What everyone else has said....

When I was much younger (12? 13? somewhere around there) my mother suffered (and I mean suffered) from a slipped disk -- could barely move.

Surgery was recommended, and she had a good doctor. She, too, had heard all sorts of horror stories about what could go wrong with fooling around with the spine. But when it was all over, it was like day after night. She was back to splitting wood, and everything not long after.

Hey! Life is full of "Pains in the neck." Unfortunately, most of them can't just be gotten rid of, like yours can!