Michael Beers

I flew from Kansas City to New York seeking medical care because of a nagging two-year chronic injury. I have a sciatic-type pain in my right gluteal complex in the area of the piriformis. It is a no rhyme or reason pain that comes and goes when it feels like it, which often ends up being all the time I am on my feet. I saw Dr. Todd McGrath in mid-March and was so impressed with his knowledge and time spent with me that I scheduled another appointment with him in early May. In that six week period upon his invitation, we contacted each other through the HSS portal and he helped guide me and answered questions. He also called on a weekend and talked to me for at least a half an hour.

A previous MRI showed swelling around my sciatic nerve. On the second appointment, Dr. McGrath used an ultrasound to pinpoint the swelling and then injected a steroid shot directly into the area. For two weeks I was completely pain-free. The pain came back for a day or two and then left me for another couple of weeks. During all that time I was able to engage in exercises suggested by exercise physiologist Stephen Ranellone and work hard on building strength. I thought I had it figured out and had healed from the pain, but three days ago I went back to running and the pain has returned. Darn it!

One other important event happened while I was in New York. Dr. McGrath set me up with running mechanics specialist Allison Greer. She and her assistant spent 90 minutes with me analyzing my strength profile and running form to determine if my gait mechanics might be the cause of the gluteal pain. The testing and subsequent analyzation was thorough and incredibly insightful. Strength deficiencies on my right side were identified. Also, in videos taken of me running, we saw other inefficiencies that were recognized as potential handicaps to my running gait.

I am definitely not out of the woods yet, but HSS has given me a great deal of hope. We have already discussed a Plan B if the steroid injection and exercise regimen does not remedy the injury. All of the people mentioned above have left me with an open invitation to contact them if needed. That is a rare occurrence in the medical field these days. I feel very fortunate to have taken the risk to fly halfway across the US to meet with this excellent medical team. From check in to check out I was welcomed and examined then given intelligent care and advice. All the best to HSS!