Brent Schneider has been dancing for most of his life.
Before becoming a faculty member in the Department of Modern Dance in the early nineties, he performed with Repertory Dance Theater for seven years and taught modern dance at Weber State University for a year. He also spent his summers with the Sundance Summer Theater at Sundance Resort choreographing and performing– something he ended up doing for 18 years.
Now professor emeritus, Schneider recently retired from the School of Dance after teaching for thirty years. He was also the Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts for six years and then served as the Department Chair for the Department of Ballet before returning to full-time teaching in the newly created School of Dance until 2023, when he retired.
Schneider taught a full class schedule until his last semester of teaching, dancing ‘full-out’ with the students in every rehearsal and technique class.
Living an active lifestyle has helped him stay nimble and strong throughout his decades-long career.
However, pain has been his companion through the years, as he has dealt with chronic neck and low back pain.
After years of managing his symptoms with chiropractor visits, structural massage, and physical therapy, one of his physical therapists recommended Zachary McCormick, MD, a board-certified specialist in both Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R). McCormick also co-directs the Endoscopic and Percutaneous Spine Program at the University of Utah.
McCormick specializes in minimally invasive treatments for patients like Schneider who have chronic spinal pain.
In 2019, Schneider met with McCormick for the first time.
“Dr. McCormick is incredibly personable,” said Schneider. “He immediately put me at ease, even in my first time meeting him all those years ago.”
Imaging of Schneider’s spine showed that he was a great candidate for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment.
“RFA is an excellent treatment for patients with a specific type of arthritis-related chronic back pain,” said McCormick. “It’s a minimally invasive procedure that uses focused radiofrequency to burn nerve endings in the painful area of the spine. Fortunately, these small nerve twigs are not involved in powering the legs or involved in sensation other than to the arthritic spinal joint, so they can be interrupted safely and without causing any weakness or numbness in the back or legs.”
Burning the nerve endings disables them, and they can no longer send pain signals.
“It’s like a 15 minute procedure and then I walked out of there with no pain,” said Schneider. “That’s the best part about it. It’s wild, it’s just wild.”
RFA can provide relief for several months, but over time the nerves heal and the pain returns.
After Schneider had multiple RFA times over several years, he was eligible for spinal endoscopic neurectomy.
“While RFA works really well for a subset of individuals, if a patient has undergone multiple RFAs and pain continues to recur, it’s appropriate to explore other treatment options,” said McCormick. “An endoscopic neurectomy provides permanent arthritic spinal joint pain relief by removing the nerve completely.”
An endoscopic neurectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that uses a tiny camera (7 millimeters) to visualize the medial branch nerves on the facet joints in the low back, and then carefully and selectively snip them so that they are permanently disconnected and cannot send pain signals. Facet joints are small, knuckle-sized joints that give your spine stability and flexibility. Injury, arthritis, or swelling in the facet joints are a common culprit for persistent low back pain.
Schneider had his first endoscopic neurectomy done in December 2024 to address arthritic facet joints on the left side of his lumbar spine. A few months later, he had another neurectomy on the right side.
While the RFA is very easy, the neurectomy is easy too.
“It’s a 7 mm incision with one naturally absorbing suture to close it,” said McCormick.
The recovery was quite easy for Schneider, and he hasn’t had any pain in his lumbar spine since the neurectomy.
“This is the medicine of the future,” said Schneider. “But it comes with a doctor with a bedside manner of the past.”
For Schneider, having a provider who takes the time to explain and answer questions has been invaluable.
“Dr. McCormick is the kind of doctor who really cares about his patients and wants them to be in on everything – before, during, and after the surgery,” said Schneider. “He’s always been very open, and not every doctor is like that. He greets you as a person first and then as a patient and then gets to solving your problems. He’s amazing.”
Schneider’s husband, Kim, has also had RFA for neck pain.
“Kim had done physical therapy, but it wasn’t working,” said Schneider. “He went to see Dr. McCormick and finally got some relief. He truly is an amazing doctor.”
Schneider still teaches a little bit here and there but spends most of his time remodeling his home with his husband Kim.
“We live in a one-hundred-year-old craftsman bungalow in Salt Lake City,” he said. “We are restoring rooms, tearing down walls, and putting new ones in, and working through the year.”
“I don’t have time for a job,” quipped Schneider.
Schneider and his husband will celebrate their 40th anniversary next month.
“So long as you get a couple of really good people in your life, things tend to go really well,” said Schneider.
For Schneider, his family, friends, and providers like McCormick have helped him live life to its fullest – something he intends to keep doing for years to come.
“It’s been an amazing life,” said Schneider.