I think there is also some spinal indentation by the changes so it is not just the above. That suggests there is some pressure on the spine.

A nerve is a long skinny thing like a string. If it is pressed on, it does not work normally. Nerves branch off from the spine to go out to the parts of the body. Each nerve that branches off of the spine goes to a specific area of your body.

There are two basic areas where nerves can get pressed on.

One is where they exit the spine to go up to your scalp, or down to your shoulders and arms. They exit through tiny holes in the vertebra (bone) called foramens. Bumps can form in the bone right there, or disks can crowd nerves right where they come out of the foramen.

The other is where the nerves are inside the spine, before they branch off. Think of your spinal bones as a hollow tube that protects your spinal nerves.

Depending on a person's age, some changes to the cervical spine are part of the ageing process. As time goes on, some disks bulge a little and some bone spurs form. People learn to take it easy as they age. Many of the 'aches and pains' of old age are because the nerves get pressed on by ageing disks or arthritis.

Unless it is severe most doctors will opt to wait and use conservative treatments as surgery always carries some level of risk (anesthesia, etc). And after all it is neurosurgery, which carries its own sort of risks. There is very little room in the neck and it is a difficult area to operate on.

As time has gone on, surgery on this area has gotten better and better. Surgeons have learned to cut less, make smaller openings ('approaches'), and disturb less muscle and other structures. They have also learned to shave off miniscule amounts of bone to relieve the nerve pressure.

Where some surgeons will leave it alone others will be willing to operate. Some specialize and do these surgeries many, many times a day. Practice really does make perfect.

So some will not operate and some will. Not always for the best reasons. As they say, surgeons like to operate, physical therapists say all you need is PT, and doctors say take this pain med. Insurance companies are highly motivated to encourage people to stick with cheaper treatments than surgery, too.

The best thing is to talk to several different surgeons.

When there are a lot of small changes here and there in the neck, many are going to be reluctant to operate. They might be old fashioned and call it 'cranky neck' and encourage you to adapt your lifestyle to manage it. They might be afraid if they operate on one area you won't gain much from it, because other spots have bumps and tight spots too. Most of them only want to clean up one spot at a time. Patients come through the surgery a lot better if they only clean up one spot at a time.

If you understand that operating on one little spot may take away some symptoms but not all, then it is a more realistic view of surgery. Still, the neck is a 'system' and all the parts work together. Relieving nerve pressure at point A can help make point B feel better.

Before you try surgery, you should try other things, perhaps even for a few months. Honestly, you'd be amazed how physical therapy can help. It can loosen up the nerves a lot and give them more room to work. It doesn't always work, but you would be surprised how many people are helped.

Another thing is traction. You can get a little sort of cradle looking thing that can be used daily to stretch your neck. A physical therapist has to order it and show you how to use it.

Then there is nerve medicine. These don't 'numb' nerves, they just make them a little less touchy. A nerve gets kind of 'tired' of being pressed on all the time and it starts getting 'cranky' and yelling ouch all the time, even when the pressure is less. Nerve medicines can make the nerve less irritable.

Of course without any doubt, such changes in the neck can cause head ache. It can cause many different symptoms, nausea, dizziness, even ringing in your ears. As you can imagine, each nerve that branches off the spine handles a different area of the body. Cervical spine nerves that branch off near your head, handle your head. Those that branch off lower down the neck, handle your shoulders and arms.

And each person is unique in how their nerves and muscles work and how narrow their nerve openings (foramens) start at, and how tight their muscles get, so what bothers one person might not bother another or not in exactly the same way.