Cynthia Menke, 67, of Melrose Park, loves doing aerobics and Taibo every morning. But in April 2023, she noticed it was getting more and more difficult to do her daily workouts.

“It was getting hard on my back,” she said. “Spasms of pain started shooting through my leg.”

After about three months, she visited Arlinda Elezi, MD, an internal medicine physician with Endeavor Health Medical Group, to find out what was happening. Dr. Elezi ordered an ultrasound on her leg and an X-ray for her back, then referred Menke to Alex Behar, MD, a sports medicine doctor with Endeavor Health.

In cases like Menke’s, doctors typically begin with more conservative methods of treatment to see if symptoms improve. Dr. Behar prescribed Menke four weeks of rehab, but it didn’t help. Her back pain and leg spasms continued to worsen. He then started a series of steroid injections, but they only relieved symptoms for a few days.

Because conservative therapies didn’t work, it was time to consider surgery. Menke was referred to Tibor Boco, MD, a neurosurgeon with Endeavor Health, who diagnosed Menke with lumbar spinal stenosis — a condition where a narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back puts pressure on the roots of the nerve.

“We found that a disc in the lumbar region of Cynthia’s spine was 95% deteriorated,” explained Dr. Boco. “The compression was causing the spasms in her leg.”

Dr. Boco explained to Menke that he would need to perform two different procedures: a laminectomy and a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TILF).

“During the laminectomy, we remove all or part of the roof of the spinal canal, or lamina,” said Dr. Boco. “Then during the TILF, we remove the deteriorated disc and fuse the vertebrae together using a spacer with titanium screws to secure it.”

Menke elected to have both procedures performed during the same time with the understanding that she would have a longer recovery after the surgery. She had the surgery on Feb. 28, 2024, and was discharged the next day.

Because she underwent both procedures in one surgery, Menke’s recovery took about 30 days. Thanks to her husband’s help, she was able to rest and recover at home.

“If I ever had to do it again, I would still opt for the 30 days of recovery just to get where I am right now,” she said.

Thirty-three days after her surgery, Menke felt well enough to start doing 30 minutes of aerobics once again. A week later, she started adding Tae Bo exercises.

“I was so happy that I could start exercising again because for more than a year and a half, I couldn't,” she said.

Menke has since had two follow-up visits with Dr. Boco, who said her spine looks great.

“I must have thanked him at least three or four times for making me feel so much better,” said Menke. “He is caring and he listens to you and I'm just so thankful for him.”