After suffering with back pain on and off since his 20s, Jerel Nelson, age 67, feels like a new man after having a spine care procedure at Riverwood Healthcare Center.
“Over the years I would get episodes of severe back pain whenever I did hard physical work, Nelson explains. “The pain would go away after I took it easy, but then it would come back the next time I worked hard. It got to the point where all I wanted to do was sit and not do anything because my back pain had gotten so bad.”
Then Nelson saw Physician Assistant Erin Mason in Orthopaedics, and she advised that he had two choices—either have back surgery or have a minimally invasive spine procedure.
Nelson chose the minimally invasive procedure. He had a basivertebral nerve ablation with Dr. Joshua Horowitz, anesthesiologist and interventional spine pain specialist. Designed to relieve low back pain, the procedure uses radiofrequency energy to heat and disrupt the basivertebral nerve, effectively interrupting the pain signal transmission.
Nelson adds, “I can’t believe the night-and-day difference before and after my procedure. Two months later I’m feeling amazing. I still have a bulging disc and a pinched nerve in my back, but I only feel a bit of stiffness now. The terrible pain is gone.”
Nelson is back to mowing his lawn with a push mower and looks forward to enjoying other outdoor activities this summer.
To schedule an appointment for spine care, call 218-927-5181. Learn more about services at www.riverwoodhealthcare.org.