When Dr. Amandeep Bhalla enters the operating room, the outside world melts away. There are no phone calls to take, no MyChart messages to return, no strict timetables to adhere to. The priority is clear: the person on the table. A beating heart and breathing lungs. Hands that someone in the waiting room is eager to hold again.

In January, global data intelligence platform Statista reported that a 2022 survey found that 28 percent of U.S. adults said they had chronic lower back pain. And according to the Cureus Journal of Medical Science, every year, almost 1 million U.S. patients undergo surgical procedures on their spine to help treat chronic back and neck pain.