Marcia - Orlando, FL

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I've had very general neck pain since I was 25. It probably was due to a lot of falling on my head when I was riding horses and doing a lot of other sports. I just think that over time all of these activities just aggravated my discs. The pain was usually specifically in my neck; it felt just like when you wake up with a stiff neck. At times my neck was aggravatingly stiff and the stiffness would be down in my shoulder and radiating downward. I had a lot of problems serving in tennis and it did limit me in being able to lift things. Sleep was a real problem for years; I didn't even realize it though. I just thought people always tossed and turned when they slept, I never slept through the night.

I spent years and money getting a lot of massages and chiropractic treatments just to alleviate the pain. I took a lot of aspirin, did physical therapy, took anti-inflammatories you name it I did it. I would get injections, usually back in my shoulder blade area, where the pain radiated.

January 1997 was the turning point. I was skiing in Whistler and I went down a slope I should not have gone down because there was a big "X" on it. Of course I was the first one down and quickly found out why the slope had an "X" on it. I lost all of my equipment on a huge tree/rock formation and went down the rest of the hill with my neck flapping. When I finally reached the bottom and stood up I realized not only did I have that nagging pain in the neck but now it was also shooting down both my arms. Of course, after the accident, I waited five months before I got a MRI because I was sure I was going to heal spontaneously. So again I went and got more x-rays and had more physical therapy. Though the x-rays didn't show anything specifically, the pain never really got any better.

Five months after my accident I finally said to myself "I am too young for this. I have got to go and have an MRI." I decided to call another surgeon than the one who previously had treated me because I was pretty sure I would need surgery, and he had more neck surgery experience. When I went to see him my MRI not only showed that C5/C6 was very degenerative but C6/C7 was blown back into the cord.

After the surgery I spent two nights in the hospital and wore a soft cervical collar for probably about three weeks. My surgeon used allograft bone and put a plate in my neck. I went back to work the Monday after I got out of surgery, but I waited three months to get back to my normal activities, which are tennis three times a week and golf weekly, like my doctor recommended. I was back to walking, going to the gym, and doing cardiovascular and aerobic exercise three weeks after surgery.

Given the choice of whether or not to have the surgery, I'd do it again tomorrow. I have not felt this good since I was 20. There really is no comparison. I sleep at night, I don't get tired, and I just don't have any limitations at all. Anyone considering surgery needs to go to a good spine surgeon, find out what the problem is, and do whatever it takes to fix the problem.

As you read this please keep in mind that all treatment and outcome results are specific to the individual patient. Results may vary. Complications, such as infection, blood loss, or nerve damage are some of the potential adverse risks of spinal surgery. Please consult your physician for a complete list of indications, warnings, precautions, adverse events, clinical results, and other important medical information.