For the life of me, I couldn’t find a specific answer to this using the search.
For those who had an external styloidectomy, what were your post-op movement instructions? Were you told to look side-to-side, attempt neck bends (ear to shoulder), chin tucks? How/when did you transition from one set of movements to the next? When did you start massaging your scar?
Were you instructed to do physio? I have noted that not everyone does physio, but those who do typically start between weeks 4 - 6.
I would love to see a week play-by-play as to what your post-op movement instructions were. Nothing that week one is mostly going to be rest, ice and medication.
As an aside, JC saw his physio today. He set the appointment one month before surgery so the physio had time to research Eagle syndrome and a styoidectomy. Combined with the recent CCI diagnosis there’s going to have to be a specific post-op care plan. The physio was thrilled to have 8 weeks’ lead time to research and prepare, and he asked me to collaborate with this forum to see what others have done as a post-op movement & physical therapy plan.
while you wait for an answer I will just post this here about the Mckenzie chin tucks. I can’t imagine it would be good but we will see what people have to say who have had surgery
From another post, someone was instructed to do chin tucks, which is why I included it.
I couldn’t find a post that could be used as a central resource. With enough participation, I was hoping this could become a resource that others could use to help develop their own post-op movement/stretch plan.
It is my opinion based on what happened to me that I will not do them. I have a physical therapy session on Wednesday. No doubt i will be told to do chin tucks. I am going to decline. No matter who says do them or don’t do them you are going to have to do some research and form an opinion. It might help you to read all the comments under that Youtube video.
As one poster noted under the video, just about every physical therapist tells you to do them. THat is before surgery. Right after surgery they will probably say consult with the surgeon.
Good idea to have a central resource for this, but unfortunately there is no ‘standard’ post-op list of instructions, most of us don’t get told what to do but work out with trial and error what helps & what doesn’t! Surgical technique does vary considerably between doctors, so not easy to say what is best- my incision was mainly behind my ear & only a little way under it, and my surgeon went between the muscles so none needed to be cut, many have their incisions lower in their necks following a neck crease, some have second incisions in front of their ears & some right across their necks! So depending on that & whether any muscles are cut to get to the styloid or ligaments will reflect recovery… we would hate to say do this on week 1, that on week 2 etc because it could be harmful to some people.
What worked for me was weeks 2 onwards, very gentle turns of my head to the side only if it was comfortable, I did do gentle chin tucks into my chest as well as I have a prolapsed disc & this has been a helpful exercise, but I have read other members on here say they’ve been told not to do this if they have IJV compression…I did mine laying down with a flat pillow for support, not seated or standing as you have more control.
The steristrips if your husband has them are often left on until they nearly fall off, keep the wound dry. Once it’s completely healed over, no scabs, then start very gentle massage of the scar.
I think mostly members who do physio after surgery usually do it because either they have pre-existing neck issues like your husband, and are already seeing a physio (great idea to give them plenty of time to research this btw!), or because they have post-op complications like accessory or facial nerve irritation giving problems with shoulder & arm pain/ weakness, or facial pain/ weakness. Some members have had issues with the hypoglossal nerve- @Isaiah_40_31 can fill you in more about that- resulting into a bit of trouble eating or swallowing & occasionally speaking, so have had physio or speech therapy input later.
So sorry, we can’t really give you a definitive plan as we’re all so different, you might have to have a wait & see approach
Jules, this makes so much sense it makes my head spin. I really never considered the variation in surgical sites, or the nuance you’ve referred to.
I was going to delete the thread so it’s not misleading, but perhaps I should leave it up so others see this and understand there’s no “one size fits all”. At this point I should have known better that all aspects of this journey are individual.
No worries, it’s a good idea to have input from others in one place…I don’t know why, but this surgery particularly seems to be viewed as easy by many doctors and very little info is ever given about recovery!
@Val7426 - I totally agree with what @Jules has said, however, I do think it’s important not keep one’s neck completely immobile for the first week after surgery. I believe it’s best to do very gentle i.e. low to no pain range of motion movements with the head to help keep one’s neck from getting too stiff. Taking short walks - 5-10 min several times a day, starting the day after surgery, is also important to maintain good blood circulation in legs especially but also throughout one’s body. I did these assisted because my pain meds made me loopy, but I’m a “mover” so resting constantly is hard for me.
As far as PT goes, it may also be trial & error as JC’s PT, even with research, may prescribe exercises that make him feel worse so he’ll need to be communicative & proactive about not doing anything that immediately stirs up pain in the name of “pushing through it”.
The hypoglossal, but more often the glossopharyngeal nerve, both of which can affect tongue function, can be irritated during ES surgery. My glossopharyngeal nerve was wrapped around my right styloid, & was very irritated as a result of needing to be unwrapped so my styloid could be resected. The result was the right half of my tongue was paralyzed (not numb) for 6-9 mos post op. This made eating, swallowing & speaking clearly quite interesting. After about 4 mos w/o significant recovery, I contacted a swallowing therapy clinic to see about getting help. I was waitlisted, & when my name finally came up, I was told I needed a referral from my PCP. I called his office, & he refused the referral as he felt I didn’t have a problem that warranted that level of treatment. Of course, he never saw me choking when drinking fluids & having to move my food manually around in my mouth when eating because my tongue couldn’t do the job. At that point in my life, I was not a self-advocate. If I had it to do all over again, I would have demanded the referral, & if it was declined, I would have found a doctor who would refer me. We have had other members who had the same problem & were able to get therapy which helped them a lot.
The name of the healing game is to take things VERY SLOW & EASY for the first 1-2 months post op especially w/ more complicated situations like JC’s. Don’t push through pain. Let it dictate what activities & therapies are beneficial & which are not. Recovery happens via baby steps not leaps & bounds.
