in one step

WORDS : TARA EKREN, ESSENTIA HEALTH PHOTOGRAPHY : PROVIDED BY KRISTINA LESLIE AND ESSENTIA HEALTH

Looking forward to a relaxing week at the lake last August with her family, Kristina Leslie was working with her husband to move kayaks to the dock. In one step, the bank of the lake gave out and Leslie slammed to the ground, landing on a log.

The fall caused intense pain in her lower back that radiated and wrapped around to her hips and down her le leg into her calf and ankle. Her relaxing week at the lake was ruined.

A er a few days, Leslie could no longer bear the pain and completed a virtual video medical visit with Essentia Health. During this visit, she was immediately referred to the spine program. The program o ers the rst step in dealing with neck, mid-or low-back pain and sacroiliac joint pain. Harnessing experts in all areas of care for pain, the program works to nd the best course of treatment for each patient.

Expecting a lengthy wait to see a specialist, Leslie was pleasantly surprised when she was able to be seen by Physician Assistant Crystal Knutson within two days. “The pain was so intense, I couldn’t walk,” Leslie recalls. “I couldn’t stand long enough to do the dishes or cook a meal and even showering was impossible without sitting down.”

Leslie shares that she felt miserable. “I wasn’t able to do my normal activities, yoga and exercise.” The pain weighed heavily on her mind. Her active lifestyle, and life in general, was on hold.

“I was so frustrated that I couldn’t live my normal life,” recalls the Davenport, North Dakota, woman. “Because I’ve been working from home since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I made an extra e ort to get up and move around to get my steps in each day. But a er this fall, that was nearly impossible.”

In addition to missing out on normal dayto-day activities, Leslie couldn’t help her son when he started a new job and moved into his first apartment. “Normally, I would have been hauling boxes up to the third-floor apartment alongside him and my husband, but this time I was restricted to holding open doors,” she says.

At her rst appointment, Knutson recommended physical therapy before exploring more invasive treatment options. When physical therapy failed to provide complete relief, an MRI was ordered and showed a pinched nerve. Knutson explains, “A pinched nerve is when too much pressure is applied to a nerve by surrounding bone, cartilage, muscles or tendons. The pressure causes the nerve to become inflamed and it disrupts the nerve’s function, which causes pain, tingling, numbness or weakness.”

Knutson later suggested an epidural steroid injection to relieve the pain. “A previous injury several years ago was helped by an injection, so this was an option I was very open to,” says Leslie.

The injection resulted in an immediate reduction in pain and Leslie says she felt back to her normal self in just a couple of days. She was able to gradually add stretching and yoga back into her daily routine. Her short walks grew longer and longer each day. “Within a short amount of time, I was back to feeling normal again,” Leslie happily shares. “I had a couple follow up visits, but I’ve not had any issues and I’m pain free.”

Looking back on her injury and her experience with the spine program at Essentia Health, Leslie says, “It’s hard to nd the right words to convey how impressed I was with the program and the care I received.”

Leslie also has high praise for Knutson. “I was so impressed with Crystal. She listened to me and understood what I went through last time I hurt my back and that I didn’t have a good experience. Every interaction I had with Crystal, I knew she was really listening to me and that was wonderful.”

“Today, I am back to living my life, being active and going about my normal activities, thanks to the spine program at Essentia Health,” Leslie says.

Ask your primary care provider for a referral to Essentia Health’s spine program. Learn more on our website, essentiahealth.org, or call 701-364-8900.

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WORDS : JOHN DEUSTCH