• UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine
UCLA Spine Center

UCLA Spine Center

UCLA Spine Center
  • About Us
    • Why Choose the UCLA Spine Center
    • Overview
    • In The News
    • Webinars
    • Make a Gift
  • Conditions
    • Adult Scoliosis
    • Adult Tethered Cord
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis
    • Basilar Invagination
    • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
    • Cervical Disc Herniation
    • Cervical Fracture
    • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
    • Chiari Malformation
    • Facet Joint Arthritis
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Idiopathic Scoliosis
    • Lumbar Disc Herniation
    • Lumbar Stenosis
    • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
    • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
    • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
    • Osteomyelitis
    • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
    • Platybasia
    • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
    • Spinal Compression Fractures
    • Spinal Cord Injury
    • Spinal Cord Tumors
    • Syringomyelia
    • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
    • Thoracic Spine Fracture
    • Trochanteric Bursitis
    • Adult Scoliosis
    • Adult Tethered Cord
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis
    • Basilar Invagination
    • Cervical Degenerative Disc Disease
    • Cervical Disc Herniation
    • Cervical Fracture
    • Cervical Stenosis / Cervical Myelopathy
    • Chiari Malformation
    • Facet Joint Arthritis
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Idiopathic Scoliosis
    • Lumbar Disc Herniation
    • Lumbar Stenosis
    • Neuromuscular Scoliosis
    • Osteoarthritis of the Peripheral Joint
    • Osteoarthritis of the Spine
    • Osteomyelitis
    • Osteoporosis / Vertebral Fractures
    • Platybasia
    • Radiculopathy (Cervical and Lumbar)
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Sacroiliac Joint Disease
    • Spinal Compression Fractures
    • Spinal Cord Injury
    • Spinal Cord Tumors
    • Syringomyelia
    • Thoracic Disc Degeneration
    • Thoracic Spine Fracture
    • Trochanteric Bursitis
  • Treatments & Programs
    • Nonsurgical Treatment
    • Surgical Treatment
  • For Patients
    • Appointments
    • New Patient Questionnaires
    • Choosing a Multidisciplinary Pain Program
    • Patient Education Videos
    • Understanding Neck and Back Pain
    • Specialists Who Treat Back Pain
    • Physiatrists
    • Ergonomics for Prolonged Sitting
    • Fitness
    • Planning Your Spine Surgery
    • Preparing for Surgery
    • Patient Stories
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Health Plans
    • Helpful Resources
  • Contact Us
    • Map and Directions
  • Fellowship Programs
    • UCLA—WLA VA Pain Medicine Fellowship
    • Neurosurgery Spine Fellowship
    • Orthopaedic Spine Surgery Fellowship
    • UCLA Spine Center PMR Spine Medicine Fellowship
  • For Healthcare Professionals
    • Physician Directory
    • New Patient Questionnaires
  • Physician Directory
    • Specialists Who Treat Back Pain
    • Physiatrists
  • UCLA Health
  • myUCLAhealth
  • School of Medicine

UCLA Spine Center

For Patients

For Patients

For Patients

  • Appointments
  • New Patient Questionnaires
  • Choosing a Multidisciplinary Pain Program
  • Patient Education Videos
  • Understanding Neck and Back Pain
  • Specialists Who Treat Back Pain
  • Physiatrists
  • Ergonomics for Prolonged Sitting
  • Fitness
  • Planning Your Spine Surgery
  • Preparing for Surgery
  • Patient Stories
    • Spine Surgery - Cody's Story
    • Spine Surgery – Jonathan’s Story
    • Spine Center – James' Story
    • Laminectomy - Mike's Story
    • Spine Trauma - Jim's Story
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Health Plans
  • Helpful Resources
  • Appointments
  • New Patient Questionnaires
  • Choosing a Multidisciplinary Pain Program
  • Patient Education Videos
  • Understanding Neck and Back Pain
  • Specialists Who Treat Back Pain
  • Physiatrists
  • Ergonomics for Prolonged Sitting
  • Fitness
  • Planning Your Spine Surgery
  • Preparing for Surgery
  • Patient Stories
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Health Plans
  • Helpful Resources
  • Spine Surgery - Cody's Story
  • Spine Surgery – Jonathan’s Story
  • Spine Center – James' Story
  • Laminectomy - Mike's Story
  • Spine Trauma - Jim's Story
  1. Home
  2. For Patients
  3. Patient Stories
  4. Spine Center – James' Story

Spine Center – James' Story

Share this

Spine Center – James Matthews’ Story


James Matthews

James Matthews, UCLA Spine Center Patient


Nick Shamie, MD

Nick Shamie, MD, Orthopaedic Surgeon, UCLA


Dr. Shamie examines James Matthews

Dr. Shamie examines James Matthews

The Story of James

James Matthews thought the increasing levels of pain in his neck and the numbness that ran down his right arm were just a routine part of getting older. “All through these 10 years, I accepted it, thinking it was normal,” says the 54-year-old administrative manager.

But the symptoms James was experiencing were anything but normal.  Deterioration in the discs of his neck caused the bones to press against and choke his spinal cord, triggering the pain and numbness, explains Nick Shamie, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon with the UCLA Spine Center.

“Because this had happened gradually, he had gotten used to it and he had accepted this as part of aging when, in fact, his rest of the body was not aging as rapidly as his neck was,” Dr. Shamie says.

Dr. Shamie operated to correct the condition. Through a 4-inch incision in James’s neck, he removed painful bone spurs, protruding discs and deteriorating vertebrae, and replaced them with a plastic spacer and supporting plate. James returned home the day after the surgery and quickly resumed normal activities.

The operation “gave me my life back,” he says. Since his surgery, James has been pain-free. “I had an outcome that I didn’t believe was possible,” he says.

Dr. Shamie notes that “surgery nowadays has become incredibly safe.” It is less invasive and there are better methods for treating problems. Patients in pain “don’t need to continue living with pain,” he says.

UCLA Spine Center Expert Team >

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest
UCLA Health hospitals ranked best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report
  • UCLA Health
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • UCLA Campus
  • Directory
  • Newsroom
  • Publications
  • Giving
  • Careers
  • Volunteer
  • Privacy Practices
  • Nondiscrimination
  • Emergency
  • Smoke-Free
  • Terms of Use
  • 1-310-825-2631
  • Maps & Directions
  • Contact Us
  • Report Broken Links
  • Sitemap
Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter Subscribe to Our Videos on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Connect with Us on LinkedIn Follow us on Pinterest

Sign in to myUCLAhealth

Learn more about myUCLAhealth