Tyler Stratman, a 36-year-old resident of Clinton, Illinois, said on Mar. 31 that he has regained his quality of life after undergoing a minimally invasive spine procedure at OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute (OSF INI) Spine Institute.
Stratman described losing his active lifestyle due to chronic back pain that began two and a half years ago. Once an avid runner in Chicago, he said the pain eventually left him unable to walk even short distances without stopping for relief. “Even walking down the street to get Starbucks, my whole entire body would just kind of charley horse. I would have to stop in between blocks and kind of do hamstring stretches and things like that. And you know I was only 33 years old. And so, it was a huge, huge part of my life taken away,” Stratman said.
After other treatments such as physical therapy and steroid injections failed to help, an MRI revealed a severe herniated disc in Stratman’s lower spine. He reported sleepless nights spent walking on a treadmill for temporary relief: “I don’t think I slept for probably four to five days,” he explained. “I would have to go out in the middle of the night… just so I wouldn’t feel pain.”
Stratman was referred to Dr. Sohail Syed, who specializes in minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery at OSF INI Spine Institute—the second largest program in Illinois performing about 1,000 surgeries each year. Since June 2024, Dr. Syed has performed 50 such procedures using advanced technology that requires only small incisions and less disruption of tissue compared with traditional methods.
Describing the approach, Dr. Syed said: “Rather than going through all that, you can sneak underneath the nerve… The endoscopic camera has an angle on it so it lets you look around the corner and work in the natural hole that exists in the spine without removing any bone or tissue and go right to the disc…” He added that while surgery is usually considered only after conservative options fail, Stratman’s condition made him “a great candidate for endoscopic spine surgery because of the type of disc herniation he had… his age and his attitude.”
Following his two-and-a-half-hour procedure—which allowed him to return home seven hours later—Stratman reported immediate relief: “It was an instant relief… it was just gone.” Now several months post-surgery, he says: “I’m better than I’ve ever been… My mobility is better than it ever has been.” Though not yet running again, Stratman continues with strength training and fast walking as part of his recovery routine.
Dr. Syed noted recovery times can vary depending on how long nerves were compressed before treatment: “While the nerve is being hurt… for all of that to recover it can take time – especially for older patients.” He recommends patience if improvement is not immediate.
Both patient and surgeon emphasized persistence when facing spinal conditions requiring intervention—and Dr. Syed concluded by saying meaningful improvement remains their ultimate goal.
