ABSTRACT
Aside from my lower back problem, I have enjoyed excellent health all my life. Since 1983, for example, I have not missed a day of work except for meetings or going to the library. About fifteen years ago, I was involved in a chain-reaction motor vehicle accident on the Santa Ana Freeway in Los Angeles. My neck hurt a little, and it never had before, so I got an X ray and an MRI scan of my cervical spine. Both showed moderate cervical spondylosis, an osteoarthritic and degenerative disc condition found in most middleaged men. My spinal canal was narrowed, although my spinal cord was not compressed. The nerves exited from the spinal canal through holes called neural foramina, which were encroached upon by this process as well. My neck pain resolved rapidly, and I gave no further thought to the matter. Cervical spondylosis is often, perhaps even usually, asymptomatic.
