Your chances of getting better are still greater than if you just willynilly self-treat without the support of those diagnostic tools. Yes for the majority of people, simple spine degeneration may not be a big deal and probably easily treatable at home with stretching and strength training exercises. There's degeneration, and then there's borderline myelopathy; you sure is hell don't want to make that worse (trust me) before you get a chance to see a medical professional. Myelopathy is insidious too, it can turn into a catastrophe without you realizing. One day it might be pain, the next it could be near paralysis.

I agree, the quality of care received is very lacking (especially in the US, I don't think anyone would argue otherwise), but if you find a physical therapist that is actually willing to look at your MRIs to determine what the mechanics of your particular situation are and work with you on what feels good vs what makes things worse, you'll be far better off. They do exist, it might take time to find them. If you go into a PT clinic and they don't even look at your imaging, I'd go somewhere else.