Deb Steiner, unit assistant at McLaren Greater Lansing, strives to make a difference in the lives of her patients and improve their experience while at the hospital. However, chronic back pain, which started in 2012 caused by her spondylolisthesis, had begun to affect her quality of life.
“When my symptoms first started, I was living in Virginia, and the pain just kept getting worse and worse,” said Steiner. “Then I started to have other symptoms such as uncontrolled migraines.”
Prior to coming to Lansing, Steiner found out, among the issues she was having in her lower back, that she also had bulging discs in her cervical neck region that was causing her migraines. She had a procedure on her neck completed in Virginia, but once she was in Lansing and continued to suffer from pain, she sought medical advice from Dr. B. Clay Dorenkamp.
“Back pain can be caused by various issues and conditions in the spine,” said Dr. Dorenkamp, spinal surgeon with Michigan Orthopedic Center who performs procedures at McLaren Greater Lansing. “So, if a patient is complaining of lower back pain, we still want to take a look at the full picture of the spine because oftentimes we’ll find other concerns that may be causing issues, including the neck, as in Deb’s case.”
Dr. Dorenkamp found from Steiner’s previous procedure and condition in her neck that she had some bone spurs and spinal stenosis concerns that needed to be addressed to help alleviate some of her symptoms. She underwent the laminectomy procedure, which helped ease pressure on her spinal cord, in 2023.
“This type of surgery requires a three-month recovery, but outcomes for this are very good,” said Dr. Dorenkamp.
Steiner was very happy with her surgery and wanted to take the next step in her journey to becoming free from pain by addressing her lower back condition. In 2024, she underwent a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedure with Dr. Dorenkamp to address the lumbar spinal stenosis, and has now fully recovered and is doing well.
“I have no pain,” said Steiner. “I had another three months of recovery and was able to go back to work and jump right back in. I’m feeling great.”
While chronic back pain can be caused by various reasons, whether it is a genetic factor like Deb’s, or from environmental or previous injuries, Dr. Dorenkamp says there are many people out there living in pain because they are worried about surgery, but he encourages them to seek medical advice and to get to know their options.
“We’ve come a long way with technological advances in spinal procedures,” said Dr. Dorenkamp. “Our outcomes today can help improve quality of life and are less invasive with quicker recovery time.”
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