@gsgnfl I wanted to weigh in on the timeline for injuries. If you got 50 years after a bad motorcycle accident before your spine became a problem, you're lucky. Forces during accidents that stress the spine can cause cracks in the outer fibrous layer of the discs. The inner layer is a jelly like substance called the nucleus. In my expedience, I had a whiplash and had a bulging disc for years. It took about 20 years for that to progress enough and weaken the disc enough that it herniated and collapsed by about 50% and started to grow bone spurs pressing into my spinal cord. With aging, the discs begin to dry out and shrink and that can open up cracks from a prior injury further weakening the disc. When my disc actually ruptured, I was turning my head while stretching my neck, and it took very little effort because it was weakened by trauma and time. That didn't hurt, but felt weird and I knew because my head suddenly turned further.

Jennifer