Hi Joe,
Even though my surgery is delayed, I did ask the doc, after the surgery can i bike, will I have any limitations, and he said no limitations. L5-S1, and possibly fuse I think it was 3/4.
Awesome you can walk! I have pain after 1/2 mile walking. I just turned 72. Since my surgery got put off by six months, I’m going to check out some other options, acupuncture, mind/body type stuff, meditation for pain control. It won’t fix anything for sure, but to learn to handle the pain maybe i can put off the surgery longer - maybe. So confusing!! Oh, if the pain is low back, medicare does pay for acupuncture.
Best of luck. This forum is so helpful and I love that mostly no one plays doctor.
That's an optimistic outlook Willow, thanks. And all the best to you on the upcoming surgery.
I've had sciatica twice. The first was from a herniated disc and that eventually resolved, but the back of my left leg - hamstrings mostly and calf - would get stabbing pain that was very hard to live with. It seemed to abate when I laid down so sleeping was ok. It resolved after about two months.
The second attack of sciatica was on my right side. This time part of the disc at S1/L5 had ruptured and was "floating" in my spinal canal. I had surgery to remove the ruptured disc material and smooth out arthritis spurs in the spinal canal (laminotomy).
That was all well over 10 years ago. We moved and I have a new surgeon. He said I have a strong core muscle group and that is holding my lumbar spine together. He also said if sciatica comes back, I'll need fusion.
I'll certainly get that done, but don't look forward to it. But thanks for the optimistic news about returning to life without restrictions. I love spinning and would like to keep at it.
Thanks again Willow and all the best!
Joe