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Debbi Jesse, 51, is outside mowing her lawn, an activity she couldn’t do prior to her ultra-minimally invasive—also known as endoscopic—spine surgery at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. For years, Debbi had been in pain, which ranged from stabbing to sharp to shooting throughout most of the lower half of her body, including her back, hips, and glutes.

At Barnes-Jewish Hospital, WashU Medicine orthopedic surgeon, Jay Keener, MD, and his team are using the latest technology and personalized implants to make shoulder replacement surgery more advanced. Through expert planning and innovative surgical techniques, they’re helping patients get back to the activities they love, with less pain and better long-term results.

At Barnes-Jewish Hospital, two WashU Medicine physicians, David Brogan, MD, MSc, and Christopher Dy, MD, MPH, are working on new ways to treat brachial plexus damage, a serious nerve injury. These often occur after major accidents, such as car crashes, and can have a big impact on a person’s ability to use their arm and hand.

But the minor twinge that started after one of her regular weight-lifting sessions soon grew into intense shoulder pain with accompanying arm and wrist weakness that threatened to sidetrack her busy life. She had a ruptured disc in her cervical (neck) spine.

Two wheels sped down a rural Missouri highway, and a 14-year-old fell in love. “It was a freedom feeling,” Tom Waller says, more than six decades after his first motorcycle ride. “And I’ve never lost it.

Bill Bunch’s favorite activities include golfing, tending to his yard, and playing catch with his grandson. Each one became more difficult and less enjoyable for the retiree during a six-year span in which a worsening back condition affected his hips, legs, and feet.

Staying active helps maintain joint flexibility and balance, promotes better posture and strengthens bones.

Healthy bones are a critical component of the human body. Proper nutrition, calcium and vitamin D supplements are all excellent ways to improve bone health. Charles Grimshaw, MD, a BJC Medical Group orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician at Christian Hospital, says that monitoring for osteoporosis, osteopenia (a condition that occurs when there’s a decrease in bone mineral density) and metabolic deficiencies, like deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D, are proactive approaches for supporting bone health.

Some people think that aches and pains and limited mobility are normal parts of aging or something they simply have to deal with. Often, that’s not the case.

Martha Williams checked off a goal on her bucket list in April 2019. She qualified for, and ran, in the Boston Marathon. Although it's an accomplishment only a small percentage of runners can claim, Williams' story might not sound particularly extraordinary -- that is, unless you begin the story in December 2010.