hey keephurting...won't be long until you are "feelingbetter"!

Thanks for the update.

I think you have summed it up nicely. It is hard to comment specifically but it would seem that the disc material (which at your age is NOT fluid) is causing some physical irritation or compression of the spinal cord.

Whilst this seems serious (and it can be), it might help you to know that lots of people have these problems and don't have symptoms.

In my opinion, it would seem to me that chemical irritation tends to produce more pain than physical compression. Having said that, you have had this problem a long time. Therefore your brain might be sensitizing your neural system - it is a fancy way of saying that your nerves are in a state of high alert all the time. This can cause issues as well.

The vascular surgeon is to check the blood flow out of your thoracic outlet = there are tests you can look up and do from Dr Google to test for thoracic outlet syndrome.

Physio is to take care of the symptoms, get your nerves and joints and muscles moving and help you get better.

Worry is only because you don't have a definitive plan of action outlined for you yet but it would seem that even from thousands of miles away, your story is a familiar one to us physios! So please remain positive and keep us informed of how you are going

Glad to have helped Hope the extra info helps. Post any specific questions you have here too if you like...

Cheers!