At one stage Mick Jones, now 62, was taking 800mg Ibuprofen a day"My back pain was so bad I had to walk sideways"By Richard Barber
LONDON, England (Daily Mail), November 13, 2007:
For nearly 18 months, Foreigner's guitarist Mick Jones lived with back pain so crippling that the only way he could walk was sideways; he would often scream involuntarily in agony.
It reached the stage where he needed handfuls of Ibuprofen every day and there was a real risk he would have to cancel the band's tours. But then he underwent surgery and within days his life was, as he describes it, 'transformed'.
His problems began early last year after a seven-hour flight to New York where Mick, who was born in Somerset, now lives.
Mick is a founder member of Foreigner - the band's album sales exceed 70 million - and the composer of all their hits, including I Want To Know What Love Is.
The band still records and tours and Mick often travels on long-haul flights. But after this particular journey he developed a dull pain in his lower back.
'The seat hadn't been particularly comfortable,' he recalls, 'and I hadn't moved around much so I wasn't surprised that I was getting some discomfort.'
But, over the following days, the pain intensified. 'Every move I made felt like I was being stabbed in that part of the back with a hot, sharp knife. I don't mind admitting that it made me scream out loud - and I didn't care who heard.
'On one occasion, I remember sitting on the side of my bed and leaning forward to tie my shoelaces, only to discover that I was locked in position: I was in such pain that I was physically unable to straighten up.'
That first attack lasted a fortnight, during which Mick was out of That first attack lasted a fortnight, during which Mick was out of action. The 62-year-old, who has three sons and a daughter from his three marriages, lives with his girlfriend, Alatia, who looked after him.
'Luckily, I didn't have any pressing work commitments,' he says. 'I took Ibuprofen to help manage the pain and did gentle squats to ease the tension in my back.'
When movement became a bit easier, he went to see spine specialist, Jean-Pierre Farcy, who is the father of his best friend.
'At that stage, he wasn't sure of the root cause of my problem but he suggested I wear a type of brace he'd patented made from strong, pliable plastic that ties behind you, a bit like a cummerbund, which gave artificial support to my back. It offered some comfort.' Unfortunately, this proved not to be an isolated attack.
About six months later, it happened again. 'We'd been on tour in America and travelling from gig to gig by a luxury coach but, even so, your body is being jolted all the time. I was sleeping on a narrow bunk. I didn't feel any ill-effects at the time but when I got home, about six weeks later, I knew something was wrong.'
The sharp, stabbing pains were beginning again and they were affecting Mick's mobility.
'They came on gradually but increased in intensity. In the end, I was forced to sidle, crablike, if I wanted to walk anywhere.
It got so bad that to get to the living room from my bedroom in the morning, I literally had to crawl on all fours. Again, I wore my back brace and resorted to Ibuprofen.
'I assumed that, like before, it would recede after a couple of weeks, which it did.'
'I'd always considered myself pretty healthy. I walked regularly and exercised with small weights. I'd given up alcohol seven years earlier and cigarettes two years before.'
Apart from the back pain he was, he says, in good physical shape - and at 5ft 10in and 11st, he was a healthy weight. He told himself the back problem was 'just a passing phase'. But then in March of this year, the problem flared again. 'The dull, insistent pain in my lower back was now spreading into my hamstrings and affecting my legs. Along with being unable to walk properly, I just couldn't get comfortable, however I sat or lay.
'Eventually, I acknowledged something needed to be done.' Mick comes from a family with a history of back problems. His younger brother, he says, has a fragile back. And his father, Leslie, he remembers, saw a chiropractor for disc problems in his back.
'I took a leaf out of his book but the chiropractor couldn't help. I'd also heard about acupuncture but, again, it didn't do the trick. I decided I must speak to Jean-Pierre again. He said my problem wasn't going to get better - the combination of my age and general wear and tear on the body meant that things could only get worse. He recommended an MRI body scan so that he could see exactly what was wrong with my back. And that clinched it.'
Mick was diagnosed as suffering from stenosis of the spine, where the vertebrae start to compress to the point where the space between them gets narrower and narrower.
Typically, this occurs to people over 50. 'It can be caused by osteoporosis, a tumour or, as in this case, by general wear and tear, not helped, Mick thought, by carrying 18lb of electric guitar in a 30-year career.
'I'd partly put the pain down to this, but Mr Farcy explained that it might not have anything to do with it. The lower spine, where I'd experienced the worst of the stabbing pains, is the focal point of your back, he said, the place where all the muscles meet. If there's something wrong there, it can cause problems in apparently unrelated areas like legs, hips, even shoulders.'
He was told he needed surgery. 'A part of me was frightened,' admits Mick. 'But what was the alternative? Anyway, how much longer could I tolerate these attacks?
'I found myself to be quite accepting of my fate. I was at the point when the cure, whatever the risks, had to be better than suffering the pain and limitations imposed by my condition. Moreover, with the very real risk that I'd have to cancel concerts, my career was being seriously threatened.'
By now, he was taking 800mg of Ibuprofen a day, the maximum dose, and while that was taking the edge off the pain, he was never free from continual, dull discomfort.
'I'd been told that such high dosages can start to cause gastric problems. Something had to give. I told Jean-Pierre, who would be operating on me, that I wanted the surgery.'
The surgeon said that within a matter of weeks Mick would be more or less back to normal. Within three months, he'd be fully functional.
'He explained that he'd take a chisel and hammer "and make a leetle amputation of ze bone" to remove a series of small spikes or spurs that had developed where the vertebrae had become compacted and had fused together. He'd also ensure that no nerves would be left trapped in the process.'
Mick had the surgery six weeks ago. When he woke up the back ache was gone, although the area still felt tender.
The next day, he managed to walk the length of the room. 'The day after that, I said I'd like to do a couple of laps. It was remarkable. Within four days, I was back home, albeit being careful not to push myself. Three weeks later, a further MRI scan revealed my surgeon had done the sort of sculpting job that wouldn't have discredited Michelangelo.'
And the result, of course, is a huge relief. 'Understandably, I think, I still feel a bit tentative. It will be another six weeks before I'm completely out of the woods.
'Even now, I wake up each morning wondering whether I can just swing my legs out of bed and walk without problem to the bathroom. But I can.' Clearly, he's not allowed to lift anything heavy in the foreseeable future.
'And I have to remember to squat if I want to pick up anything off the floor; my back needs to renew itself after the legacy of major surgery. But I flew to my daughter Annabelle's 21st birthday party in Miami two weeks ago and suffered no ill-effects. Then I took the eight-hour flight to London to begin Foreigner's UK tour before we go on the road across Europe and South Africa. In fact, appearing in Glasgow last week was the first time I'd worn a guitar and performed in public since my operation. And I felt just fine. It's no exaggeration to say that I couldn't have contemplated touring without surgery.'
And now? 'Truly, I feel reborn,' says Mick.
'Here's to the next 30 years of Foreigner.'
©2007 Associated Newspapers Ltd ·
