2001 Herniated C3-4, herniated C 4-5, herniated and ruptured C 5-6, bulging C 6-7. Severe foraminal stenosis with spinal cord compression. Neural root compression. Severe radiculopathy. Complete reversal of my lordotic curve. The initial injury happened in June. By the time I went to the doctor in October I had irreversible nerve damage. This isn't something that gets better. I ended up in emergency surgery to decompress my spinal cord (discectomy and fusion with cadaver bone) I have almost constant nerve pain and a left-sided weakness which might have been prevented had I not been so stubborn and taken care of things sooner. Things I can still do;cycle, hike, race sailboats, downhill ski, skate, rock climb, rappel, swim, highland dance, Olympic style weight lifting, circuit train, Zumba. Things I can't do; ummmm nothing. What changes have I made? I can do everything I want to do but I have to be more mindful of using good body positioning and mechanics. So now you know at least one person for whom surgery was successful.

And I wanted to address the kettle ball thing. Because you will not know when your grip has become too weak I would not recommend any swing type exercises with this equipment. Not only can you hurt yourself but you could potentially hurt someone else if your grip breaks and you send it flying.