Pain In The Back

A CBS 2 News Special Assignment

CBS 2 News' Thelma Gutierrez discovered a new treatment for back pain that could make all this misery a memory.

Pain In The Back: A CBS 2 News Special Assignment aired Saturday, May 8, 1999 at 11 p.m.

Cynthia Ball is a 35-year-old actress and model. She told CBS 2 News' Thelma Gutierrez her back pain was "like somebody sticking a knife in the lower side of your back and basically cutting trough the muscle."

Tim Knaup is a 37-year-old mechanic. He said he's having a hard time getting his work done because of back problems.

Both Ball and Knaup suffer from excruciating back pain that creeps up unannounced, but leaves a lasting impression, Gutierrez reports.

"I am so frustrated right now," Ball said of the chronic pain. "I couldn't imagine living the rest of my life like this."

"It's hard for me to watch my friends do the things that I used to do," Knaup said.

Gutierrez reports, if you've ever experienced back pain, you know what Ball and Knaup are talking about. In fact, eight out of every 10 adults has had some back pain. Many times, the pain occurs because a disc is wearing out.

Dr. Ted Goldstein of the Spinal Institute in Los Angeles said a worn-out disc is "a natural phenomenon that goes along with aging. It's part of being human and standing up and walking."

Doctors have developed a new 20-minute procedure that might revolutionize the way they treat patients with disc problems.

Dr. Goldstein examined Ball and found she has a herniated disc. The bulge pushed against her nerve and causes shooting pain up her back.

Both Ball and Knaup told Gutierrez they have tried everything to relieve their pain -- bed rest, exercise, and medications. Nothing has worked.

"When back pain occurs in an older person, you expect it," Dr. Goldstein said. "You say, 'Well, I lived long enough. My back is stiff, my joints creek.' You expect it."

But the two back patients are only in their 30s and, Gutierrez reports, life for them has already come to a stand still.

"It's devastating because more is expected of them physically, so when it happens to a 30 year old, or a 25 year old, or a 40 year old, I think it's more difficult to deal with," Dr. Goldstein said.

Pain specialist Dr. Michael Sinel said it's a quality of life issue.

"� Fear of activity, fear of their future. It affects marriages. It could affect sex because it's too painful," Dr. Sinel said.

But Knaup hasn't lost hope.

"I'm definitely not ready to throw in the towel yet."

Until recently, the most common way to treat these patients was by removing the damaged disc and fusing the spine together. But that took eight hour of surgery, several days in the hospital and months of downtime, Gituerrez reports.

With this new procedure, things are about to change.

Knaup was one of the first people in Los Anglees to undergo a "idet" procedure. For the surgery, the patient is sedated, but awake.

The incision is a half-inch long. His disc was not removed, rather repaired with heat from a copper wire.

While Knaup's surgery took place, a team of spine specialists watched live from a conference room at the S and B surgery center in Beverly Hills.

The team is lead by the procedure's developer and pain specialist, Dr. Jeff Saal of Stanford University.

"Once the needle is in the correct place, it takes about 14-15 minutes of heating time," Dr. Saal told Gutierrez.

Using an x-ray to guide them in, doctors insert the heating instrument through a catheter in Knaup's back. It is wrapped around the disk.

"The back wall of the disc is torn. We're using heat to reseal it. It's like takng a tire with a tear and patching it," Dr. Saal explains.

Gutierrez reports, after 17 minutes at 149 degrees, the catheter is removed and the procedure is over.

In the recovery room, Knaup says he's "looking forward to getting back to action again."

He didn't have to wait long. Gutierrez reports, an hour after Knaup said that, he was up, eating a sandwich and ready to go home with his wife.

The "IDET" procedure is approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration and has been performed about 2,500 times in the United States.

Gutierrez reports it takes most patients about 3 months after the procedure to feel the benefit. And for the patients who qualify for the IDET procedure, the surgery is effective for 75 percent of its patients.

More Information:

• The Spinal Institute, (310)286-9807
  9911 W. Pico Boulevard #200
  Los Angeles, CA 90035

• "Win The Battle Against Back Pain," written by Dr. Ted Goldstein.
• "Back Pain Remedies For Dummies," written by Dr. Michael Sinel.