St. Luke’s Neurosurgeon Gets Chad back on the Court, in the Classroom and on the Golf Course

Chad Werkheiser thought nothing of bending over to pick up his cell phone from the floor, but as soon as he lifted it, he knew there was an issue. He experienced intense pain in his lower back and could barely move his left leg.

“My back went out,” he said of the event on Columbus Day in 2024. “It felt just terrible. I missed four days of work because it hurt so bad.”

Chad, an instructor in Building Trades at Lehigh Career & Technical Institute (LCTI) as well as an assistant girls basketball coach at Parkland High School and an avid golfer, utilized Physical Therapy at St. Luke’s to get him pain free and moving after just a few visits.

In mid-February, however, almost the exact same thing happened, only this time the resulting pain and physical debilitation was much worse.

He went to Physical Therapy at St. Luke’s, where he was assessed and treated. Within four to six days, the pain was gone, and he felt great. No further treatment was needed.

Unfortunately, the relief didn’t last. In early February 2025, a similar movement caused the pain to return. This time it was much worse. Chad could barely walk, lost his balance easily and had no strength or power in his left leg. He described the pain as “horrific.”

The pain was so intense that he ended up in the emergency room.

This was taking place in the middle of a playoff run for the Parkland girls basketball team.

“I was still working and had to call it quits on March 1 or 2,” he remembered.

Neurosurgeon Stamatios “Thomas” Psarros, MD evaluated Chad and recommended surgery. Dr. Psarros serves as Section Chief of Neurosurgery at St. Luke’s University Health Network. A board-certified neurosurgeon with over 25 years of experience, he specializes in treating complex brain and spinal tumors.

Chad was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease, a condition where the disks in the spine wear down over time. He also had a herniated disk, meaning one of the disks had bulged out and was pressing on a nearby nerve, causing the severe pain and weakness.

Chad took a leave of absence from work at LCTI and Parkland to prepare. His first scheduled surgery was postponed due to high blood pressure, which was treated with medication.

On April 13, 2025, Dr. Psarros performed a microdiscectomy at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus. This is a minimally invasive procedure to remove the part of the herniated disk pressing on the nerve.

“I performed a microdiscectomy on the left side of the L5-S1 disc,” Dr. Psarros said. “He had a herniated disc that was pinching the S1 nerve root so his symptoms made a lot of sense. I made sure the rest of the nerve wasn’t being pinched as well.

After surgery, Chad began physical therapy with Ashley Zuber, DPT, at Physical Therapy at St. Luke’s at the West End Medical Center location in Allentown.

“Chad was determined to return to his prior level of function and attain his fitness goals,” says Zuber. “Working with an individual as motivated as Chad made my job easy. Early in the rehab process we addressed tissue tightness, mobility deficits and neural tension. Then, we worked on neuromuscular re-education. We challenged Chad’s entire neuromuscular system from head to toe. The road to recovery is never an easy, linear process. It is mentally and physically challenging. With Chad’s background as an athlete and coach, he was able to conquer these challenges and achieve his goals.”

“His recovery was actually quite good,” Dr. Psarros said. “He wanted to get back to coaching basketball, teaching, and most importantly for him, playing golf.”

Chad went from being unable to walk, to using a walker and a cane. He now walks without pain. He’s back in the gym, working out daily, teaching young men and women at LCTI, and working with the Parkland girls basketball team once again. And golfing.