Question
my latest MRI for the c spine is as follows: I have had this condition for some years now, but was rear ended last year and that seemed to make me feel worse than where I was before. I was always quite symptomatic, not like some others who feel little to no pain. I have significant muscle spasms in the sides of the neck/shoulder area, burning type of knife pains on the sides of the neck, stiffness, limited ROM etc. occasional pain in shoulders and weird feeling in arms.

MRI - report
significant degenerative changes at c3-6
c3-4 central disc protrusion 4mm in the anteroposterior dimension, doubled in size since last study, midly compresses the anterior aspect of the cervical spinal cord. no significant neural formainal narrowing.
c4-5 mild posterior disc oseophyte which mildly indents the anterior aspect of the thecal sac. mild bilateral neural formainal narrowing caused by disc osteophyte complex. slightly more prominent than prior study.
c5-6 posterior and right paracentral disc osteophyte complex mildly compresses the anterior aspect of the cords, causes mild spinal canal stenosis. moderate stenosis of the right lateral recess.

my question is, can chiropractic help this condition?? I have had some physical therapy and do the stretching they taught me and that helps with the ROM a good bit. I have tried the medications they usually recommend, but dont really want to keep taking meds and some give side effects.  I am 47 and need to ward off feeling any worse than I do now. Chiropractic sounds scary to me...I would never want anyone to twist and snap on my neck. How often would I have to treat to get releif?

Also my doctor suggested I try the cortisone injection....sounds really scary and risky to me - way more invasive than I want to go right now.  I had a neurosurgeon eval and he said he would have to do a triple fusion and would prefer the conservative route of not wanting to do any surgery unless I really couldnt function and I agree.

Any advice?  thanks so much

Answer
great question:
  your situation can be helped and improved,  but not fixed or cured as you may call it. you already have  damage to your spine that is irreversible.
there are many techniques that don't twist the neck, these techniques are called upper cervical, thompson technique, activator, and there are others that are very gentle. make sure you pick a chiropractor that is aware of your concerns.
also, you should try cold laser therapy to reduce inflammation, its very effective and safe.
if you tell me what town you are in we can try to help you find someone qualified.