A Spinal Champion™ is a person who has achieved an improved quality of life through treatment for neck or back pain! #SpinalChampion
Our Spinal Champion program provides much needed relief from the emotional and physical challenges that spinal patients face. We are pioneering patient support initiatives that bring together spinal patients, allowing them to share their experiences, offer support, and find strength and comfort in others who are battling similar challenges.
As the only patient-centered medical nonprofit focused on spinal healthcare, the National Spine Health Foundation’s mission is to empower patients with......
Two of the nation’s top spinal specialists discuss must-know information on advanced non-operative and operative treatments and what questions to ask......
The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol is helping evolutionize spinal postoperative recovery, including better pain control, eliminating the need for......
A unique panel brings together patients and their providers, who share their knowledge and inspiring stories on the first two weeks......
Because surgery is only the beginning of your commitment to wellness, a panel of the nation’s leading physical therapists share their......
Surgical and non-surgical specialized physicians join together to discuss the advancements of spinal health and the array of viable treatment options.......
Dr. Amrish Patel recaps his experience at TOBI 2019 and provides insights as to what patients need to know and what......
Dr. Richard Gayles recaps his experience at TOBI 2019 and provides insights on the current and future landscape of regenerative medicine....
Dr. Kraemer discusses adjacent segment disease and what to consider if you need a secondary surgery....
Jennifer tells her Spinal Champion story at the 2019 We’ve Got Your Back Race for Spinal Health on how she overcame......
A mother and daughter share their Spinal Champion story at the 2019 We’ve Got Your Back Race for Spinal Health on......
Abby shares her Spinal Champion story at the 2019 We’ve Got Your Back Race for Spinal Health on the power of......
Jeff tells his Spinal Champion story at the 2019 We’ve Got Your Back Race for Spinal Health and the importance of......
Johanna tells her Spinal Champion story at the 2019 We’ve Got Your Back Race for Spinal Health and why she credits......
Raf, travelling from California, tells his Spinal Champion story at the 2019 We’ve Got Your Back Race for Spinal Healt story......
An avid athelte, Ray shares his Spinal Champion story at the 2019 We’ve Got Your Back Race for Spinal Health and......
Dr. Schuler explains how a spinal surgeon chooses what surgical approach to ensure a tailored surgical plan for each patient....
Dr. Gelb introduces the importance of spinal alignment and the effects of misalignment....
As a physical thrapist and fitness coach, Paul breaks down what exaclty “wellness” means....
Dr. Glassman sheds light on how the spinal industry is leading the conversation in using the patient’s reported outcomes as the......
It was 2009 the first time I felt pain in my back. Little did I know it was the first day in a long journey to maintain proper spinal health. As a marathon runner and weight lifter, dealing with back pain is especially difficult. Physical exercise and competition is part of my identity. When an ...
Rita R – Entrepreneur Rita woke up with a burning sensation in her legs one morning and discovered she had injured her back over 20 years ago! After undergoing surgery at Virginia Spine Institute and participating in Pilates at Virginia Therapy & Fitness Center, Rita shares her story of taking a more active role in her family’s life ...
Aaron D. – Camera Man for French National TV Aaron suffered from extreme neck pain that impacted his family life and his job as a camera man for the French National TV. He tried several non-operative treatments and thought he would live the rest of his life in pain…until he met Dr. Schuler at Virginia Spine Institute. Hear ...
Robin S. – Former Navy Pilot Robin served as a Navy Pilot for many years before sustaining a career-ending back injury while competing in a Triathlon. Her pain was so intense she could barely drive in the car for 5 minutes. After undergoing surgery at Virginia Spine Institute, Robin is back to living an active life ...
Back Story The beginning and end of my story is no different from many of those I’ve read in “SpineTales.” Degenerative disc disease of my lumbar spine had progressed to the point where surgical intervention was necessary and I now live a full life completely free of back pain. What I want to convey in ...
Chuck: Smiling Pain Free Can I see another’s woe, and not be in sorry, too? Can I see another’s grief, and not seek for kind relief? — William Blake Back Story For 30 years I have been the morning meteorologist at WTHR-TV in Indianapolis, Indiana. For more than 12 of those years, I have ...
I Am Not A Success Story. Yet. I am not a success story. Yet. Despite everything, I’ve never doubted my ability to overcome any physical obstacle in my way. This is where Dr. Brian Subach from Virginia Spine Institute enters the picture. It is his task to keep me “screwed” together – quite literally. ...
Back Story: My story began on the evening of March 12, 2006 when we experienced a ferocious storm. My wife and I heard water dripping over our heads from the attic.The next morning the storm continued to rage and water continued to drip, so I decided to go up into the attic to find the leak. When I got ...
Back Story: I am an athlete and my training routine would include things to maintain strength and flexibility. But as my issue was structural, there was only so much I could do. The pain was persistent and it affected my activities; I simply learned to cope. I would have periods where the pain would become ...
Back Story: I am no stranger to orthopedic surgery – I have had nine knee surgeries. As a high-level tennis player, I have unfortunately played through ongoing back pain for most of my adult life. However, the pain in my back began to worsen and I started having nerve problems in my legs. I went ...
Back Story: When I was 40, I began experiencing pain in my right hip while training for a triathlon. The pain became more excruciating; I experienced numbness in my foot and even had to use a cane for a bit. Dr. Slosar at SpineCare Medical Group determined that I had a grade 1 spondylolisthesis at S1/L5, a disc ...
Back Story: My head was spinning and my vision was flickering as I lay on the ground hoping to remain conscious following a 15-foot fall from a ladder in my back yard. After things settled down a bit, I tried to get up but was unable to walk due to the severe pain in my ...
Back Story In early September of 2012, while training with my ice dancing partner for a national competition, I had a very hard fall, resulting in two broken ribs on my left side. Having broken bones while training at least seven times before, I didn’t think too much about it and continued our training. A ...
Back Story I am a volunteer fireman who has been active my entire life, doing triathlons, swimming, skiing, etc. After a day of heavy lifting, however, I began experiencing numbness in my left leg that progressed to the point where I could not walk on my own and couldn’t even get into bed. Symptoms became ...
Back Story: Ten years ago, I was skiing off trail on a very steep terrain when I hit ice, which sent me tumbling backwards down the mountain and eventually hit a small tree. I was airlifted off the mountain and treated for injuries to my chest and a concussion. When I returned home from my ...
Back Story I led an active outdoorsman’s life at the age of 60 – snow skiing, hunting, fishing, hiking, and more. Shortly after retiring as a soccer referee, I couldn’t run any longer and I started experiencing “zinging” down my back and legs. After attending my daughter’s college graduation, the next day both of my legs ...
Back Story As a police officer in “The Big Easy”, I proudly served my community for over 12 years. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, I was cleaning up debris and suffered a fall that broke my back at L3/L4. I suffered through the next two years, trying epidurals, chiropractic, physical therapy, aquatic therapy, and acupuncture ...
Back Story In my high school freshman year, back pain became increasingly debilitating for me. As I was growing taller, the plainly evident scoliosis (curvature), spondylolisthesis (misalignment), spondylolysis (stress fracture), stenosis (narrowing around the nerves), and other findings on numerous s-rays, CTs, and MRIs began to cause pain that increasingly took over my life. I was ...
Back Story The onset of my spinal symptoms included itching of my arms and the back of my neck, muscle weakness, stiffness, aching, lack of sleep, and constant pain in the back of my neck down to between my shoulder blades. I decided to address these symptoms with a surgeon who performed an anterior cervical ...
Back Story: When you are 73 years old, most people have some aches and pain primarily from arthritis as I did, but nothing dramatic. I have always been an extremely active person and have participated in some sort of formal exercise for the past 40 years (before that, chasing five children kept me in shape). My ...
Ray’s Story Eight injured service members kicked off the Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C. in 2013, ten minutes before the open start, racing in wheelchairs or running using prosthetic limbs. Ray Pugsley (right), Spinal Champion and SRF Board Member, was the top master in 53:01. Ray underwent a lumbar discectomy at L5/S1 in 19915 for ...
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