this stuff is serious !
Hi All,
I don't want to be the prophet of doom here, but please take this stuff seriously.
A few years back, after ten years of solid utility work wearing an Alpha (around 15 years of general choppers prior to that), my constant neck pain wouldn't go away. Visit to doctor, sent for scans, visit to specialist, sent for MRI, sent for surgery. Titanium plate in the neck to stay permanently and you guessed it, they pulled my license. So all of a sudden, no income and no other way to really earn $$$. It took me 2 full years to get my license (medical) back from the authorities, but with the caveat that I must not do any vert ref work. I burnt through all of my savings, and then some. The Neurosurgeon said If I didn't change my ways, I would end up in a wheelchair.
No amount of stretching, heat pads, or chanting will help if you have stuffed the disc between the vertebrae. And the only way to prove that is with an MRI. And once you see that, believe me you will change your ways. I keep the photo of the MRI and a snap pic from during the surgery (of the plate, 4 x screws and assorted tubes etc all inside my body) on my phone to remind me to take things easy. I still fly. But gently !!
Life is too short. And helicopters are just a job...
Take care.