Cervical Posterior Foraminotomy: ANIMATED
(I have had two major cervical spine surgeries due to radiculopathy of the C-5, C-6, and C-7 nerve roots. If you have any questions regarding either a cervical spine fusion or a foraminotomy surgery (i.e. the recovery time, etc.) please don't hesitate to email me at jaibhakti@aol.com. There isn't much info on the web about radiculopathy; I will share whatever information I do have. --Bhakti)
When I got my new laptop, I made the mistake of thinking I was in my late teens and in art school, and began having marathon typing sessions in which I tried to get everything down on paper that had been stuck inside my head for the past six months. My mistake. I do this all the time: I get an idea in my head and I rush out of the starting gate like a race horse that hasn't peed in a year, just trying to achieve my goal. I don't know how to pace myself. Couple that with the fact that my pain levels have doubled since my last surgery--and that my hands have also been afflicted with two new physical conditions due to the surgery--and it's easy to see how I shot myself in the foot by typing as if I don’t have physical limitations.
I must confess, the first few days I had my laptop, I went a little overboard with the typing and didn't listen to my body when it let me know that I should stop and rest for awhile. I enjoyed my reentry into the blogosphere so much that I even created my Bhakti Love Poems blog. Then, the proverbial shit hit the fan and I began waking up unable to open my fingers (my hand clenched in fist position), and got sharp, lightning bolt pains down both sides of my back. Now, I get burning sensations from my neck down either side of my spine when I type too long --the same pain as in my left arm. It's quite painful. I know I am to blame for some of this because, as stated above, I didn't honor my body when it told me to stop typing (who can stop typing after a mere half hour when there are so many ideas waiting to come to fruition?), and, I must admit, I hadn't been sitting in the most ergonomically correct position while typing.
I'm telling you about this because I just found an animated version of the surgical procedure I had done on my spine this past November. After watching the video animation it became a little clearer to me why it is so important to hold my head up straight while typing--and throughout the day in general; my spine is, as my doctor says, "very unstable in the back of the neck."
Anyone who has been reading JAI BHAKTI since it’s inception knows that the front of my neck fell apart and is held together with a four inch plate and eight titanium screws, however I never actually understood what my neurosurgeon did to the back of my neck until I watched this animation.
CLICK HERE to watch an animated video illustrating what a cervical posterior foraminotomy looks like. I was enlightened; perhaps you will be too!
When I got my new laptop, I made the mistake of thinking I was in my late teens and in art school, and began having marathon typing sessions in which I tried to get everything down on paper that had been stuck inside my head for the past six months. My mistake. I do this all the time: I get an idea in my head and I rush out of the starting gate like a race horse that hasn't peed in a year, just trying to achieve my goal. I don't know how to pace myself. Couple that with the fact that my pain levels have doubled since my last surgery--and that my hands have also been afflicted with two new physical conditions due to the surgery--and it's easy to see how I shot myself in the foot by typing as if I don’t have physical limitations.
I must confess, the first few days I had my laptop, I went a little overboard with the typing and didn't listen to my body when it let me know that I should stop and rest for awhile. I enjoyed my reentry into the blogosphere so much that I even created my Bhakti Love Poems blog. Then, the proverbial shit hit the fan and I began waking up unable to open my fingers (my hand clenched in fist position), and got sharp, lightning bolt pains down both sides of my back. Now, I get burning sensations from my neck down either side of my spine when I type too long --the same pain as in my left arm. It's quite painful. I know I am to blame for some of this because, as stated above, I didn't honor my body when it told me to stop typing (who can stop typing after a mere half hour when there are so many ideas waiting to come to fruition?), and, I must admit, I hadn't been sitting in the most ergonomically correct position while typing.
I'm telling you about this because I just found an animated version of the surgical procedure I had done on my spine this past November. After watching the video animation it became a little clearer to me why it is so important to hold my head up straight while typing--and throughout the day in general; my spine is, as my doctor says, "very unstable in the back of the neck."
Anyone who has been reading JAI BHAKTI since it’s inception knows that the front of my neck fell apart and is held together with a four inch plate and eight titanium screws, however I never actually understood what my neurosurgeon did to the back of my neck until I watched this animation.
CLICK HERE to watch an animated video illustrating what a cervical posterior foraminotomy looks like. I was enlightened; perhaps you will be too!
Click here to see both x-rays of my neck.
Maybe now that I've seen the, cervical posterior foraminotomy animation I'll be a little easier on myself with regard to why I feel so much pain all of the time. On a physical level, I understand why I am in so much pain. On a spiritual level, I do not understand the 'why' of it at all; but it certainly has been one heck of a ride.
tags: Jaibhakti, Bhakti Brophy, foraminotomy, meditation, spinal surgery,
Labels: bhakti, Bhakti Brophy, cervical radiculopathy, foraminotomy, jaibhakti, meditation, radiculopathic pain, spinal surgery
posted by Unknown at 1:53 PM
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