Susannah's Story
Pain will make you somebody you’re not. When you’re hurting all the time, and hurting to the point where you need surgery, it really does interfere with your life.
Thirty years ago, Susannah was in the military stationed overseas when she was in a car accident and broke her tailbone. The injury healed, but over the years, she experienced degeneration and developed arthritic growth leading to sciatic pain. Ten years of receiving epidural steroid injections were increasingly not helping to alleviate her persistent pain.
“My love is teaching kickboxing,” said Susannah. “For me, kickboxing is very empowering. I was teaching kickboxing, but the pain got to where I couldn’t deal with it any longer. There was no quality of life.”
Susannah asked herself, “Are you going to continue to live in pain, or are you going to do something about it?”
That’s when Susannah made the decision to undergo fusion surgery. After the surgery, her doctor prescribed the SpinalStim™ Bone Growth Therapy device to help promote bone healing.
Susannah also used the patient-friendly STIM onTrack™ mobile app to follow her treatment calendar; the app helped to guide her through her therapy regimen.
Looking back at her journey, Susannah said, “I think people take for granted the ability to put on shoes. I think people take for granted picking up their child and holding their child. And when that is taken away from you because of pain, little pieces of your life are taken.”
Now, Susannah is back to leading the class. “I can now do what I couldn’t do for 15 years. Everything is better.”
“Having the surgery, having a fantastic doctor, and having really good technology in the bone growth stimulator has given me a fantastic result,” said Susannah. “I really feel empowered again. I have my life back.”
The patient stories above are the experiences of these individuals. Not everyone who uses a bone growth therapy device will receive the same results. If you are interested in learning more, please consult your physician to understand the benefits and risks. Information related to indications, contraindications and precautions can be found at Orthofix.com.