WSVN — Channing Coe has suffered with back pain on and off since he played college football.
Channing Coe: “You can’t move, you can’t bend. It’s constant pain.”
When he hit 40 the back spasms only got worse.
Channing Coe: “Literally stepped into the shower I had the most unbelievable pain down my leg.”
An MRI would reveal the problem.
Channing Coe: “I ruptured the L4, L5 disc in my back and it had protruded and was pushing on to my spinal nerve.”
Doctors recommended surgery something Channing was against.
Channing Coe: “It was the repercussions after that I was worried about losing feelings in my legs, losing mobility in my back.”
Neurosurgeon Donald Graham who’s performed thousands of spinal surgeries worries there are too many unnecessary back surgeries being performed.
Dr. Donald Graham: “There are a lot more fusions going on now than there used to be. Part of the marketing game has been using buzz words like minimally invasive, laser or band-aid surgery. When you are dealing with the spine, any surgery is major surgery.”
He says surgery is not always a cure all.
Dr. Donald Graham: “We have seen a pretty significant rise in what we call failed back syndrome, where patients don’t really improve after the surgery, even though they’ve had a significant procedure performed.”
Dr. Graham recently founded Second Opine Spine near Tampa where he provides Florida patients an independent second opinion on spinal surgery.
Dr. Donald Graham: “There is a real void in getting an independent second opinion. Many times a patient will go for a second opinion and the second opinion will say ‘Yes, you need surgery, but you need the surgery that I do, not the surgery that they recommend’. The opinions I give are out of my Florida office and I don’t do surgery in Florida.”
Channing says he’s glad he skipped surgery and thanks to yoga he lost 25 pounds, and is back to perfect back health.
Channing Coe: “I have no back pain. I feel better at age 43 than I did at 23.”
Diana Diaz: “Dr Graham says at Second Opine Spine doctors will examine you and look at your medical records and imaging, but they are not involved in your care.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Second Opine Spine
801 W Bay Dr #421, Largo, FL 33770
(855) 665-6433