Armine A.'s Story

Armine A. driver’s license may state that she is 70 years old, but in her mind, she’s really only 17. But for a woman so young at heart, debilitating back pain was significantly changing her outlook on life. “For one entire week, I could not get out of bed, the pain was so bad,” she recalled.

An MRI of her back revealed she had spinal stenosis that was contributing to the intense sciatic pain she was experiencing in her legs. But having had two total knee replacements, Armine A. desperately wanted to avoid more surgery, particularly spinal surgery. So her surgeon suggested she visit Aneesh Singla, M.D., MPH, in National Spine & Pain Center’s Rockville, Maryland office.

Dr. Singla suggested Armine A. try epidural nerve block injections as a non-surgical option for relieving her lower back and sciatic nerve pain. Using x-ray guidance, Dr. Singla delivered local anesthetic and corticosteroid anti-inflammatory medication into Armine A. epidural space to shrink the swelling around her nerve roots to relieve the pain she was experiencing.

Armine A. received three epidural injections from Dr. Singla over the course of several months and the outcome has helped her regain her sunny outlook on life.

“I feel so much better!” she said. “I am very happy and so appreciative to Dr. Singla. He is very gentle and a very nice man.”

Now that her pain has been significantly reduced, she can again begin to focus on the joys of spending time with her two children and her five grandchildren. “My daughter and son-in-law live in Boston with two of my grandchildren and now that I feel so much better I think I will be able to travel there to see them.”

But until then (and probably well after her return to Maryland), she will be singing the praises of National Spine & Pain Centers and Dr. Singla.

“I tell anybody I see how wonderful they are,” she said. “They are the greatest.”