Pain can sometimes be helpful. It can tell us that something is wrong and we may need to rest or see a doctor to get help with something. Other times, pain is just frustrating and doesn’t go away.

Chronic pain can negatively impact a person’s way of life. The pain can make it difficult to move. It can make it difficult to do normal activities.

Carson Daly has suffered from chronic back pain since the ’90s when he was working for MTV. He was in Colorado shooting on location when he was in an accident. He explained, “At the end of one of the days of shooting, I was on a snowmobile being shuttled down by ski patrol, and we got into, like, an accident. I was knocked unconscious, and I kinda came to in the snow in a toboggan, really couldn’t feel anything below my legs, one of those really scary moments.”

Daly has had back pain ever since, and it has gotten worse as the years have gone by. His specific injury is called a T12 compression fracture which doctors told him is not a bad thing compared to other types of back injuries. His spine was not damaged. He explained, “The pain source actually isn’t coming from those discs or the vertebrae. It’s coming from within the vertebrae.”

Doctors told Daly that his only option for pain relief was to manage the pain. Daly had a negative reaction to the pain medicine he was prescribed, so he avoids using it. He has tried other ways to manage the pain, such as yoga, physical therapy and massages, but it hasn’t taken the pain away.

Earlier this week, Daly underwent a new procedure called Intracept. He explained that the minimally invasive procedure “essentially cut off the phone call that your back makes to your brain every time you move and you go ‘ouch.’ It’s just not going to get that signal.”

Daly hopes that this procedure improves his daily life. He wants to be more active with his family instead of going “ouch” all the time. He explained, “I don’t want to be in pain. I want to play golf, I want to wrestle with my kids. I want to pick things up. I want to be better.”

It has only been a few days since Daly’s procedure, but he says he’s already feeling better than he did before.

Do you know anyone who suffers from chronic back pain?