[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/05\/paul-eugene-story\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/05\/paul-eugene-story\/","headline":"Video: After Back Pain, YouTube Star Back in Front of the Camera","name":"Video: After Back Pain, YouTube Star Back in Front of the Camera","description":"Back pain almost sidelined Paul Eugene from his popular YouTube show. Learn how UPMC got him back in front of the camera. ","datePublished":"2017-05-24","dateModified":"2022-12-09","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC","url":"https:\/\/www.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Paul-Eugene-2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Paul-Eugene-2.jpg","height":527,"width":791},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/05\/paul-eugene-story\/","about":["Living and Wellness","Neurosurgery and Brain Health","Rehabilitation"],"wordCount":671,"keywords":["Dancing","neurosurgery","patient story","physical therapy","Rooney Sports Complex","UPMC"],"articleBody":"Paul Eugene Green opens with a salsa \u2014 two steps to the front, two to the back. A little sway in his hips as he moves.The 61-year-old Pittsburgh man has taught dance and fitness to his nearly 20,000 YouTube subscribers for more than a decade. A few times a month, he takes center stage in front of a green screen \u2014 he\u2019ll add a few glitzy neon graphics to the background later.He choreographs, performs, and edits his own dance and workout videos, many of them at Pittsburgh Community Television studios. In a few clicks, you can find him performing a samba chair workout for senior citizens or shimmying to the beat of a hip-hop song. He calls the salsa-inspired video \u201cPaul Eugene Dances Again.\u201dThe goal of each video is simple \u2014 to make fitness fun and accessible to his impressive internet following.\u201cWhen I hear music, things inside me just click,\u201d Green said. \u201cDance to me is a universal language that touches people who can\u2019t speak my language.\u201dFacing SetbacksGreen was nearly sidelined in 2014 from his YouTube channel when he began to experience pain and weakness along the left side of his body. He tried to come to terms with the fact that he may have to hang up his dancing shoes for good.\u201cI saw my life slowing down, and I was really not going to be able to enjoy the things that I was passionate about,\u201d he said.Green sought care from UPMC neurosurgeon Kojo Hamilton, MD, who performed an exam and diagnosed him with degenerative disc disease of the lower spine.The road back to dance turned out to be shorter than Green thought \u2014 Dr. Hamilton recommended a comprehensive physical therapy program, specially designed around Green\u2019s love of dance. Back surgery wouldn\u2019t be necessary, Dr. Hamilton said.\u201cThe neurosurgeon used to be a sub-specialist who was at the end of the chain,\u201d Dr. Hamilton said. \u201cWhen you got the patient, it was when they needed surgical intervention. These days, the neurosurgeon, particularly in our system, is a comprehensive evaluator.\u201dDr. Hamilton sent Green to Erica Coffey, PT, a physical therapist at the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute outpatient rehabilitation clinic at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. She was uniquely qualified to get Green back up and dancing \u2014 she\u2019s been a physical therapist for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for 16 years.\u201cI\u2019m just happy that there was a glimmer of hope, and I didn\u2019t have to let my body deteriorate,\u201d Green said. \u201cThe physical therapy gave me that strength, and I\u2019m able to move again.\u201dBack in Front of the CameraThe first line of defense for someone with back pain is typically physical therapy, Coffey said.\u201cThe best part about Paul is that he\u2019s really enthusiastic and really motivated, which makes my job a lot easier,\u201d Coffey said.During her evaluation, Coffey determined that Green had lost significant flexibility and core strength. She started his physical therapy (PT) program with exercises on the exam table \u2014 and eventually got him up and moving, mimicking his signature dance moves to get him back to the studio faster.\u201cA surgeon\u2019s goals are to get the patient better. Sometimes they have to use one of their tools, which is surgery,\u201d she said. \u201cBut PT is significantly less expensive and significantly easier to recover from. So, most of the time, [a neurosurgeon] will use physical therapy as the first line of defense.\u201dA Passion for DanceThese days, Green, who is an employee at Neurology Services at UPMC, calls his recovery from pain \u201cliving hope.\u201dHis YouTube channel has amassed more than 26 million views from around the world since its inception in 2004 \u2014 and Green has even shared his recovery story in a YouTube video on his channel.\u201cThat\u2019s an incredible thing that I\u2019ve been gifted with, to touch that many people,\u201d Green said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m very grateful and thankful for that.\u201dLearn more about the UPMC Department of Neurosurgery and UPMC Rehabilitation Institute."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2017","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"05","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/\/05\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Video: After Back Pain, YouTube Star Back in Front of the Camera","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2017\/05\/paul-eugene-story\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]