I recently had a consult with a neurosurgeon. I already had MRI's & CT scans of my cervical & lumbar areas so I did not need more testing. I had already had PT & was doing back exercises at home. The neurosurgeon evaluated my symptoms & looked at my MRI's on the computer with me. He offered surgery and, if I chose to have it, he let me choose which one I wanted. He wanted me to go by which was bothering me the most. I chose to have cervical. He did explain to me that he felt like I was going to need surgery on the lumbar area eventually. He thoroughly explained the cervical surgery and I was called the next day to schedule the surgery and the followups. It won't be until June 11th. I think the time the doctor spent with me was about 45 minutes. I was also sent home with a printed up paper that explained the surgery and the care afterwards. I will spend one night in the hospital. I think that if you weren't ready for surgery, you would be offered injections into your spine. Hope this helps.