Archie's story
Herniated disc, microdiscectomy, physical therapy
Physical therapy and surgery combine to support Archie’s active lifestyle
When Archie first came to Mayfield Brain & Spine with pain on his left side, extending down his left leg, he wanted to see if he could delay surgery as long as possible. He had gone through back pain in the past and always recovered. Now, he was having trouble even standing up straight.
“Something felt different this time,” Archie says. “At my age, I’m not looking to compete in any sports or anything like that. But I’m an active guy, and I want to stay that way.”
Archie consulted with neurosurgeon Dr. Bryan Krueger, who offered minimally invasive surgery to repair a herniated disc in Archie’s lower back. Archie wasn’t quite ready for surgery, so Dr. Krueger referred him to physical therapist Becca Metz and PT assistant Laurie Ranne, who see patients just a few steps away in Mayfield’s Rookwood office. They started him on a regimen of exercises to alleviate his pain, build core strength and flexibility, and support his active lifestyle.
Archie with his Care Team
Becca Metz, PT, Laurie Ranne, PTA and Dr. Bryan Krueger
Archie loves spin classes on stationary bikes and lots of steps every day. But after about a month of physical therapy, he wasn’t seeing any significant relief, and he wasn’t getting closer to resuming the workouts he loves.
“I think Becca could see that I wasn’t going to get better,” he says.
That’s when Metz walked Archie across the hall to Mayfield’s clinical pods to move up a consultation with Dr. Krueger. It’s a common collaboration at Mayfield, with full physical therapy services located in all six patient offices around the region. While physical therapists don’t tell patients whether they need surgery or not, those patients are best served when physicians and physical therapists are coordinating their care at every step, Metz and Dr. Krueger say.
“Our first job was to see if we could help Archie fulfill his goal and avoid surgery,” Metz says. “He responded well to physical therapy, but we all felt that the activity level he wanted couldn't be achieved without surgery.”
“Every patient is different, and it takes all of us working together to improve their possible outcomes,” Dr. Krueger says. “When physical therapists alert us to the progress of a patient, we can make the best possible decisions about surgery and recovery.”
In Archie’s case, the surgeon recommended a microdiscectomy that would ease the pressure on nerves in his lower back, or lumbar spine. A herniated disc occurs when the rubbery center of a disc ruptures and leaks out. When the ruptured disc touches or compresses a spinal nerve, it can result in back or leg pain, numbness, or tingling. Microdiscectomy is a minimally invasive approach where the surgeon frees the nerve by removing small fragments of disc, bone, and ligament.
“Once the initial physical therapy didn’t produce the results Archie wanted, we scheduled the outpatient surgery to relieve the pressure on the nerves near the L5-S1 level of his lumbar spine,” Dr. Krueger says. “This relieved most of his pain, setting the platform for more physical therapy to get him back to the level of activity he desired.”
Archie was back home a few hours after the operation at the Mayfield Spine Surgery Center, just across Interstate 71 from Mayfield’s Rookwood patient office.
A few weeks after surgery, Archie walked across that same hallway back to physical therapy, where Metz and Ranne noticed immediately that he was standing straighter than they had ever seen him. The pair concentrated on helping Archie recover while maintaining flexibility and building strength. His pain receded immediately, but he still felt a tightness in his hips that was keeping him from full activity.
He does the full range of stretches in his hips, hamstrings, and lower back, including leg lifts and “clamshells.” He hopes to continue PT for several more months.
“I could feel that the surgery had worked, and now I’m trying to build my strength back up,” Archie says. “And the best thing is, I’m not in pain anymore.”
~ Cliff Peale
Hope Story Disclaimer -"Archie's Story" is about one patient's health-care experience. Please bear in mind that because every patient is unique, individual patients may respond to treatment in different ways. Results are influenced by many factors and may vary from patient to patient.
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