Back Surgery Saved This Sailor’s Active Lifestyle

Robert Solis lived with chronic, at times excruciating lower back pain for six years.

He hadn’t suffered an injury – one day his back just started hurting. He saw doctors and physical therapists in Washington State where he was stationed with the U.S. Navy. Nothing helped.

When he was transferred to the Submarine Base in Groton in 2020, his pain was so bad that Navy doctors sent him for an MRI. The scan showed the disc between his lowest vertebrae and his pelvis was degenerating.

The first neurosurgeon he saw recommended fusion surgery, which permanently connects vertebrae in the spine.

But Solis is only 28 years old and leads an active life. He worried about the effects fusion would have on him as he aged.

Click here to learn about the high-tech surgery Solis underwent that had him back to running and working out in no time.