Post by jasonohio on Sept 18, 2014 9:17:05 GMT -6
I am 4.5 years post-surgery for an ependymoma in my neck (c4-c6). I have struggled the last couple years with intermittent neck and arm pain. I felt this was just due to the trauma on my spinal cord, or possibly mild tethering (which my neurosurgeon mentioned as a possibility). I have tried many different things, including medication, to deal with the pain and discomfort. In my ongoing struggle to deal with these issues, I took out one of my old Thera-bands (http://www.thera-band.com/) that was given to me in physical therapy right after surgery. I started doing neck exercises several times a day. After about a week of doing this, my pain is 90%-95% gone. I have had several good days in a row, and that probably hasn't happened for two years. I think I will continue to improve. With this new "discovery" I now think my pain was never related to my spinal cord at all, but instead muscular -- and probably due to my neck being cut and damaged during surgery. I think I have fixed the problem simply by strengthening my neck. I am sharing this info hoping maybe my discovery can help someone else in the same situation. Thera-bands are cheap (about $1 per foot on ebay) and might be worth a try for you.