Question: In march of this year, i had emergency cervical fusion performed at level c5, 6 and 7. Most all of my symptoms concerning arms and legs have significantly improved. However, i continue to have feelings of shortness of breath, extreme shooting/stabbing pain up the left side of my neck into left side/back of head exaggerated upon looking down, spasms along the very outer left edge of left masseter muscle and very strange sensations around my outer left ear.

Upon mentioning these issues at my 8 week follow up with neurosurgeon, he said although some of the muscle spasms and tightness could possibly produce these symptoms, he couldnt say for sure because what i was describing in his opinion was gettig into level of c3. He gave me an 18 month recovery window and instructed to follow up of needed.

I am going to follow up next week, as the back left head pain around occipital seems to be getting worse.

I am attaching three images done prior to my surgery. I do note there does appear to be a slight small protrusion around c3-4 level. I would also like to note i am supine in these images as well as straining to keep my neck in a certain position during this mri due to the extreme pain any pressure of straightening my neck put on c5-7, so i believe had my neck been mechanically cooperative, therevis s possibility the protrusion at c3-4 wouldve looked a little more obvious.

Is this something i need to keep on my neurosurgeon about until it is addressed? The only other avenue i could remotely attribute to these strange feelings would be my thyroid. I do have nodules there, but i believe the possibility of all of this tied to the thyroid is slim.

Ok, thank you so much! I don't really remember anything which led to this, only that the neurosurgeon said i definitely suffered some type of trauma. I only woke up with at first what felt like a "crick" in my neck, followed in a matter of days by severe limited movement and coordination of both arms and legs. The area you referenced in coronal section seems to be the most significant source of my pain. Is this consistent with muscle injury? I do have what feel like solid "grapes" (i guess these are referred to as knots), all down the left side of my neck beginning right under left occiput and traveling all along levator scapulae, sternocleidastoid, scalenes and trapezius. All of this is in conjunction with elevated totalwbc, specifically neutrophils.

Ok, i will do that as well as discuss during follow up with neurosurgeon next wee. The only other images i have are as follows:k

Ok, thanks so much for your help, now i know better what questions to ask and stop focusing on the c3-4 disc.