RE: Our journey with a neck injury Pt. 3 - The Present
Botox for migraines - for ten years or more I've checked in my area, but cosmetic practitioners and NO INSURANCE coverage on botox, even for TMJ, and good luck finding anyone who's certified/qualified.
Our neighbor had neckbones replaced with titanium vertebra - I cannot imagine - and the cut from the front, her throat, to get to the bones. Wow. If you go under the knife, chances are on your side. Neighbor said she hurt a lot in the weeks after surgery but feels so much better now. She also went on her dog walks the day after surgery. Farm girl. Keep moving; use it or lose it; just never stay down! Good luck, and thanks for sharing this! You led me to dry needling, and myofascial videos about trigger points, and today, it led me to a neck exercise I must STOP doing - yoga video has me raising the chin, looking up, and doing head tilts, left, then right. STOP. Nope. Use isometrics instead. Well, dang. Wish I'd known that years ago. Good to know it
now!
I'm glad you found some of the information useful. Millennialnow has difficulty with certain neck movements too. Head tits, especially looking down, are particularly difficult and painful. And to the Botox - our insurance will hopefully cover most to all of it but only after he has tried certain medications and proved that they have not helped the migraines. He is still on the fence about actually doing Botox treatments. Apparently if you get Botox shots in the neck it WILL make neck pain worse for several months after the treatments. He can just get the shots in his forehead/head area, but it's still kind of hard to want to do that even when you already suffer from neck pain.
So glad you found out about trigger points and dry-needling. It has really been the most effective form of treatment I've had so far. My PT has also helped me learn about things I can do at home to prevent from further-agitating those trigger points, and I've been able to make some simple lifestyle changes in order to help myself. Even things as simple as the way we sit, pick up objects, or even the way we bend our arms when using them can influence trigger points. I've also learned how to "listen" more to my body when it comes to pain. Dry-needling has actually taught me how to map how pain travels in my body. For instance, if my fingers are going numb, I know it's likely coming from my lower neck or my "upper trap" as my PT calls it. If I take tension off of that area and apply ice, I can usually get the numbness to subside in a few minutes. So, eventhough I may not have found a fix-all for my issues, just the knowledge of how to treat myself and know my pain better has made a big difference in my quality of life.