HOUSTON – Orthopedic spine surgeon Neil Badlani said almost all of us will experience back pain sometime in life. Half of us have chronic pain that comes and goes.
"Everyone's spine has discs and those discs degenerate over time, over the course of someone's life, and that's probably the root cause of back pain," Badlani said.
As discs wear thin, pain travels to the hips, legs or neck. Patients like Michael Nevin said the pain can get to a point that is almost paralyzing.
"When I first came in, it was at the point where I had to look to where I had to sit just to take a break," he said.
Nevin is an active 57-year-old, so when back problems kept him from regular activities, he searched for a non-surgical solution.
"I did go through physical therapy. That did help alleviate it, but it was still there," Nevin said.
Badlani said the majority of people with back pain do not need surgery. Instead, he suggests medication, steroid shots and physical therapy.
When all of those fail, the doctor said it is time for the last resort.
"The good thing about the surgeries we have now is that they're less invasive," Badlani said.
Against his first instinct, and still jaded from a laser procedure that proved ineffective, Nevin agreed to lumbar fusion surgery at the Orthopedic Sports Clinic in west Houston.
Badlani placed two screws between discs in Nevin's back. This provides stability to the spine and space for pinched nerves. Nevin was living with pain for a year and a half, but after the three hour surgery, everything changed.
Click here for an illustration of the procedure.
"When I came to, I could tell the difference immediately," he said.
"The majority of those patients can go home the day after surgery," Badlani said. "Really can get back to doing everything they want to do within just a few weeks."
Nevins spoke with Channel 2 seven weeks after surgery.
"I was apprehensive. You can imagine, back surgery," he said. "You hear horror stories from way back when but technology has progressed to the point that it was pretty straight forward. I had surgery one day and was walking the next. Pain was gone."
Nevins said he's already back at the gym, improving his mobility every day.