Ramos Center Gave Him His Life Back

Luis Suarez wants people to know that the Ramos Center for Interventional and Functional Pain Medicine gave him his life back.

At 24 years old, Suarez was in top form. He had just completed his M.S. degree in Global Affairs from New York University and was preparing for his next chapter. But while moving boxes during a relocation, he twisted his back. The injury resulted in bulging discs that triggered debilitating sciatica pain.

At first, he didn’t even fully understand what had happened. Then he looked in the mirror.

“I was so twisted that I took a picture,” Suarez says. “My hip had shifted all the way to the right, and I couldn’t straighten myself back to normal.

He visited his primary care physician, who ordered an MRI and recommended hot and cold therapy at home along with physical therapy. But the pain persisted.

“I had just moved to Miami to work for Senator Marco Rubio as a staff assistant, and the pain wouldn’t let me sleep,” Suarez recalls. “I couldn’t play soccer. I couldn’t even sit in my car for more than an hour. It was bad.”

Fortunately, his uncle in Sarasota, who was dealing with a similar issue, told him about the Ramos Center.

“They gave me a thorough examination and explained exactly what was going on,” Suarez says. “Then they recommended a series of three injections to reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain. They were super nice. They told me everything they were going to do, what to expect, and how to continue improving afterward.”

The difference was almost immediate.

“Even after the first shot, I felt so much better,” he says. “By the third one, my body felt realigned.”

But Suarez emphasizes that the injections were only part of the solution. After the treatments, the Ramos Center team instructed him to continue strengthening and stabilizing his back through targeted exercise and physical therapy.

“The shots themselves aren’t going to save you,” he explains. “You have to listen to what Ramos tells you to do and follow the plan.”

Today, Suarez is back living in New York — recently navigating blizzard conditions without issue — and has had no trouble shoveling snow to dig his car out of the driveway.