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Thursday, September 10, 2015
Say No to Back Pain
The Spine and Joint Institute can help you do just that
Story by Bill Bowman
There are a couple of words that will cause even the best golfers to cringe: Bad back.
The back is an integral part of playing golf. It’s simple: If you can’t rotate without pain during the golf swing, you can’t play.
But, there is hope. And Dr. Israel Villasenor is here to help.
Villasenor is the director of The Spine And Joint Institute and deals with back and neck troubles. The doctor has helped develop a technology called L.A.S.R. Therapy (Laser Assisted Spinal Rehydration) that helps to alleviate back problems as well as pain. To make a long story short, the process involves re-hydrating discs in the back. This expands the discs and starts the healing process. And best of all: No surgery and no pills…just relief.
“We’ve been doing it for more than 10 years,” Villasenor says. “I stopped counting after 2,000-to-3,000 procedures. The results have been phenomenal. It’s an incredible opportunity.”
The process is intended to get people back into their everyday lives, and that includes golf. Add in better sleep, more mobility and better health and you’ve got a therapy that is a winning formula.
“Your typical person who contacts us has already tried medication, acupuncture, specialists and everything else,” Villasenor says. “And now he’s living with the pain. He’s been told that he’s not a spring chicken and may either have to live with the pain or face surgery. He doesn’t know there is a non-surgical solution.”
Kym Secrist is one of those who can vouch for the procedure. Secrist played golf three days a week until back problems hit. At first a couple of ibuprofen tablets got him through the round. Then the pain worsened and a trip to the doctor was in store. Following X-rays and an MRI came the bad news: He was probably facing back surgery. “They told me I had severe deterioration,” Secrist says. “I was in pretty bad pain at that time and taking medication just to survive. Then I got the bad news and the thought of back surgery was pretty alarming. They said I’d probably have a limited range of motion and a healing time of almost a year. I started looking around for a more holistic therapy without the complications.”
Then he found Spine And Joint Institute. He’s had two procedures done, one on his back and one on his neck. The procedure lasts five weeks with four sessions each week, usually lasting 1-to-1 ½ hours. “In the first few weeks the pain was pretty much alleviated and I was back out playing golf,” he says. “It really worked well. I just wanted to be free of pain and able to get on with my life…and play golf. And it worked without drugs and without surgery.”
Like most other medical treatments, it may not work for everyone. But with many success stories under his belt, Villasenor and his L.A.S.R. therapy may be just what the doctor ordered to get you back on the golf course…or just back to a pain-free way of life.
Villasenor says the answer to better back health can be as simple as a phone call. “We’ll do an evaluation and consultation and see what the problem is. We’ll see what the patient wants out of life and see if this is the right fit for them.”
Spine And Joint Institute
200 East Horizon Dr., Suite A, Henderson
702-568-8450
www.spinejointinstitute.com