My recent surgery was not fit spinal stenosis, but I think what I’m going to say applies to both. I can do the same (good or not-so-good) things every day for a week and have varying experiences with pain, stiffness and swelling. I can be lying still in bed and have a sudden, intense pain occur along the incision pathway. When I ask “what am I doing wrong or what else do I need to be doing?!” My PT and my surgeon both remind me that nerves take a VERY long time to re-grow and re-connect into circuits after surgery or trauma. My surgeon also said that each body has its own timetable and that there are often slight drops in overall pain, stiffness and swelling after 3 months, 6 months, 8 months, 12 and 14 months, and so on. This does not mean there won’t be more intensely challenging days or weeks in there. Keeping a diary of what you’re able to do and how much pain, stiffness and/or swelling you experience can help you keep perspective of change over the long haul, and can give you some reassurance that you’re continuing to move in a good direction. And, yes, PT can be incredibly helpful over the long haul, with ultrasound, cupping, massage and exercises to strengthen, increase flexibility and balance, stamina, etc. My PT also keeps notes and can tell me that the angles at which I can now bend have increased or decreased, for example. Lastly, activities such as sauna or float tanks can support the relief, if you can possibly access them. Floating takes almost all the pressure off the body and allows tight muscles to release tension. The sauna helps to sweat out by-products of metabolism so that the body doesn’t have to work quite so hard at the cellular and tissue levels. My personal experience, when I can afford this (rarely), is increased energy, decreased pain and lightened mood.

I wish you continued progress in your healing and rehab, and clarity about whether your body is moving along its pathway at a rate that is expected/necessary or something else is needed.