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DiscussionPain in the butt - Can't sit down
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Sep 23 9:49am | Replies (336)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "I almost thought this was a post I had posted a few weeks ago at first...."
I'm so sorry plumber.
Damn, fusion surgery just terrifies me because of these stories. I don't think this is representative of the majority of spinal fusions- that doesn't make it any easier for you or any less scary.
Any orthopedic surgery is gonna involve touching some nerves. And when the spine is involved, well almost all of the body's nerves track through the spinal column. I had laminotomies at S1, L5, and L4 - the least invasive type of back surgery to relieve nerve pain. It worked great, but for the first week after surgery, my leg was weak and it hurt like hell to sit down - I had to lower myself onto a chair.
Next in complexity/nerve involvement is a laminectomy, where a larger portion of the vertebra is removed. And finally, fusion - where the space between fused vertebra is removed and filled with a patient's bone or cadaver bone, and then screws and pins, sometimes rods, are used to make two or more vertebra into one. It even sound awful.
My lumbar spine is held together by a strong core. I've got lumbar stenosis, scoliosis, and degenerative/arthritic disc and vertebra disease. I'm motivated to stay in shape, including keeping my weight normal because I so want to avoid any fusion.
I hope you find an answer and get rid of that pain plumber. All the best friend. Joe