Question
My orthopedic dr. rushed me out of his office with little regard to my MRI results. Making this short as possible here's what it said: C5-6 moderate size prominent left paramedian & left posterolateral disc protrusion/herniation w/compression on subjacent cord & w/asymmetric left foraminal encroachment/stenosis in combination w/facet arthropathy. And: C6-7 right posterolateral disc protrusion/herniation w/mild compression on subjacent cord. And there is reversal of the normal cervical lordosis w/otherwise normal alignment. So, do I have 2 slipped discs? Would you recommend surgery or try physical therapy? So far I've been to a chiropractor 3 times & she has helped alot along with pain medication. Thanks for your time & help so much!

Answer
Elizabeth,
What you have is an unstable and misaligned spine.  This is caused by an Upper Cervical Subluxation (when the top two neck bones get locked into misalignment and interfere with nervous system messages). What happens is a "trickle down effect" that occurs when the Upper Cervical Spine gets into a position of permanency in mis-alignment and then the rest of the spine follows the lead from above.
You do not need surgery for this as surgery should be reserved as a last resort when all other conservative and sensible approaches have been exhausted.
Physical Therapy is always a good thing when it is applied to a body that has been re-aligned.  In other words, Physical Therapy alone is very limited and you can get much better results from Physical Therapy once the Upper Cervical Subluxation has been corrected, and the proper mental transmission has been restored.
That is great news that the chiropractor you have gone to has helped you, I would say to continue along that path, after all you have only gone 3 times.  What you have will require a year of care at least at the chiropractor's office.  What you need to understand is that you problem took years to occur and it will take some time to correct.
I now have a question for you about your chiropractor, because I want to be sure that you are under the proper care:

Please describe to me briefly what a typical visit is like when you go to your DC, and how often do you go?

Yours in Best Health,
Dr Rob Arnone