Matt has been a professional drummer for most of his career. He’s toured around the world for long stretches of time. During a recent tour in Italy, he started to get pain in his back as he was riding his motorbike through the countryside “At first, I thought it was just a pinched nerve,” Matt explained, “but then the pain didn’t go away. It just got worse.” Matt ended up in immediate care, where they prescribed temporary meds. “They told me that if the pain was still there, I should go to OrthoIndy.” The pain persisted, so Matt scheduled an appointment.
Empowered with Options
By the time Matt came to OrthoIndy, the pain was much worse.
“I was worried I’d pulled a muscle,” he said, “My neck was very stiff, and the pain reached all the way to the backside of my arm.”
Matt came to see Dr. M. Craig McMains, who told him he had a few degenerate discs, specifically discs C5-6 and C6-7. The discs were putting pressure on the nerve bundle, causing the pain. Dr. McMains offered three solutions to the pain. One, he could be try a combination of medication and exercise, which may help the pain, but had a high risk of it returning. Two, a steroid shot, which would help but wouldn’t fix everything once and for all. Or three, Matt could undergo spine surgery and not have to worry about the pain again. After a week of thinking, Matt went with spine surgery.
Nothing to Fear
Matt was worried about going into the surgery. “You always hear the worst-case scenarios. Dr. McMains assured me he had done this surgery many times, and I had nothing to worry about. I trusted him.”
Matt’s surgery went smoothly after a week of rest, and he was back to doing the things he loved with no pain. “I can’t even tell that I had any pain in the first place. My mobility was the same as before. I have zero pain now.”
Matt had nothing but positive things to say about OrthoIndy’s staff, including Dr. McMains. “Everyone there was very kind and very helpful. They could tell I was nervous, and they helped put me at ease and make me comfortable. Dr. McMains really shone out, too. He told me he could cure me, and he did. He cured me.”
Schedule an Appointment
Your well-being is important to us. Click the button below or call us to schedule an appointment with one of our orthopedic specialists. If your injury or condition is recent, you can walk right into one of our OrthoIndy Urgent Care locations for immediate care. For rehabilitation and physical therapy, no referral is needed to see one of our physical therapists.
