Jake... welcome to the forum.
I'm Mark Mintzer and I'm the founder of this forum. I've been involved in the online spine patient community since mid-2000.
Hopefully, this will all blow over. If you have not been having back problems and are 3 weeks into this, conservative treatment (or even doing nothing) still offers great promise. If your spine is the problem and it's already too compromised to avoid surgery, there are many good options out there (depending on what you are a candidate for.)
The first multi-level disc replacement patient I ever met was a professional chef from San Diego... excellent results.
Grade 1 instability indicates < 25% slip. I went to the North American Spine Society meeting earlier this month and saw a presentation about successful treatment of this condition with bracing instead of surgery.
I know how physically demanding your profession is. I hope you can continue (especially if that is your passion.)
All the best,
Mark
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