Hi!
My MRI was very similar, except I have degenerative disc disease..(old age) I am 43, and had surgery on Feb 14th. They never tried therapy on me, but I had several steroid shots. My surgery was ACDF on C5/6,6/7. They used cages and plates,and it has worked well for me. I went back to work in 3 weeks, and am relatively pain-free compared to the months before surgery. I work a job that requires heavy lifting and have been doing well. I don't know that therapy caused you to get worse, but my neuro surgeon forbade me from therapy or chiropractic.... he said that the way my discs were, it could only make it worse.
There it is! hope it helps you some... if you want to PM me or leave me a note here, I will be happy to share all I learned.

Be Well!
Dave