Doctor shaking hands with patient in clinicBy Casey Jones, CAPP

An epidural steroidal injection to the lumbar 5 sacral 1 area. That’s what my doctor prescribed to treat a tear in the tissue around a disk in my back. Probably from too much running, he said. As I lay waiting for the procedure to begin I couldn’t help but feel amazement for how far the field of medicine has come. Fifty years ago, I would have suffered with the pain and been forced to accept a reduction in the physical activities I love. Though I marveled at medical innovation, I was a little worried too. Injecting medicine in the spinal column was certain to hurt and like every medical procedure there is risk involved. My fears and hesitation aside, I elected to have the procedure because I’m not willing to give up running just yet.

Treating a bad parking situation is a lot like personal medical care. We can worry about the unknown and convince ourselves that the problems we experience will somehow go away on their own or we can accept some short-term pain and uncertainty and treat the problem for good. We can’t overcome a physical ailment or a bad parking environment unless we are willing to confront our uncertainty and accept a path to recovery and long-term improvement and health.

By the way, I survived the treatment and my back feels much better.

Casey Jones, CAPP, is vice president, institutional services, with SP+.