Hi, @dlydailyhope I have done a couple of rounds of PT.... about six months each... but I still have the balance issues. The PT was aware of the balance issues and worked with me to strengthen core...
Your first paragraph sounds a lot like me.... except that my stenosis was not congenital.... and I'm 73yo. I could hardly walk before the laminectomy because of pain in hips and legs. I had spinal injections.... and I have had them every four months for the past year... but I can't tell they make much difference.
The leg pain was so bad before the laminectomy that I coud have had the neuropathy/numbness/tingling before the surgery but I would not have noticed. My lower legs seem weaker than before I had the stenosis diagnosis. The stenosis is a bit strange, too... obviously it was there and getting worse with time... but at 71 I had no problems walking and working in my yard... I had occasional back pain and aches I attributed to aging. But one morning in Sept. 2021 I woke up and both feet felt like they had a 20lb weight attached to them. I could hardly move. My PCP sent me for an MRI... and then I was sent to a surgeon. I saw several before deciding on one.... and ONE of the neurosurgeons I did not choose said, "We will put a spacer between L5 and S1. If not you will be back within a year." The surgeon I chose was excellent... and my surgery went well... but now he is suggesting that the fusion might resolve the remaining issues as I have no disc left between L5/S1... and two discs above that are compromised. As he explained it, he would remove the disc tissue and place a spacer between the discs ... and that would create more space between the vertebrae... and thus decompress the nerves as they exit the spine in that area. He says the surgery would be done in two procedures.... the first day he would do the ALIF and remove discs and put plates to hold them in place. Then, the following day he would go in through my back and put rods and screw to my spine to give mroe stability. Was your fusion a two-part procedure? Another question.... do you FEEL the hardware/rods?
Thanks for sharing! Best wishes for your continuing recovery! Mike