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2197472 tn?1338509082

trap muscles

What more can be done for very tight trap muscles?  So far i have tried muscle relaxers, narcotic pain pills, and physical therapy with a session of trigger point dry needling.  the tight muscles are keepign me from havign good sleep, and touble working
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Best Answer
Avatar universal
You said you saw a neuro in your new state Colorado in March, he said to come back in six months.  You may wish to contact his offices and tell them who your previous neuro was so that they might get some of your records faxed to them from your old state Nebraska.

I think it's so unfortunate that you did some swimming and also did some physical therapy, and this made things worse for you.  You can do one of three things:  Continue with physical therapy but tell the therapist what happened, or get an emergency appointment with your neuro and tell him what happened, or consider what I suggested in my first reply and find a sports medicine group practice and let them review your situation and perhaps even take over your care.

Apparently your trapped muscles, as you put it in the title of your first post, are happening because of all this damage and surgery to your upper body, your nerves react whenever you strain any of it up.  Straining or putting too much movement onto any of those areas will cause inflammation, might cause muscle spasm, might push on various nerves.  Next time you see your physical therapist, ask them to teach you a few exercises you can do regularly at home to keep you more limber and strengthen your upper body muscle groups.  Once you have problems with your spine, it usually sticks around in one form or another.  Weakness, spasm, pain, arthritis sets in, this is to be expected to some degree.  But yours kind of waxes and wanes, it'll do good for a while, and then it'll goof up a while.

I'm glad you asked your new neuro for an X-ray of your back, and whatever the neuro says about the pictures, that's where you're at now, altho the swimming and PT incidents are telling, also.  So, try to see your neuro sooner, ask the PT trainer what they think about your latest problems, and get your records sent to Colo from where you moved from.  

There are some things you can do at home in the meantime, heat helps pain like you have, so when you're watching TV, stick a hot water bottle or heating pad where it hurts in your neck and shoulder, it provides temporary relief.  Hot soaks in the tub help.  When you lay down, keep your legs bent at the knee, helps take the weight off your spine.  And as I have said before, a few massage therapist sessions might help relax those muscles in your upper body better, just be sure to tell them where your surgical sites were.
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Avatar universal
Hasting native! Man I feel your pain. I am currently going through a similar situation as u are. I have had lower back surgeries and a level 2 fusion. It's been almost 3 years since my surgery and my legs are still so tight and limited in range of motion. I'm looking for any advice and am glad to pass on things that have helped me. Please contact me b. like u I'm at my wits end. And I was excited about dry point needling but it doesn't look like it did much for u and I had a few questions for you. Please contact me at ***@****. I'm guessing you played some football also?
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2197472 tn?1338509082
ok i will try tht.  More about me, since about high school age i have had back probems, i remember times where my back would spasm so bad i had to walk to bed hunched over and have to be in bed for at least 2 hours before i could even sit up and get out of bed.  I was never taken to a dr by parents for this.  It lasted a year or so.  Then in 1998, i strained, my lower back at work, coonsidered lumbar spine surgery, but healed with physical therapy.  The next 2 years were hell, back pain and a couple of more lower back strains.  I have not really had to much lower back pain since then, nothign that physical therapy couldnt fix.

Then in 2008, i had a lab/retriever who yanked her leash so hard that i fell flat on my face, and that is when all the neck pain and shoulder pain and tingling in my left hand, esp the thumb and index fingers.  doctors first thought that i had injured my left rotator cuff, cause i had a right shoulder rotator cuff tear with bursitis and tendonitis.  That was repaired with surgery in 2005.  I had nerve conduction tests done and was refered to see a neuro in 2010. I had 3 epidurals and 2 nerve blocks, which had helped only for a short time.  I was at whits end so the next time i saw my neuro, i asked for surgery The plan 2 weeks before surgery was to have a multi fusioIn of c3-4, c4-5, but the morning of surgery i had an mri and the plan was changed to only c4-5. janurary of 2011, i had anterior cervical discectomy with fusion  c4-5. I had many mri's and xrays after surgery.  At first it was fusing ok, then it slowed, as of dec 2011, the last mri i had showed not a full fusion. on both top and bottom.  The neuro surgeon who did the surgey wanted xrays every 6 months, because of not full fusion.  I moved to a different state in janurary.  i did not find a neuro until march when i started to have pain again.  he said he thought i wasnt in to much pain, basically said do more physical therapy and see him in 6 more months.  I since then have been swimming and think i hyperextended my neck.  am under uncontrollable pain, wth narcotic pain medications that are only making me drowsy, not effectively takign away the pain.   week or so ago the physical therapist that i have been going to used chiropractic i believe and popped my neck.  which has made pain worse.  

i went to regular doctor yesterday and was prescribed more narcotic pain pills and muscle relaxers(vicodin and skelaxin), and only on my asking i have an xray for my neck.      

Im at my wits end, i have a high tolerance of pain, but can handle only so much for so long, before it takes a mental toll.  

if you wish i am going to try and get the pain tracker of mine to where others can view.  i am up for any info as to where my next move should be as to wht i should do.  i know you have to have a referral to neuro.  I am in colorado springs, i moved from nebraska.   Ty

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Avatar universal
Well, I have a few tips you can try, but really and truly, if your muscles are tightened on account of, let's say, ligaments that have scar tissue damage, a neurologist needs to first diagnose what is going on and second order careful physical therapy.  In addition, there is a chance you have a disease process going on that no amount of self-help is going to work, so again a neuro's expertise is needed.

With that said, a few things that might help are:  Try to eat several times a week a bowl of oatmeal with milk and blueberries on it, you can add some sugar.  There are minerals in that combination that help muscles relax.  Also, you could use perhaps Swedish massage therapy, just a few sessions, that type pushes deeply.  You can also massage your own hands and feet, feels really good.  Be sure you are drinking plenty of water, somewhere around five glasses daily.  Do not overuse your muscles while you are awaiting your neurologist appointment.

One more thing I would suggest, just to check for something.  Just above your knees to the side, just kind of lightly massage and push gently those long muscles for a few seconds, see how it makes you feel.  If you get a kind of rush, there's a possibility your spine is doing this, in which case, once again, a neurologist is who to see.  He can evaluate you, perhaps order scans, maybe a blood draw, and make a diagnosis as to why you are having this muscle problem, and hopefully he can offer a treatment plan to make your muscles get unstuck.

If you are already seeing a neurologist, I assume he has made a diagnosis, and if not, you could ask him what he thinks is causing this.  If he does not know, you may wish to try going to a sports medicine physician group, they are excellent at figuring out your diagnosis and they can also treat you very well, even tho you may not have a sports injury.  It's just an alternative to a neurologist, and they specialize in muscle type problems.  
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