The No. 6 priority is to determine the role of rehabilitation in DCM, both pre- and post-surgery. Michelle and Ben ask Tim Boerger, a clinical research student who has had surgery for his DCM, to share his experience of peri-operative rehabilitation. Julio Furlan talks about existing rehabilitation strategies in spinal cord injury and how they might be translated to this highly variable patient group. And Armin Curt discusses ways in which our knowledge can be applied, developed and communicated.

In this episode, Michelle and Ben focus on the No 5 priority, defining the biological basis of DCM. Surgeon and scientist Mark Kotter explores how degenerative pathology translates to clinical symptomatology. Ellen Sarewitz, who lives with DCM, uses her medical communications background to pinpoint knowledge gaps and endorse multi-stakeholder solutions. Scientist James Fawcett encourages synergy between the traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury research communities to inspire preclinical studies and accelerate clinical trials in DCM.

The No 4 Priority of the RECODE-DCM project is advancing techniques for Assessment and Monitoring of DCM. Michelle and Ben hear Paige Howard's perspective as someone living with DCM, sharing her past experiences, her fears and her hopes for the future. Spine Surgeon Paul Koljonen and Physiotherapist Sukhvinder Kalsi-Ryan give their expert input regarding current techniques, critical knowledge gaps and recent innovations in the field.

Accelerating and improving the diagnosis of DCM is the No 3 priority of the AO Spine RECODE-DCM project. Michelle and Ben speak to Iwan Sadler, who struggled with the progressive symptoms of DCM for a decade with no diagnosis, prompting him to set up his own online support group. Surgeons Dr James Harrop and Dr Brian Kwon discuss the difficulties of diagnosing DCM today and consider some promising avenues for research to facilitate early diagnosis.

Tackling the No 2 priority of the AO Spine RECODE-DCM project, Michelle and Ben examine our current understanding of the natural history of DCM and the factors that influence the development and progression of the disease. In conversation with spine surgeons Dr Jefferson Wilson and Dr Brian Kwon, as well as Lady Julia Carter who lives with cervical myelopathy, they highlight the key knowledge gaps and how to rectify these.

Tackling the No 1 priority of the AO Spine RECODE-DCM project, Michelle and Ben address the challenges and potential solutions for raising awareness of DCM throughout the medical community and the general public. They explore the perspectives of spine surgeons Dr Michael Fehlings and Dr Mark Kotter, and family practitioner Dr James Milligan, as well as Tammy Blizzard, who's a person living with cervical myelopathy.

From next week, the Myelopathy Matters stream will be taken over for ten weekly special podcasts about an important international project to direct future research into DCM. This special episode of Myelopathy Matters introduces the project and what it hopes to deliver for people living with and working with DCM. Michelle and Ben discuss RECODE-DCM with chief investigator Dr Mark Kotter.

Ben and Michelle discuss the upcoming series of special podcasts on the RECODE-DCM project, which brings people with DCM and medical experts together to direct future research. Ben interviews myelopathy pioneer Michael Fehlings about his career and the future of myelopathy research and treatment.

In this episode, we meet two of the trustees and hear about how the charity works and what its ambitions are for the year ahead.

We speak to Aria Nouri about the origin of the name Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and Tim Boerger about the word "patient".