Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] 4 weeks into cervical lazer spine surgery, i picked up something over my weight limits. I caused an infection with caused all my chest, shoulders, and arms to thigh-en up I lost over half of my strength. After 3 weeks the infection cleared up and everything was much better. One week later i still have tightness and soreness in all my chest, shoulders, and arms. My MRI showed good on the cervical disk. How long will this take to get better and what steps can i do to help it along the way? i.e. message, stretching, etc?
[|AI|]  Hi, Thanks for writing in. A cervical laser disc procedure is minimally invasive, but unfortunately you had an infection which has taken 3 weeks to clear. Also, you reported lifting weights over your allowed limits and this also delayed your recovery. Along with the infection, the muscles also might have gone in to spasm and this can cause the persistent tightening up. As the MRI done recently shows that the spine and discs are in place therefore the pain and tightness might not be related to the discs alone. It is possible that there is some kind of muscle spasm in the muscles of the chest, shoulders and arms, all of which have nerves of common origin. It might take another 2 to 4 weeks to feel comfortable. You can try gently applying ointments containing muscle relaxant and pain reliever combination twice a day. Using heat pad will also give you comfort. Mild stretching and massage under guidance of your physiotherapist might help.