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When Kumar Vasudevan, MD, a WashU Medicine neurosurgeon at Christian Hospital, meets with patients to discuss if spine surgery is right for them, he shares that their path to pain relief starts before he puts on his surgical scrubs and extends after the operation is complete.

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.

Imagine waking up one day with a strange sensation in your legs. It’s not pain exactly, but it’s not normal — you don’t quite feel like your brain is coordinating with your limbs.

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.

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.

Growing up, Christopher Bryant couldn’t compete in sports or run due to a heart murmur.

How go the New Year’s resolutions? Unfortunately, most people who make a New Year’s resolution fail to keep it. Vague goals of “getting healthy” typically go by the wayside before the end of January. Instead, stick with specific targets that are realistic and achievable.

Exercise is good for your heart and offers many benefits, but do you really know how much physical activity you are getting? If not, then try a fitness tracker.

Clearing away snow and ice may be hazardous to your health, says Gus Theodos, MD, BJC Medical Group cardiologist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center. Shoveling snow causes thousands of injuries and about 100 deaths each year in the United States. Most of those deaths are due to heart attacks.

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.