Karl Sanders of Nile had multilevel spinal fusion surgery on his neck on 1 October, and says he is eight weeks from being back on a stage.
What he describes is not a precaution. "Scans showed severe narrowing around my spinal cord, along with signs of injury to the cord itself," he wrote. "Without it, I was facing further permanent damage, including a very real risk of paralysis." The warning sign was constant numbness in his right hand. The causes he lists are disc degeneration, a martial arts injury eleven years ago, a long stretch of stress, and decades of headbanging.
Surgeons removed the damaged discs and the bone pressing on the cord, placed donor bone between several vertebrae and fixed them with a plate and screws. He is walking two to three miles a day and doing occupational therapy on the hand three times a week.
One sentence says more about this profession than any statement about health. "Making music is what I love, but it's also how I make my living, and metal doesn't come with paid medical leave." He will be back for the December dates in Europe, and he will not headbang again.