Although I have been unable to work and mostly housebound for about a year, I seem to have developed an increasing determination not to have any spine surgery, and to let my body take me where it will. Thoracic is bad area. I try to love my pain to keep my mind from multiplying it. Eugene Carragee has written of this aspect.
I could barely stand up last year but now walk gently up to 1 mile.
I am wondering what others think of the attached MRI images, whether they are REAL...or maybe they have been doctored (no pun intended). Someone like Job13 might have the technical skills to know for certain. I enlarged a few images for comparison.
MRI images of disc regeneration are a rare thing and if it can result from just taking some tablets for a few years then it is the biggest breakthru in the spine history. Yet in the years since the paper was published there are no similar follow up studies and the topic is ignored by spine medical community.
The images came from here.
PubMed Central, : BMC Complement Altern Med. 2003; 3: 2. Published online 2003 June 10. doi: 10.1186/1472-6882-3-2.
The complete paper is here. Authors are very highly qualified which leads me to think the results could be real.
Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate supplementation to treat symptomatic disc degeneration: Biochemical rationale and case report
I also have included an early image of Job13 injured disc before any of her surgeries. She did everything right by the "system" with thorough research of the (best??) doctors, and then the system took all her money and severely damaged her health and life in the process.
I guess where I am coming from ...is she an example of someone who might be healthy, active and much richer today if she had initially been strongly advised to stick with conservative care, go easy on back, and take certain supplements??