5 minute read
Back Pain... a patient testimonial
BACK PAIN… a patient testimonial
by Jackie Makowski
From jumping out of airplanes with a parachute strapped tight around his body to patrolling the dusty streets of postwar Iraq, Taurus Smith has had a distinguished 20-year career in the United States military. As a high school graduate, Smith had joined the ROTC as a way to pay for college. What he found in the military was a fulfilling career his family could be proud of and a powerful camaraderie of service men and women who shared his ideals.
Yet some of the challenging, mandatory training in the military has led to back pain in recent years. When Smith, who is a military member stationed in Huntsville, Alabama, began experiencing excruciating back pain several years ago, he thought the military career he loved was in jeopardy. After seeing several different types of doctors, he eventually found his way to the Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants, who successfully reduced his pain and helped make it possible for him to continue serving the country.
TAURUS SMITH’S PATIENT STORY There is a saying in the military that “everyone is a rifleman.” Since every serviceman can be deployed around the world at any time, the military requires every member to stay at high standards of physical fitness.
For Smith, there have been challenging 12-mile road marches carrying a 40-lb rucksack on his back and a weapon in his arms. He’s jumped out of a helicopter and accidentally landed in a tree with his feet dangling six feet off the ground. He’s completed four-mile runs followed by 12-mile road marches while training lieutenants. For most of his career, Smith completed the physical fitness tests and exercises with no problems. But then the pain started a few years ago.
“It was really bad aching pain, a throbbing in my lower and middle back. It got to the point where I started taking all types of anti-inflammatories. When I was ordered to do a physical fitness test, I would take painkillers and then take more after the test was over just to reduce the pain,” Smith said. “Sometimes it would take a while to stand up straight.” “I was pretty sure that my military career was going to be over.” Smith sought treatment from a variety of doctors who couldn’t quite pinpoint the condition or provide significant relief. He first saw a physical therapist who worked with him on a program of exercises to strengthen the hip and stabilize the pelvic area – to no avail. His primary care physician referred him to a rheumatologist to examine him for rheumatoid arthritis. Another doctor examined him to see if he had a bulging disc in the spine. “No one could say specifically what the problem was,” he said.
GETTING PAIN RELIEF Finally, Smith was referred to the Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants at Huntsville Hospital, where specialists in pain management pinpointed the source of his pain. They administered a series of facet joint injections, which has dramatically increased his mobility and reduced his pain.
Dr. John Roberts is a double board-certified physician in anesthesiology and pain management at the Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants who has treated many patients like Taurus Smith in his career. Dr. Roberts served 12 years with the United States Air Force and was the Chief Anesthesiologist and Director of Acute and Chronic Pain Services at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi.
When patients like Mr. Smith come in with injuries and progressive pain over many years and they may not have been given discriminate information about the cause of the condition, our physicians will take an extensive patient history, conduct a physical exam, and look at the imaging to determine the source of the pain. - John Roberts, MD, DABA
For Taurus Smith, the team at the Huntsville Hospital and Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants then administered diagnostic injections to determine the exact part of the spine that was generating the pain. Mr. Smith was diagnosed with spondylosis, a degenerative condition affecting the joints or facets in his spine. A physician administered facet joint injections which delivers anti-inflammatory steroid medication. The injections were successful and reduced Smith’s pain by 50 percent.
Getting significant relief from longstanding pain means that patients like Taurus Smith can start stretching and moving the joints and muscles that have become less mobile over the years. The immobility caused by the enduring pain typically shortens the muscles and deconditions the part of the body where the pain is found, which causes even more pain and suffering.
Dr. Roberts emphasized that while there is no cure for degenerative problems that have caused progressive pain, “What we can do is manage the pain and improve people’s lives and their daily functioning.”
Taurus Smith currently receives quarterly facet joint injections administered by his physician in Huntsville Hospital’s outpatient procedural suites located in Governors Medial Tower. The relief from his back pain has made it possible for him continue his military career, including resuming his duty of leading high intensity trainings for young lieutenants. “The pain isn’t gone but the level of intensity has been reduced from a 9 to a 5. Now it’s more manageable to stay fit,” he said.
Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants offers immediate appointments for patients with acute and chronic pain. Call (256) 265- 7246 to schedule an appointment with an expert in anesthesiology and pain management.
For more than 20 years, Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants and Huntsville Hospital have been the regional leader in nonsurgical pain relief services. The practice has the area’s only team of double-board certified physicians in anesthesiology and pain management with more than century of combined experience.
tnvalleypain.com (256) 265-7246
