@A MySpondylitisTeam Member. There are too many patients for too few medical personnel top to bottom. It is indeed up to us to search the internet for answers to our questions, make notes, and have them ready prior to our appointment, listed in order from most worrisome to least because they're likely to focus only on the first one. That's how it is in this new millennium where healthcare for all who want it is finally here after decades of demanding it. Now the Baby Boomer generation has what was demanded for 50 years and still cant get the care that is truly wanted...time, lessons, explanations, details, an easy fix that doesn't require much personal responsibility. Look up the nerves next to the locations on your MRI reports that mention surgery, stenosis, osteophyte, cyst, arthritis, and anything else that indicates an abnormality. Find out which nerves are impacted from a diagram of the spine, arm, whatever on the internet. Then read what those nerves do and what it feels like when they're impacted with inflammation. Thats how you get your answers these days, personal research on the internet conducted in the comfort of your home instead of a dr office. Then bring it up at your next appt if you're still losing sleep over it. Unless it's likely to kill you, you're not going to get much time from the dr. Theres simply not much they can do other than send you to Physical Therapy. Surgery doesn't help. Meds dont either. In my humble lay patient's experienced on body mechanics opinion i agree with you that it probably has something to do with that thoracic nerve you mentioned. You probably irritated a muscle or tendon causing inflammation impinging the nerve. The real question is, what do you want to do about it? Unless your OR, OR, or willing, why bother? I imagine that's what drs often think. They see so many of us seeking answers but not wanting the remedy, if there is any. 🤷

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A MySpond...

Normal motion of my neck makes the back of my head numb

I had a nerve conduction test done and they say it is not from my nerve damage but muscular/skeletal. My hand went totally numb on me during the test but they say it wasn’t nerves. I am just having more and more numbness throughout my body. I was told in the ER, several years ago, that I have a rare thoracic pinched nerve causing severe pain in my rib cage but he didn’t really explain exactly from where. An MRI doesn’t show it in my thoracic spine. I’m supposing it’s causing my numbness in that area.
I’m finding that when you see a doctor you have only so much time and that’s it. They don’t have time to research anything so they look at your tests and if they see anything on it they throw you a pill and send a bill.

Numbness and tingling in both arms is what started me looking into it. Mattress, pillow, sleep position, postural positions during daytime, activities from the day, recent changes in routine, and so much more of ordinary living can cause changes in the cervical spine from inflammation to additional bulging of discs that adds to stenosis in the C4-7 region that manifests as numbness and tingling. Bilateral carpal tunnel from stenosis in the neck was my diagnosis. It requires a check out by the Neurologist or, possibly, whoever did your prior surgery. 😌🙏