I'm posting in case my story helps someone. I was in a head-on car crash four months ago and suffered trauma to my cervical spine from whiplash, specifically, a herniated disc at C5-6 that pushed completely against the spinal column (central spinal stenosis) and an unstable spine.

Although my condition was brought on by trauma, I believe others here have experienced similar symptoms due to other causes. I had occasional tingling down the left arm, almost constant tingling in the left hand, prickly sensation in my hands and feet that would come and go, and my left arm was very weak and painful. I also had a feeling of dull pressure between my shoulder blades, like someone was pushing a pole into my back. On a couple of days while walking, my legs felt weightless.

The rehab specialist who ordered the MRI referred me to a neurosurgeon, and he wanted to operate right away. This caught me off guard and I wasn't ready to go ahead without doing more research. I researched everything I could for almost two months and made an appointment with another neurosurgeon to get a second opinion. By the time I saw the second NS, I was convinced that I should have the surgery and I liked his surgical approach, so I had the surgery (ACDF) two weeks later.

I'm so happy I had the surgery. The morning after, I actually felt worse when the pain meds wore off, but I took the pain meds, came home, and began to feel better and better with each day. Today is two weeks after surgery, I don't need pain meds, and I feel well again. I know the fusion isn't complete yet, but I'm on the road to recovery.

After talking to others about my condition, it's amazing how many people face the same surgical decision or know someone who went through spinal surgery. Here's what I learned that convinced me to have surgery sooner rather than later:

Neurosurgery may help reduce existing nerve pain, but there's no guarantee that it will. The longer the nerves are impinged, the less likely they are to recover.

Neurosurgery may help stop the progression of nerve damage. This was what the neurosurgeons stressed; they were concerned to stop further damage to my nerves along with myelopathy.

Neurosurgery may help stop the progression of myelopathy by removing the disc material (or other material) that impinges on the spinal cord. This was a major concern for me.

Because I had a few weeks prior to surgery when I was doing a lot of research about spinal surgery, I spent a little time each day doing exercises to strengthen my core and arms (planks--front and side, and push ups). Having a stronger core and arms has helped tremendously after surgery. The one exercise I didn't do, squats, turns out to be really important! I'm doing a lot of those these days until I get the cervical collar off and get the okay to bend (lift and twist) again.

I learned that chiropractic can make issues with the spine worse, with tragic consequences for some. I did ask a chiropractor about my condition. He told me he does a scan of every patient before planning treatment so he knows what's going on. He also recommended surgery in my case. Two doctors warned me about chiropractors who perform manual therapy without knowing the underlying condition of the nerves and spinal cord. And one neurosurgeon told me that chiropractic in my case is exactly the opposite of what I needed because my spine was not stable. So I definitely recommend that anyone see a neurosurgeon first to diagnose the issue and discuss options including chiropractic with him or her before seeking that kind of treatment (and what other options there might be).

For people who've had a trauma, like me, I recommend that you see as many different specialists as you think will help as soon after the trauma as you can (if your insurance allows). I needed a cardiologist, primary care physician, physical therapist, rehabilitation specialist, and finally a neurosurgeon to help me on the road to recovery. Each doctor diagnosed something different about my condition, and only together did they help save my health and well being. The emergency room physician missed all my injuries and sent me home two hours after the accident with some pain pills. Although I wanted to believe the ER doctor that all was going to be fine, I finally had to face the fact that I needed help.

I hope my story helps someone with this difficult decision. Surgery does carry risk, and waiting longer to have it when you're told you need it also carries risk. Research your neurosurgeon and hospital, get word-of-mouth recommendations from others, get a second (third) opinion, find a neurosurgeon whom you have confidence in, who performs the kind of surgery you're more comfortable with, ask all the questions you need answered, and try to get in the best physical shape you can before surgery so you can sail through and heal faster.

Best wishes to all!