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Jill Efrussy
As a sophomore in college and lifelong soccer player, Jill Efrussy felt like she was running a marathon every day, but she wasn't. She was suffering from a herniated disc that was pressing against her sciatic nerve. "I had always been active and was used to sore muscles, but this was a whole new level of hurting. It felt like someone had a hammer and was banging it up and down my legs and on my back."
After trying over-the-counter pain medication and physical therapy, Jill made an appointment with Dr. Jack Zigler at the Texas Back Institute. Dr. Zigler told her that a discectomy to remove the herniated portion of her spinal disc would lessen, if not completely relieve, her pain. Tired of feeling "completely out of control" of her body, Jill scheduled her surgery date for August of 2000.
"I was showered in care at the hospital. I had to look at my incision just to make sure I really had surgery, because I was never in pain."
Living life to the fullest and pain free for nearly nine years, Jill was back on the field doing what she loved, playing soccer. But in January 2009, Jill was kicked in the back during a soccer game. Instantly, she knew her back pain was back. "My first surgery provided relief for so long that I was actually relieved when I was diagnosed to have it a second time around. I knew surgery would work and be worth it."
After her second discectomy, Jill is pain-free once again and encourages others to have a Texas Back Institute physician diagnose their back pain. "You don't have to live in pain. Many people have back pain, but that's no reason to ignore yours. There is a finish line, and that line is where your life goes from 'pause' back to 'play.'"