Tim is seen here with Jeremy Pryzbylo, DPT, DMT in the therapy department at Prairie Spine & Pain Institute. Tim shared, “I feel fantastic and I am back to work and my normal life.”
Tim Clardy came to Prairie Spine & Pain Institute in need of help. He was experiencing nearly constant pain in his back. The pain was so bad he was not able to work, and his home life was suffering. He turned to the experts at Prairie Spine & Pain Institute for pain relief. “All the staff is excellent to deal with and they remember me by name when I come in,” says Tim Clardy.
“Tim was a challenging patient because his pain was so severe and the demands of his job were so high,” states Dr. Richard Kube. “He had failed multiple non-operative treatments in the 6 months prior to seeing us, and was in need of surgery,” he added. Typically, spinal fusion can take a year or more for recovery, and often it is difficult to return to heavy types of work. MIS surgery can often cut that time almost in half.
Tim said, “Dr. Kube did a perfect job with diagnosis of my issue and also with the fusion.” Dr. Kube performed a minimally invasive spinal fusion on Tim, followed by an aggressive rehab program after the surgery.
“It was important to perform minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for Tim. It allowed us to minimize scar tissue and preserve his muscle in the low back,” says Dr. Kube. MIS fusion techniques allow for smaller incisions, and more importantly, less cutting of the muscle. “Any surgery we do creates some scar. We can’t make you as good as God made you. However, we can try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum by using advanced surgical techniques,” said Dr. Kube. The comprehensive services at Prairie Spine & Pain Institute covered all of Tim’s needs, from surgery to post-operative recovery.
“Given Tim’s activity demands, we incorporated an exercise endurance and conditioning program in our therapy department,” says Dr. Kube. Jeremy Przybylo, a dual doctorate Physical Therapist monitors the program using state of the art equipment found in many professional sports team gyms. This extra factor helped Tim return to work as a diesel mechanic. He is virtually pain free and is yet another example of the advantages provided by MIS spinal fusion surgery.
