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The Doctors – College Athlete Finds Pars Defect Relief

For college athletes, the competition is fierce, the training is tough and unfortunately, injuries are common. "The Doctors" TV show profiled one collegiate softball player who suffered from back pain season after season but found relief with Dr. Hooman Melamed. Christian was sidelined from her softball career at the University of Memphis because of severe low back pain. Doctors discovered Christian had a pars defect, also known as spondylolysis. It’s a stress fracture of the bones in the spine which likely occurred while Christian played high school softball. Conservative treatments, such as physical therapy, injections and pain medications, failed to provide lasting relief. Thankfully, research led her to the expert opinion of Dr. Melamed, who went on to perform surgery on Christian. In Dr. Melamed’s capable hands, Christian was able to find relief and is now looking forward to getting back to softball as her rehabilitation improves.