@doege Welcome to Connect. I remember how I felt when a surgeon told me I needed surgery for my compressed spinal cord. I knew that was the only way to decompress it by removing bone spurs from inside the spinal canal. I was a fearful patient and I had to figure out how to get past that and I did. My surgery was for a bad disc in my neck. I was having problems walking because of spinal cord compression in my neck. I didn’t want to become disabled, and I had the choice to prevent that by having surgery.

As much as we all wish to avoid surgery, there are times when it is the logical choice. With your difficulty walking that is getting worse, you have to ask yourself how much are you willing to loose? With instability moving the vertebrae, that is affecting nerves and that at some point may cause permanent damage. Nerves may heal, but generally the spinal cord does not have the same ability to heal. At some point, the damage may become permanent. If you loose the ability to walk, life becomes difficult with mobility issues. I have been through this with my parents who became wheelchair bound and it becomes a burden to family members. Hiring caregivers is expensive. It was a burden to me when my ability to earn a living was compromised because I had to step in and care for my parents. As time goes on, their health issues get worse and it requires more time from me.

There is a lot to think about. You may want to seek opinions from several spine surgeons because it is a big decision to have surgery and you want to best surgeon you can find with expertise in what you need.

May I ask what your spine specialist has advised for you? It sounds like you have been working on this for awhile if you’re in physical therapy.