Ken Holifield logged 5 million miles as a cross-country truck driver before retiring with 44 years on the road. 

Though it was a career he loved, all that driving took a toll on his body. “I had a bad hip, and I thought that was causing my pain,” said the 72-year-old Kilmichael resident. “But even after hip replacement surgery in 2023, I was still hurting.”

In November 2024, Ken’s primary care provider, nurse practitioner Jessica Alldread, at Kilmichael Family Medical Clinic ordered an MRI, which showed five bulging discs in his spine and degenerative arthritis. She also referred him to nurse practitioner Edith Faulkner at North Mississippi Regional Pain Consultants in Starkville.

Ken had his first therapeutic injection last December. In addition to a local anesthetic, the injection includes a steroid, which reduces inflammation and thereby the pain, tingling and numbness the inflammation causes. 

Within a few days, Ken could tell a difference. “Within two weeks, I was much better,” he said.

Since then, Ken has had two nerve ablation procedures. “We use radiofrequency energy to apply heat to specific nerves,” explained pain management specialist Dr. Jimmy Windham. “The heat strategically disrupts the joint nerve's ability to send pain signals to your brain.”

The procedure is done in the clinic under mild sedation. Radiofrequency ablation is often helpful for chronic pain, especially in the arthritic joints of the neck and lower back. 

“I don’t like having to take pain pills, and I’m not having to take them,” Ken said. “The treatment has done everything they said it would do.”

Not only have the injections and ablations greatly reduced his pain, but they’ve also improved his function and reduced the amount of pain medication he was taking.

He bounced back quickly from a recent trip to Oxford, which used to take him three to four days to recover from. And, for the first time in several years, he was recently able to grocery shop without having to ride a scooter.

“I don’t like to take pain pills, and I’m not having to now,” Ken said. “There’s nothing that will ever cure me, but I’m really pleased with the results.”