My name is Ram Krishnan and I went through months of pain and suffering in my neck, back, shoulders and arms. It was baffling, lonely and difficult to navigate.

Eventually it led to a surgical procedure called a total disc replacement. I went from knowing nothing at first to gathering and assimilating a lot of information along the way. This gave me deeper knowledge on the anatomy, my conditions, who could help me, how to navigate the healthcare system and ultimately what decisions I needed to make for both relief and to save my life.

It felt worth paying it back by documenting my personal journey and sharing the information I had collected and analyzed for myself along the way. If you’re here, maybe you’re at the early stages as well, and aren’t getting any answers searching “neck pain,” maybe this helps you get to answers faster by getting the right terms to describe your pain.

To be clear, I’m not a medical professional or doctor. I’m not going to make any diagnosis or recommendation, but I am sharing and aggregating information I learned for myself and hope I can help you in some way.