@sanderson23 I had a ruptured disc at C5/C6 which initially wasn't so bad. I know when it ruptured because I was turning my head when it happened and heard the pop and my head suddenly turned farther. When that jelly like nucleus inside a disc spills out, it causes inflammation which causes bone spurs to grow as the spine tries to stabilize itself. The bone spurs and disc contents were pressing 5 mm into the spinal canal causing a little bit of spinal cord compression and a lot of pain symptoms everywhere in my body. I lost the coordination in my arms and lost muscle in my shoulder as well as had an uneven gait.

That was progressing and I saw the amount of bone spurs double in 9 months time on MRIs. The disc lost half it's height and I lost a quarter inch in height. I also had 2 mm of retrolisthesis which is slipping backwards at that level. I had a choice of fusion or artificial disc, but the artificial disc was not a great choice because of the 2mm of movement. I also opted for the fusion because I could do it with no hardware and only a bone disc spacer. With only one level fused, my neck movement is about the same as before except that I can't touch my chin to my chest anymore. This surgery was a good thing, and it gave me my life back, stopped all the pain, and prevented disability from happening. I have also done a lot of myofascial release to loosen scar tissue and keep my neck mobile. That helps a lot after surgery and on an ongoing basis to prevent spasms.