Doug Hansen climbs mountains not only because they're there but also because he can.
Hansen, who owns Hansen Mountaineering in Orem, climbed mountains as a way of life until back problems got in the way. At 39, the discs in Hansen's lower back were worn out."There was no disc left," he said of his condition when he finally had surgery last September. "I couldn't even stand up straight. I was walking hunched over because something was out of place."
Now, Hansen is back climbing mountains, cross country skiing and hiking. He even went ice climbing in late December. Hansen's amused when acquaintances ask if his climbing days are over or if he had to find a new profession.
In Hansen's opinion, he's doing everything he did before surgery - or probably more because it hurts less.
But getting back into form didn't come easily. It took about four hours of surgery, involving an 8-inch incision from his lower back to almost his tail bone and a 2-inch incision to the side of the first one. Several months of extreme pain followed the surgery.
Because his discs were worn out, Hansen's vertebrae were compressed and pinching his nerves. During surgery, his vertebrae were separated and bone was grafted from his hip to help fuse his spine. Then rods and pins were inserted to hold everything in place.
"When I went into surgery, there was no doubt in my mind that I needed it and wanted it," Hansen said.
He has no regrets now. He did wonder for a while, however.
There was a period after surgery when the pain was so intense that Hansen wondered if he had made the right decision. To complicate matters, he saw a news report on failed back surgeries that kept him awake all night.
Oh, my life is destroyed, he thought.
"I found myself really searching for every optimistic thing," he said.
But bit by bit, the pain subsided. Now he has very little.
That is due in large part to Hansen's therapy at the Utah Spine Center in Provo. The center uses MedX equipment, designed by the same company that designed Nautilus. It pinpoints the exact muscles that need work and then strengthens them, said Chris McGlaughlin, director of the spine center.
MedX is "more effective, more efficient, more specific for the spine" than other systems, McGlaughlin said.
Hansen has shown above-average recovery, probably because of his active lifestyle, McGlaughlin said.
"I wouldn't think there'd be any limitations" to Hansen's activities after therapy, he said.
Hansen agrees. He suggests people deal with back pain as long as they can, but they should have surgery once their daily lives are impaired.
"You don't have much to lose after that point," he said.
As for Hansen's life, he's just picking up speed.
"The most important thing is I'm able to be active again," he said.
That's almost an understatement. Besides walking, skiing and enjoying life on a daily basis, he's planning to climb Mount McKinley in June, go backpacking in July and take a kayaking trip in August.
His back is back.