Virginia
In Sept. 1999 I had herniated disk at C5-C6. Came on suddenly. I tried massage, then chiroprator who made it much worse as I ended up in emergency room several hours after treatment. Had to be given shot of demeral for pain, as well as vicodin when released. Was referred to a spinal specialist who did MRI and other tests. There is no nerve damage. I had traction for an hour a day for several months, cold packs, heating pad, celebrex as well as physical therepy. PT included working with weight machines and some isometrics. It took several months but I started feeling better. The spinal specialist suggested surgery as a last resort. When insurance stopped paying for physical therapy, I hired a personal trainer 3 times a week. It has been a year and a half and I am just fine. I continue with weight training 3 x week, have lost 25 pounds and now swim 2 to 5 times a week. I strongly recommend a good physical therapist and weight training to keep back and neck muscles tones so they can support spine and neck. It worked for me. My only problem now is I need to get better medical insurance and I get turned down because I have not had surgery on the disk and they interpret that as an "Incomplete recovery" Any help on insurance problem would be welcome.