@A MySpondylitisTeam Member. Surgery is never REQUIRED per se unless to save your life or hope to save from total disability. Dont let the films scare you. Mobility and minimal pain can be acieved even if every disc is crumbling with osteophytes throughout the discs and on all the facet jounts, stenosis in half a dozen or more places, full reverse curve, and degenerative disc disease. Like mine. Ive been keeping up with the PT, very low inflammatory diet. I have full range of motion, minimal pain 95% or more of my days for over 10 years since i first found out. Furthermore, i have yet to encounter anyone who is completely painfree after the surgeries and most of them needed more afterwards. If you do opt for surgery, try to get at least 3 opinions first and have a Neurosurgeon as opposed to an Orthopedic surgeon do it. All your body functions go through the neck at some point and you want a surgeon with the extra years of focused training on that. You might consider asking your insurance company if they will cover a BMAC (Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cell transplant. It sounds scary, but is way easier and safer in every way imaginable than surgery. Most large insurers cover that now. I posted a lot about it as i was approaching it this time last year. All i needed was an ice pack for 3 days. Those posts are under the updates tab on my wall.

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A MySpond...

The doctor did a MRI
After the test i got a referral
The neurosergeon
Now im in theraphy for the neck area and my spine