Chasing waves again
When pain in her lower back and legs became unbearable, Diane O’Dowd turned to UCI Health to find relief. An active emeritus UC Irvine professor of developmental and cell biology, she sought out spine surgeon Dr. Nitin Bhatia.
He determined that the 68-year-old retiree was suffering from a slipped vertebra and a narrowing spinal canal that was pinching the spinal cord and sciatic nerves.
Bhatia and his colleagues at the UCI Health Comprehensive Spine Center routinely perform complex surgeries, even on patients into their 70s. He performed a lumbar decompression to relieve pressure on her spinal nerves as well as a spinal fusion to stabilize the slipping bone.
O'Dowd spoke with Live Well just after the one-year anniversary of her 2024 surgery.
Sciatica turns serious
I’ve had problems with sciatica since my early 40s. When I learned that physical activity wouldn’t make the problem worse, I would exercise extensively and I was able to rehab my way out of it.
Over the next 25 years, I’d have cycles of bad sciatic pain. But I’m a very active person. Every time it would get worse, I stepped up my exercise and got myself out of it.
By 2023, the sciatica returned. I did physical therapy and had steroid injections, but they didn’t help. I was in so much pain, I lost my appetite. I hardly slept and could barely stand. At my retirement gathering, I had to lean on the furniture.
Pain vanishes after surgery
When I finally went to see Dr. Bhatia, he said, “You have two bones smashing into each other and crushing a nerve in between. But I’ve got good news for you. This is a mechanical problem, and we’re excellent at fixing mechanical problems.”
I’ve always been active. Three months before my surgery, I read an article saying that pre-op exercise is as important as post-op exercise, so I doubled down and worked hard to get in great shape. While I could no longer ski, surf or go backpacking, I did daily core and high-intensity workouts and lots of walking.
As soon as I came out of surgery, my searing, shooting pain was gone — just gone. I don’t even remember pain in recovery because it was nowhere near the excruciating pain I had been in for so long.
Living life without limits
Now I have no limitations. I can do everything I did before and I've even added pickleball. /p>
Eleven months after my surgery, I did the Pacific Coast Triathlon in Laguna Beach with my son and his fiancée. I swam half a mile, biked 12 miles and ran for 3 miles.
My husband and I also hiked the Trans-Catalina Trail with 25-pound backpacks. And I’m taking two ski trips this winter.
People need to know they can have good outcomes from spine surgery, especially when they prepare themselves physically and see an experienced surgeon like Dr. Bhatia.
I’m grateful to the UCI Health Comprehensive Spine Center for allowing me to live life to the fullest in my retirement years.
To make an appointment with the UCI Health Comprehensive Spine Center, call 714-456-3656.