I first met Georgia when she was 15 years-old. She had undergone a fusion for adolescent scoliosis at another hospital. Her post-op pain was much worse than usual and nine months after the surgery she was still experiencing severe pain. Normally, pain from a fusion such as hers is gone … Read More
Power Many patients have no interest in giving up their pain. Being a victim is a powerful role – and for many is synonymous with love. Some of the reasons to remain a victim and angry are: It is a familiar pattern You are not aware or connected to your anger … Read More
Anthony was a patient who I saw just a couple of times in his early 20’s. He was experiencing low back pain that was significantly impacting his quality of life. His MRI scan showed some mild degeneration at L4-5 and was not a problem that would respond to surgery. … Read More
When I published the first edition of my book, Back in Control: A Spine Surgeon’s Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain in 2012, I was still of the mind set that if the correct pathology could be identified as the source of the pain, surgery was the best option and the sooner the better. Then … Read More
My son, Nick, has been a competitive freestyle mogul skier since he was 14 years-old. He is an extraordinary athlete and within three years of beginning his skiing career he won the Duals event at Junior Nationals. He was focused, passionate and it appeared that he was well on his … Read More
This is Scott, who is a personal trainer that I work out with on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 am. This is his picture at the gym one memorable Halloween. He’s a little unusual in that he laughs at us – the whole time we are working out. He pushes … Read More
Pain, The Gift That Nobody Wants is a book written by an orthopedic hand surgeon, Paul Brand. Through his work in India with lepers he discovered that the reason why they had such severe hand, facial, and foot deformities was that the bacteria resided in sensory nerves and destroyed protective … Read More
My surgical decision-making dramatically changed over the last five years of my practice. In spite of watching so many successes of people healing from chronic pain without surgery, I still had a surgical mindset and was always looking for a surgical lesion that I could “fix”. In the first edition … Read More
Terry was a middle-aged mother of two children whom I met many years ago. For reasons that are unclear, her spine just tipped forward in her lumbar area. She came into my office severely bent forward and tipped to the left side. She had understandably developed chronic pain over the … Read More
Family Patterns Behavioral patterns laid into your nervous system are the essence of your life view. Until you become aware of them and their effect on your day-to-day life you cannot connect with the core of you really are. Being around your family usually will precipitate a massive resurgence of … Read More