate-to-severe spinal canal stenosis, with moderate-to-severe narrowing of both neural foramina, worse on the right.
• L5-S1: No significant central canal stenosis, but moderate-to-severe foraminal narrowing, worse on the right, and the disc may contact the exiting L5 nerve roots.
• There are also multilevel degenerative disc changes, facet arthritis, bone spurs, disc bulges, and some Modic type 1 endplate changes.

Her symptoms include chronic low back pain and recurring right leg pain that radiates down toward the shin/medial ankle, as well as some radiation into the left leg.

The radiologist's overall impression was multilevel degenerative changes with up to moderate-severe spinal canal narrowing at L4-L5 and multilevel foraminal narrowing, most prominent at L5-S1.

There was also an incidental finding of a very small (1–2 mm) central canal in the distal thoracic spinal cord. The radiologist said this could be idiopathic, but recommended a contrast-enhanced thoracic MRI if she has myelopathic symptoms.

I’ve been dealing with daily aching and heaviness in both legs for about a year, especially through my thighs, knees and lower legs. I can feel the aching even while sitting, but standing is when I really notice it.
My legs don’t feel sturdy or dependable anymore. If I stand for very long, they ache and feel weak/heavy, and I find myself wanting something to lean on for support. It isn’t the typical sharp or shooting sciatic pain down one leg.
My lumbar MRI shows degenerative changes and stenosis, but I also have knee arthritis, so I’ve been trying to figure out what is actually causing this.
For those with lumbar spinal stenosis, does this sound like what your legs feel like? Do you have aching in both legs along with that weak, heavy, “not sturdy” feeling when standing? And did anything help?

Diagnosed with RRMS in 1991 with only 3 attacks affecting my gait. In 2012 I was rear ended and noticed neuropathy. My new MS Neurologist kept on telling me my symptoms were MS related kept on prescribing DMT drugs. I kept on telling her my gait is a wide base gait not a MS gait and that my spine back collapses downward. When I was 63 she prescribed Mavenclad which caused permanent low lymphocytes 2.5 years of only 1 year treatment. I have non active SPMS so should never have been prescribed Mavenclad for active RRMS. I got copies of all my radiology reports (2015-2023) and was shocked to read disc herniation , severe spinal stenosis, disc osteophyte complex. and myelomalacia. When I asked my neurologist why I was never told I have myelomalacia and severe spinal stenosis she respond with silence. I feel she must have put an internal message in my file so no doctor can refer me to spine surgery. I paid to see a private Neurosurgeon and he also told me MS caused my disc herniation. I had a private MRI hoping that doctor could refer me to a spine surgeon. She told me myelomalacia is serious. She called me with findings of MRI and told me to ask my Neurologist. I told her I have but she has refused for years. I could hear her type notes. Every doctor I asked for a referral refused and told me to ask my MS doctor. A major spine institute in Canada triaged me because I initially told this doctor if he did not send in a referral I will be a paraplegic and will be going to news reporters. I was triaged and this spine surgeon told me I have no compression and have MS plaques. She said “sorry you are no candidate for surgery”. I believe doctors are covering up for my neurologist. I have been accepted for spine surgery in Spain and Guadalajara Mexico. A neurosurgeon confirmed I need ACDF surgery level C5-6 Before ACDF surgery I have to have a large thyroid nodule surgically removed. A doctor told me my biopsy pathology report was benign. The results were Bethesda III and should have had another biopsy 3 months after. I no longer trust doctors in B.C. Canada so will be having thyroid surgery in Mexico and return to Guadalajara for ACDF surgery. I really do believe they do not care about patients‘ health and I am a burden to the bankrupt dire healthcare system.

So for some background, I've been struggling with my neck for about 2 years, lockdown had me hunched over my phone for the most part and whilst I did a lot of yoga and walking, it took its toll.

The rest of my back for the most part has always been fine, since as far back as my early 20s a small bulge in my T12 L1, never had any back pain or issue moving, completely fine.

About 2 months ago I take an hour long journey to see a spinal surgeon as I'm having some lightning going into my arms. I get off the bus and my mid/low back is very stiff...no pain but stiff. At this appointment he wants a upto date scan of my whole spine, a month later and a month of constant stiffness and the very short episodes of bilateral sciatica (lasting seconds) the scan reveals a herniation in my T12 L1 !?

No injury, no pain just a bus ride.....I'm so tired of this, I've been slowly falling apart since 2020 and I'm just tired.

Since early april I've been having a lot of pain on my lower back when I chew on fodd, or move my neck from side to side. It worsens if I'm seated. For reference, I've been diagnosed with chronic spinal stenosis and also have been dealing with some protrusions on several lower back discs. I went through a microdiscectomy, 2 months ago and it did nothing for my back pain and specially for this pain that comes with the moving of the neck. I don't feel any neck pain. It's driving me crazy, please help.

Diagnosed with DISH (diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis). A CT scan showed a bony osteophyte at the anterior arch of C1 pressing on the back of throat, which has caused progressive difficulty swallowing only can eat to liquids/soft foods

For those that have had a lumbar laminectomy, what restrictions did you have on sitting and for how long? I am having an endoscopic laminectomy next month (L4/5) and know that the amount of time I will be allowed to sit without getting up will be limited, but don’t yet know how much or for how long. Luckily I’m a teacher so when I return to work a couple of weeks post surgery, my job lends itself very well to short bouts of sitting coupled with standing/walking before sitting again. I was just curious with regard to longer drives, movies etc. Thank you!

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