The thrill of working hard to show improvement within myself has long been my dream and desire. For as long as I can remember, my ambition to be the very best at bodybuilding has always been ingrained in my soul. In the fall of 2008, I suffered an injury to my lower lumbar section which threatened my bodybuilding career and overall lifestyle. I blew out my L-5 and L-4 disk performing still legged deadlifts. I was out of work for several months and began suffering depression.
I was determined to find the best spine surgeon and rehabilitation therapy out there so I could get back on stage. As the old saying goes “everything happens for a reason.”’ In 2009 I went to a bodybuilding show in South Carolina with a friend even though I did not feel up to the task. The intense pain radiating into my lower extremities had taken control of my life to the point I could barely walk. It was there my luck changed for the better when I met up with Personal Trainer Ronnie Rowland out of Aiken South Carolina. Too my amazement this man had been through 10 lower back surgeries and was getting ready to walk on stage!!! From that point on, Ronnie was my inspiration and he guided me through e-mails on how to rehab my lower back, which supplements to take, and what doctor he recommended for the removal and fusion of my two ruptured disks.
Ronnie said “stay away from most physical therapy exercises because they only irritate the nerve roots further. I knew he was highly intelligent because many bodybuilder’s follow his SLIGNSHOT TRAINING SYSTEM. He gave me instruction on how to build the core indirectly while lifting weights in a controlled manner that supported my lower back after having had a painful, yet successful lumbar fusion By Dr.David Mccord in Nasheville Tennessee. Ronnie told me that David H. McCord, MD, was in his opinion the best spine surgeon in the world and I am also a believer!!!
Mccord is a board certified orthopedic surgeon from the United States, with outstanding expertise in the treatment of complex spine pathologies. A graduate of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, Dr. McCord received his medical degree from Cornell University in New York. He then completed an internship and surgery residency at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. McCord practices spine surgery in Nashville, Tennessee. He has also been actively involved with numerous professional organizations including, among others, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons; the North American Spine Society; the American College of Spine Surgery; and the American Medical Association. In addition, he has participated in numerous research projects, has given over one hundred presentations at major medical meetings and institutes worldwide, and many of his articles appear in peer reviewed publications.
The advice Ronnie Rowland gave me was correct and I am forever grateful to him and orthopedic Dr.David Mccord. My testimonial is that I believe Rowland is the best well rounded personal trainer in the world and Mccord is the best surgeon. Today I am back to doing what I love and I am virtually pain free. I feel like I have been handed a second chance at life.