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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.

Food insecurity, or a lack of consistent access to nutritious and affordable food, is a pervasive issue that affects communities across the country. In St. Louis, this problem is prevalent, with a significant portion of the population facing challenges in getting the right kinds of food. Often, this is because grocery stores or other fresh food options are limited or simply because many can’t afford to buy nutritious food.

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.

For many people, the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s good for the heart and soul to spend time with friends and family.

At least 2.7 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, the most common kind of irregular heartbeat, also known as arrhythmia.