My Spine

An update on my grotty neck - I'm off to Edinburgh in 10 days time for another scan and to see the consultant neurosurgeon. Things haven't improved since my spinal fusion last December. I'm unsure whether I want more constructive surgery as once was enough of a traumatic experience for me. There certainly isn't any conservative treatment that will help - I have tried them all over the past 15 years or so since first being diagnosed with cervical spondylosis.

I have been asked many times as to why I haven't managed to 'cure' my own neck, especially with my own acupuncture/acupressure inventions. The simple truth is that I have given myself hundreds of treatments and spent a fortune on seeing scores of different practitioners over the years in an attempt to treat my neck. I did NOT undertake surgery lightly and will always maintain that surgery should always be a last resort.

I am absolutely no different to any other patient in requiring the cause of a condition to be addressed, and not just trying to ease the symptoms. I was born with a roto-scoliosis of the mid thoracic spine. This has given me many different symptoms that has affected other parts of the spine as well as the internal organs and the autonomic nervous system. My thoracic spine has improved on what it was when I was in my twenties (thanks to treatment from my wife) and the curvature is not so pronounced although it has left me with an instability. However, fifteen years ago the cervical spine started to show signs of a compensatory curvature, that has eventually given me the compression and arthritic changes that I have today. So, I know what the cause is, but sadly, this cannot be cured.

All of this has naturally given me an interest in the spine, and in particular how various spinal anomalies can cause non spinal conditions. Several years ago I started to run workshops called 'The Holistic Spine'. This resulted in a poster being produced and later this year I am finally embarking on writing a book on the topic.  So its not all bad news then!!