Great achievements
Tonight Steve Kerr coached his team to their second NBA Championship in the last 3 years. He is securing himself as one of the greatest of all time and he was almost forced into retirement because of his back.
The problem
Mr. Kerr had a disc injury in his lumbar spine (lower back) and he opted to have spinal fusion surgery to help heal the problem in his spine. Although we know that these types of surgeries are only about 50% effective, it may be the only option, Kerr certainly thought it was his only option.
The bigger problem.
The surgery failed, as many do, but this failure was almost catastrophic as there was a slight puncture in the covering around the spinal cord (about 3 millimeters from the surgery site). This problem caused spinal fluid to leak out of the spinal canal and serious problems occur after that serious migraines, debilitating pain.
People with this complication feel worse than they did before the surgery.
This caused the coach to miss 43 games. Not his back pain, his surgery complications.
Anthony Slater of the Mercury News shared Lacob’s comments on the matter:“It’s very unfortunate what’s happening here. He had a back surgery. Relatively common procedure almost two years ago now. And had what is really a relatively uncommon thing happen, which is the dura around the spinal cord got nicked. You wind up having a spinal cord leak. And ultimately headaches and other symptoms. Bad headaches. Migraines.
Unfortunately, usually they patch that with a blood patch and it’s over, either in a week or month. Whatever. And in his case for whatever reason they just haven’t been able to solve that problem. Hopefully it was solved yesterday, he had another procedure. It’s gone on for nearly two years. Very unusual, I believe. I have a medical background so I know a little bit about this. I’ve never really heard of many people having this problem for this long. We feel really bad for him, the players, everybody understands it. We just have to be in his court here and support whatever it takes for him to get back and I’m sure they will eventually solve it. Hopefully sooner rather than later and hopefully we’ll have him coaching on the court sooner rather than later.”
What Steve Kerr Recommends
During interviews Steve Kerr says that he would never advise someone to have the surgery. That he has more relief from his back pain from exercise than from the procedure.
After Kerr announced that he wouldn’t be coaching the Warriors in Game 4 against the Trail Blazers, he told reporters in a press conference that he does not suggest anyone have back surgery. He said he’s been doing yoga every day to help his symptoms.
“I’m not going to go into details on the symptoms. It’s just discomfort and pain and it’s no fun. And I can tell you if you’re listening out there, if you have a back problem, stay away from surgery. I can say that from the bottom of my heart. Rehab, rehab, rehab. Don’t let anybody get in there,” Kerr told reporters.
I wish that he had an amazing chiropractor to help him with his spinal condition. You see, when the spine and nervous system have an effect on every part of the body. The nerves communicate with muscles, blood vessels trans and glands. When the nervous system works well, the body functions wonderfully. However, the nerves that travel out of the spine can be interfered with. Maybe the spine is misaligned, there is a bulging disc (in Steve Kerr’s example), maybe there is a muscle sprain or strain. These various problems create enough pressure in the spine to cause interference to the spinal nerves.
Surgery will remove the offending agent, or use hardware to stabilize the spine, but those procedures are full of complications that should make one think twice before choosing surgery as a first option.
What does that mean for you?
If back pain is creating havoc in your health, please consider the most natural options first. Strengthen your stabilizing muscles with specific exercises. Remove pressure off the nervous system with specific chiropractic care, use anti-inflammatory eating to improve the inflammation inside.
Take a complete but non-invasive approach to your health care and relieving your pain and your body will thank you for it.
What’s Next:
Our office has a complete protocol for helping you with pain in the lumbar spine. It follows 3 steps. Reset. Rebuild. Restore
Reset: We’re going to give your nervous system a reset by using gentle adjustments to mold the spine into a more normal position. Nutritionally, we reset the body with an elimination diet. These 2 things together improve your nervous system function and cleanse the body from impurities that create more pain and inflammation.
Rebuild: Next, we follow a specific corrective protocol with supportive techniques that will strengthen and stabilize the spine, allowing you to feel and function better long-term.
Restore: Then we complete the nutritional protocol by restoring normal function to the body. Healing your digestive system, to decrease inflammation and healing your musculoskeletal system to decrease pain.
You will achieve greater health with Chiropractic care from Tompkins Family Chiropractic. I invite you to take advantage of a special offer that should make a difference in your health and well-being today
Dr. Emil Tompkins
Tompkins Family Chiropractic Marana and Northwest Tucson, Call 520.572.2596 http://www.tompkinschiropractic.com From back pain to sciatica, neck pain to headaches, ADHD to Autism, Dr. Tompkins creates an individualized health program to suit your specific needs. Come see why we were voted Best in the Northwest 3 years in a row. Whether you have pain with pregnancy, headaches, sports injuries or ADHD, migraines, or just want to be healthier, Dr. Tompkins has a program that will work for you and your family. Call us at 520.572.2596 and we’ll be happy to help your family grow healthier.
