Cookiepic, my physical therapist has talked to me about dry needling. The way it works is it releases the electrical charge that is holding the muscles in a spasm knot. Since metal conducts electricity, it dissipates the charge when you stick a needle into the muscle. I don't like needles, so I didn't try it. The other thing that helps which I have done is a Dolphin Neurostimulator which is 2 handheld devices that send an electric current between them. I also am a spine surgery patient, and prior to my cervical fusion, my therapist was using the Dolphin to block pain signals at the nerve roots of my spine. That helped for about a week to reduce pain. Those give some temporary relief, but do not address the structural problem of the spine.

I had spinal cord compression because of a collapsed C5/C6 disc and bone spurs that were pressing into my spinal cord. I had a single level fusion at Mayo without hardware, and I stayed in a neck brace until the fusion process had begun. I had great results from my surgery and I'm doing well now at 5 years post op. The spine can start to fuse itself if the discs collapse completely which may become inoperable if that happens. A spine specialist would have to answer that question. Bone remodels because of pressure which is why bone spurs form and they can start to fuse the adjacent vertebrae and compress the spaces between vertebrae where the nerve roots exit.

Sometimes physical therapy is tried as a prerequisite to surgery. Are you considering a surgical procedure for your spinal disc issues? If you have questions, I can answer about my experience with spine surgery.