Ever since Lawrence I. was a child, running has brought joy to his life. He was on the track team from elementary to high school. As an adult, running helped Lawrence stay fit and manage stress. Anytime he’d had a bad day, he could “run on it.”
“Once I get a few miles underneath me, I can think anything out,” Lawrence says.
But in 2021, it seemed Lawrence would have to hang up his running shoes. That year, he began to feel the first twinges of back pain. He chalked it up to aging, but the pain gradually worsened. While vacationing in Maryland, Lawrence went for a run he couldn’t finish.
“That’s when I knew something was wrong,” he says.
Getting a diagnosis
In 2023, Lawrence made an appointment at Temple Health. An MRI showed lower lumbar spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column in the lower back. His initial treatments were conservative: physical therapy exercises and an epidural injection to reduce inflammation and pain.
Though the treatments brought some relief, it didn’t last long.
“I still couldn't run, and I was limping at this point,” he says.
In considerable pain, Lawrence was taking an NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) pain medicine, “just to get through the day.” He knew it was time to consider surgery.
A surgical solution
Lawrence met with orthopaedic surgeon Theresa J.C. Pazionis, MD, MA, FRCSC, ABOS, with Temple’s Spine Care Program. She explained how the diseased structures in his spine were causing his back and leg pain. The pain extended to his left hip and leg, which had become swollen from his ankle to just below the knee.
“She said, ‘Your exercising did not cause this; your running did not cause this,’” Lawrence recalls.
Dr. Pazionis recommended a spinal fusion procedure, which she performed robotically. Temple offers a wide array of nonsurgical and surgical treatments, including advanced procedures with small incisions to promote faster recoveries.
Dr. Pazionis took the time to explain in plain language what was going on with his body and what the surgery would involve. She involved Lawrence in his treatment plan from start to finish.
