Can anyone give me advice re neck fusion and jaw restrictions?

[dmc12]

Hi all,

For the last 2 years I have been talking about neck pain and very restricted movement with my rheumy I finally had the results of x-rays and my neck has fused at C3 &4 . It is a lot worse on night and I have to hold my head to move it when I turn over. The pain is pretty bad but I am also having problems opening my jaw. Sometimes I cannot get it open wide enough to get solid food in which makes it interesting when eating out . Is this related to my neck fusion I do I need to get this looked at by my rheumy or possibly my dentist? Thanks Donna

[Hidden]

I don't know DMC but it sounds like the two might be connected. Its not as serious but I have a similar problem with my right hand and wrist (also need adjusting manually in the night) and was wondering if this is because of damage that's taken place already or will it get better one day. I would definitely speak to your rheumy about it first as to me it sounds RA related but I really am no expert and jaw and neck are pretty crucial body parts so if you can't see your rheumy soon then suggest you ask your GP what to do. Tilda xxy

[allanah]

Hi, I have RA in my jaw joint, I saw the oral surgeon who says as long as I can open to eat and drink he is happy with that and gave me a mouth splint. But as you are saying u have restriction I would go to the dentist who will xray and refer you toman oral surgeon if needed. i also got neck and disc pain and problems. I got referred by my GP to a neuro surgeon, had a MRI scan and have just had a 2 level disc removal, spinal fusion and spinal cage. I can now feel my arms and my pins and needles have gone. I can move my neck and am so much more comfortable. They did say it was to prevent future problems and couldn't guarantee the neck pain would improve, but it has for me! Hope this helps Axx

[jaqi1 in reply to allanah]

hiya i have had problems with my neck for about a year now. it sounds like really loud clicks wen i move it and it hurts so much, i had a mri scan and my rhumy said i have got severe damage to the top of my spine but its not critical so he doesn't want to operate. what did you have done if you don't mind me asking xx

[allanah in reply to jaqi1]

In my case they took out discs as I couldn't move my arms much and had terrible pins and needles. Then they fused the bones and put on a spinal cage to old it all together. They told me I had a choice and blogged on here For advice but by a few weeks things deteriorated so I wasn't left with much choice. Now I can move, feel my arms and no pins and needles, success I think! Axx

[earthwitch]

Problems with swallowing food, for whatever reason is causing them, are often dealt with by speech therapists. Sounds a bit odd, but they are the ones who understand the anatomy of your throats and neck area, and can give a lot of really useful advice and help to make sure that you do swallow safely and don't risk choking.

If its inflammation thats causing the jaw to seize up, then definitely the rheumatlogist can help with that.