WESTPORT -- Kathy Bedore lived a little over a mile from school, but the pain that stretched from her lower back down through her leg was making the drive more difficult each day.

And trying to remain productive in a classroom with second-grade students was nearly impossible for the long-time teacher at Westport Central School.

"It was excruciating pain, debilitating pain," Bedore said

The pain that she had lived with for years was quickly becoming unbearable despite a variety of medicines and therapeutic treatments.

"At times, I had a hard time doing much of anything," she said. "Even walking was difficult."

NEW PROCEDURE

Bedore was suffering from a condition called spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine, which was causing the tremendous sciatic pain.

"Spinal stenosis is a condition that often occurs with aging," said Dr. John Herzog, an orthopedic surgeon in Saratoga.

Bony arthritic overgrowths and a thickening of ligaments along the spinal column contribute to the condition, he said.

"People who have this condition show symptoms of sciatic pain that is more pronounced when standing and walking. Many find relief when they are sitting or bending forward."

Bedore learned of Herzog's work with back pain about two years ago from another doctor she had seen earlier for some knee problems.

Since she was not having any luck with her back from other therapies, she decided to see what Herzog might have to offer.

During a consultation with Bedore, Herzog described a new treatment called the "X-Stop" procedure that uses spacers inserted between the spinal vertebrae that are causing the problem.

When people are bent over or in a sitting position, it relieves some of the pressure caused by the narrowing spinal column. When standing, the vertebrae are exposed to more pressure, resulting in the increased sciatic pain.

"The X-Stop helps mimic the position of the vertebrae in a seated position," Herzog said. "With these little devices wedged between two vertebrae, that small amount of (spinal) extension is eliminated."