For 50 years, Marc Womeldorf lived with terrible back pain that radiated down his legs and made it excruciating to sit in a chair.
Womeldorf’s spinal symptoms presented when he was just 16 years old, cutting lawns and hoisting heavy mowers into the back of his parents’ station wagon. Swimming and exercise brought temporary relief, which launched his professional interest in the field of physical therapy.
Initially, Womeldorf avoided spinal surgery, despite working at several health care organizations and being familiar with advances in treatment. That changed when he came to the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center (UM BWMC), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), which brings academic medicine and the latest care advances closer to people across the state. After observing the consistently positive outcomes and compassionate bedside manner of neurosurgeon Clifford Solomon, MD, he decided to move forward with surgical care…