Spinal Fusion

[HRG]

Hiya, I had my spine fused and laminectomy (L5*S1)three years ago, so it is fully healed now. I have spent moths researching what limitations I might have doing excercise. I have asked my doctor and I have asked the god of google. I'm very confused. lol

Does anyone else have this same operation done on them, or similar? i lost about 5 percent movement, and am wondering how others coped after their surgery healed and did you get back into weight lifting and how has that worked out?

I think i am doing well, but I am concerned because my Doctor just says "dont do anything", ****** say 'do it all you will be okay" and everyone else says 'just do something, but not too much" lol.

As mentioned it's 3 years on now, so i would love to hear from anyone who has had their back done around the same time or longer.

Thanks all

 

[Brick]

You'll be fine the fusion should be solid as a rock, more likely you'll root the next disc inline before you break a fusion.

It's effectively a chunk of bone once it's healed isn't it?

 

[taurus]

see my back operation thread.

Ive had 2 discectomy's in 12 months, at l5s1. 2nd one totally removed the disc. I was having severe sciatic pain and had two herniated discs, one eventually burst and started growing onto my spinal cord. It was full on. Surgeon said i'd need a fusion within 5 years....

Im 6 months post op and only last week benched 160kg. It is a long road to recovery and to this day I still have some nerve pain when bending forward. I can jog (gently) but most weights apart from deads and squats are ok. Swimming is great.

Have you tried yoga? Swimming? They were the two that got me back on track. Are you stretching EVERY NIGHT? Do you have a foam roller? You need your leg & bum muscles to be LOOSE!!!! so important.

any other questions, @GUZZLA; too may be able to help. He's been thru some back shit as well...
T

 

[HRG]

see my back operation thread.

Ive had 2 discectomy's in 12 months, at l5s1. 2nd one totally removed the disc. I was having severe sciatic pain and had two herniated discs, one eventually burst and started growing onto my spinal cord. It was full on. Surgeon said i'd need a fusion within 5 years....

Im 6 months post op and only last week benched 160kg. It is a long road to recovery and to this day I still have some nerve pain when bending forward. I can jog (gently) but most weights apart from deads and squats are ok. Swimming is great.

Have you tried yoga? Swimming? They were the two that got me back on track. Are you stretching EVERY NIGHT? Do you have a foam roller? You need your leg & bum muscles to be LOOSE!!!! so important.

any other questions, @GUZZLA; too may be able to help. He's been thru some back shit as well...
T

Sweet I will check it out, I had done a search for 'spinal Fusion" but nothing came up so i will look harder.

Do you know what? I did none of that stuff you have mentioned. I just piled on weight for the last three years. Now I am reversing that trend and wanting to look after everything properly, so i am certainly open to taking better care of my bits lol. I was super careful to follow all the rules to the letter for the first 6 months and after a year the doctor said it was all awesome and off you go on your merry way..... to be honest I don't even know if I am meant to go for a checkup each year or what? I better look into that.

I get mad pain on either side of my spine in the neack and shouler area, from sitting, other than that I don't really suffer anything anymore, i was really happy with the operation. I am seeing now but that if I dnt sort it out I will be going back for another one. Thanks for your reply!

 

[HRG]

Im not sure whether a lmainectomy and a discetomy are the same, but what they did in mine was remove the disks from between my vertebrae and replaced them with small metal cages, then placed bone grafts around the cages so they sit in place. I then have two metal rods either side holding it all in place. Is that what they did to you?

 

[HRG]

You'll be fine the fusion should be solid as a rock, more likely you'll root the next disc inline before you break a fusion.

It's effectively a chunk of bone once it's healed isn't it?

Yup that is what I have heard too, that part of my spine will be solid as and what will happen is the discs above will start to deterioate (WOOHOOO!!!!) :*( lol.

And yes, my new 'discs' were enclosed in bone and that is why I was told to wait two years for it to heal, so the bone would fuse. I am actually looking forward to the next xray lol!!

 

[Brick]

Yup that is what I have heard too, that part of my spine will be solid as and what will happen is the discs above will start to deterioate (WOOHOOO!!!!) :*( lol.

And yes, my new 'discs' were enclosed in bone and that is why I was told to wait two years for it to heal, so the bone would fuse. I am actually looking forward to the next xray lol!!

I've been told all the danger is while your waiting for the graft to take hold after that it's all good at that level.

I used to box with an ortho and was constantly pumping him for info on account of my fucked back

 

[HRG]

I've been told all the danger is while your waiting for the graft to take hold after that it's all good at that level.

I used to box with an ortho and was constantly pumping him for info on account of my fucked back

Thanks Brick, my surgeon was awesome, but i didn't even think to pump him for info. I wasn't going to the gym 3 years ago so i never asked about my future career as lifting machine.....ahem.

Google did my head in with all the info supporting every single argument for and against...lol. It's good to hear from people who have gone through it.

 

[taurus]

Im not sure whether a lmainectomy and a discetomy are the same, but what they did in mine was remove the disks from between my vertebrae and replaced them with small metal cages, then placed bone grafts around the cages so they sit in place. I then have two metal rods either side holding it all in place. Is that what they did to you?

They are different. Yours was a fusion, mine was disc removal without the fusion. I have no rods in my back.

 

[taurus]

You need to start stretching and doing yoga. At least.
See a Chiro or osteo who can put you on the right path. Does your PT know of your history with back pain etc?
What caused your back pain in the first place?

 

[HRG]

You need to start stretching and doing yoga. At least.
See a Chiro or osteo who can put you on the right path. Does your PT know of your history with back pain etc?
What caused your back pain in the first place?

I was thinking of taking up yoga, old peoples yoga LOL, just to start out, my muscles have definitely atrophied somewhat from lack of use.

My PT does know of my back injury, as me and my gym buddy both have back issues, she has a broken back so we train together and he is really good with keeping an eye on both of us, but in reality I do need to have a more in depth convo with him and just havent because it is all so new, i will make sure I do this :*)

I have a family history of buggered backs lol. My father had sciatica his whole life until he had an operation to sort it out, my sister was born with a thing called schuermans disease, it is similar to scoliosis but you have an S curve instead of a C curve, her spine solidified also and she had to have all the calcification drilled out from between her vertebrae and her spine was straightened and she has two rods from neck to bum holding her spine in place, she gets a lot of grief and still suffers enormous pain with her back.

So I think maybe my back was always susceptible to something, but then two things happened... Firstly I used to work on a farm and one day I was chasing ducks to put them in a different pen, i bent down to grab one and i literally heard my back go CRACK. i could not get up again after that and had to have my dad come pick me up as I couldnt ride home. I stayed bedbound for three days before i could walk again properly.

That was the catalyst I think, cause it just went downhill from there, in 2004 I had a pretty major motorcycle accident and i rode my bike into the side of a car at 80km/h, I flipped over the bonnet and landed on my back very hard. I smashed into the tank so hard that my belt left an imprint in my stomach and bruised my kidneys.

After that we went through all the motions of physio, excercise, swimming, do this take that. Nothing worked and eventually I was sent to a neuro surgeon and he said my back was worse than 90year olds and next thing Im cut up with some new body parts LOL.

 

[taurus]

Don't stress about yoga. It's great. Most yoga teachers will see you before a class to work out what you can and can't do. I had a list of stuff I couldn't do. So did the rest of the class. It is a beginners class. People falling over and falling asleep is common. No one judges or takes it seriously. A good yoga teacher helps there too. Look one up. It's the best thing I did for my back. Also my wife works in spinal cord injury rehab, which helped too! Lol

 

[HRG]

Don't stress about yoga. It's great. Most yoga teachers will see you before a class to work out what you can and can't do. I had a list of stuff I couldn't do. So did the rest of the class. It is a beginners class. People falling over and falling asleep is common. No one judges or takes it seriously. A good yoga teacher helps there too. Look one up. It's the best thing I did for my back. Also my wife works in spinal cord injury rehab, which helped too! Lol

ha funny, I watch the girls at the gym in their yoga classes sometimes and I just think, "crap i aint going in there lol, I cant do any of that!!"

But the classes are as much for me as anyone else so I will organise a chat with the teacher first to put my mind at ease :*) Thanks again for the great advice!