Spondylo-what??

My neck pain started up again on Sunday, after my body shifted a little bit while driving over a small bump in the road. The minute my body bent to one side while my neck listed in the opposite direction, I knew it was going to be ugly. I said "Oh no!" and Joel immediately reached over to touch my neck. It was just a twinge at first, but got worse until I could hardly turn my head to the left. I can't bend it at all to the left, but now I can actually turn it fairly well, which makes driving much easier. Still, I have a lot of stiffness, which means reversing out of a parking space is kind of a challenge.

When I told my doctor about it, she recommended coming in for an x-ray. The results showed that I have a mild spondyloarthropathy of the lower cervical spine with muscle spasm. What a mouthful! I'll be doing some more research to find out what exactly this means, but meanwhile I have a physical therapy appointment next Tuesday. And I can't wait!