Spinal Fusion L4L5 for nerve pain

I had a L3/L4 fusion back in 2020. My back pain before the surgery was through the roof. After the surgery, I did 5 laps around the nurses station and felt GREAT. I was limited to moderate work/exercise for a few months. I also had no complications with the surgery. Chiropractors, cortisone injections & acupuncture did little to help me, but had to do all of those before I was approved for the surgery. You should be fine, especially since you are an active person, like myself. Good luck with your surgery.

@insanepain
How long was the recovery? My cousin who was a triathlete, skier had fusion. He said his balance was off and he did not regain full strength in one of his legs.

I recovered fully from that no issues. The recovery was just 'take it easy' for a few months. Don't remember how long it was, but I believe that started bending and lifting things ahead of when I was told to. After years of back pain, I felt great after that. No problem with balance at all.

I am in my fourth week of recovery from a minimally invasive spinal fusion at L4/L5. All of my pre and post surgical pain is gone and I am walking up to two hours a day. I never took more than Tylenol for pain post surgery and was off of that by the second week. I was also a very physically active person before the onset of pain and that makes a big difference as does a stretch of PT prior to surgery. I was also fortunate to have an extremely skilled surgeon. The recovery takes time and it is essential to adhere to the physical restrictions and not rush the recovery.

Have you checked out the TOPs procedure? You might check and see if you are a candidate. It is supposed to have a quicker recovery and prevents adjacent segment disease. I opted for this surgery over a fusion. Good luck with whatever procedure you choose.

I have severe L4/5 stenosis. I’m not sure of the difference to herniated disk, but I’ve avoided surgery and eliminated shooting leg pains by learning and following the Gokhale Primal Posture method.

@ou14mejc Do you know if MAyo Jax does TOPs procedure, anyone?

@bassetmom Go to the Premia Spine website and it lists the doctors in every state who perform the TOPs.

I had L4L5 fusion with the ALIF procedure in Sept '25. After excruciating pain that summer, I was so relieved to be pain-free, after the recovery period where ice packs helped reduce swelling on front abdomen and back. My
advice is to research your surgeon ( graduated from a reputable university in the US? where was residency/internship?) and then, give yourself time to recover thoroughly---don't rush the recovery! Be kind to your body, because spine surgery is a delicate, serious procedure. You may need to adjust some of your activities re: intensity or duration, but it's better than dealing with the pain you had before surgery! Best of luck to you!

@ou14mejc Thank you!