Anyone else pleased with their spinal fusion outcome?

With my first surgery, disc decompression & laminectomy, pool aerobics gave me back my core strength. (1991)

Two years ago I had L-S fusion with resulting sensory nerve loss in my right foot. While the fusion took away my bilateral sciatica, I struggle with balance & sleep due to back discomfort.

I honestly don't know if I would have this surgery again, given my lack of balance due to sensory nerve loss & chronic discomfort at night. ☮️

Hi Nadia,

53 is too young to be going through what you're going through. I understand. But that's your reality. I used to be 6'1" tall and now I'm 5'10". One reason is the discs in my back have all compressed to some degree, especially the lumbar spine. And then I have scoliosis. My lumbar spine bends, and that also affects height.

I have a very strong set of core muscles. I suggest you check with your PCP or better yet a spine surgeon and get a referral for PT. My surgeon tells me my strong core is holding my lumbar spine together, literally.

It's certainly not weight causing the problem. Neither of us is overweight. There are some simple core exercises that you can do everyday at home to build up protection for your lower spine, and take some stress off the spine. Again, best route imo is to get a referral to a PT and let insurance cover it.

And if you find a good PT, ask about spinning. I spin 5x/week, mostly for my heart, but I sit almost upright on the saddle, a slight lean forward, and my lumbar spine retains it's natural curve and spinning itself strengthens the core. I found classes at my local gym and it's fun. Just make sure you don't lean forward over the handlebar.

All the best to you Nadia.

Joe

Thanks Coach,

I have the same fears about lumbar fusion. I have a surgeon I trust, but fusion is a tricky procedure with a LOT of nerves in the affected area. I'm 70 y/o and weigh 155-160. I've had laminitomies at S1/L5/L4 12 years ago to ease pressure on the sciatic nerve, and that worked.

Now I'm in the gym everyday working on my core. I'm glad your sciatica is gone - especially bilateral - extremely painful as you well know.

As far as sleep, have you tried sleeping on your side with a firm pillow between your knees? I do that and it keeps my spine more or less neutral. A good pillow that keeps your cervical spine supported also helps. You' can experiment to find pillows that suit you.

All the best to you friend.

Joe

Thank you for your open and encouraging message. I am on board with you re: core strength and spinning. I have done a ton of both. The upright position on a spin bike is good. I can never use any sort of recumbent bike or stepper. And, I am a PT which is a great advantage. It is still difficult to make decisions on surgeries. Every bit of info I am offered is considered and appreciated. Thank you again and my very best wishes to you. You sound like you are rocking your own situation.

I didn’t see a question in the first post, which usually describes asking the question but it seems like it was answering the question posed. So I was confused, but my answer is yes 100% pleased. I have degenerative disc, scoliosis, degeneration condition and so so forth. I am a moderately active 68 year-old woman and I have a fantastic orthopedic surgeon. Along my 25-year-old track. I did many consultations and had many bad doctors and many bad departments until I got to my Prince charming orthopedic surgeon. Along the way, my desk fell out entirely, and my bones grafted together, squeezing my major nerve root out my spine at L3 L4 L5. I had extensive surgery seven years ago and I couldn’t be more pleased. I got my life back unfortunately now there’s more deterioration outside of the area where the work was done. So I’m now contending with that and increasing my exercise load because my surgeon is not sure which way to go. It took a long time for me to get to the surgery because I wasn’t getting good answers to all my questions looking back. I think my intuition guided me and I had the best outcome. There was a time I was afraid, but I am no longer afraid. I was given the body I was given and I’m just gonna do the best I can with it. Finding a good doctor or doctor teams and putting your mind at ease would be helpful. Good luck to everyone.

Thank you Nadia. Well you're a PT so you are well-armed with knowledge. I do agree with you that different PTs and trainers all have different ways to teach or coach for the same outcome. I've been with my trainer since 2021 and I truly believe he knows more about my body and my conditions than I do. I do ask him a lot of questions though, and I think that communication is very important with a PT or trainer, just as it would be with a Dr.

You mentioned your bad lower back and difficulty working your legs. Can you do seated presses for your quads, and/or seated hamstring curls? I've had bouts of sciatica and an MRI revealed very tight lower back muscles, so I stretch those now.

And I have a question. Do you know a way to stretch the ITB without crossing feet and bending forward? I had been doing that for 40 years, and then last month (and four weeks after a THR), I did the stretch, had my palms on the floor, and dislocated my hip..... It was my fault - I should not have crossed my feet and should not have bent my hips more than 90 degrees. Painful lesson learned. Fortunately the ER Dr popped it back in with closed reduction - and a good dose of ketamine for me!

Joe

@dredk Hello, I had a T11 to L4 spinal fusion five months ago and I am very happy with the result. I had a significant scoliosis curve in my lumbar, which created a lot of pain because the lumbar carries so much weight. The pain that I had before surgery is completely gone.
My postop healing is slow but steady. I’m being cautious about bending, lifting and twisting, so I don’t slow down the fusion process. I’ve been searching everywhere trying to see if there is a specific time where I can assume that the bone fusion has taken place, but haven’t had much luck other than around the one year mark.
It’s wonderful to hear that you are doing so well! Best wishes, Sherry

There is a certainly a huge spectrum of skills and approaches within Physiotherapy. I enjoy seeing different ones to get different perspectives and ideas. I cannot do leg strengthening in sitting I believe because the collapsed disc impinges worse on the nerve root in a seated position, add increased intra-abdominal pressure. Fortunately there is plenty I can do in standing and lying down that doesn’t as easily worsen my radicular and discogenic type pain. My peripheral joints are completely fine which helps!
There are more ways to stretch your ITB. I have had good success with foam rollers and massage, sparing positions that could cause your hip instability. Talk to your PT about that?

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply Nadia.

I have considered foam rollers to loosen my ITB. I have my final post-op visit on June 13. For now, and since the dislocation, I have been stretching my hamstrings with a strap around the ball of my foot, leg extended and knees locked. At the visit with my surgeon, I'll ask him when I can start to be more aggressive in stretching the IT band. He has said it takes time for the hip capsule to scar over, and I need to be careful in the meantime. That was a lesson I learned the hard way...

Fortunately the dislocation caused no damage to the sciatic nerve and no other tissue damage. The prostheses are all intact and undamaged as well. So as painful as the experience was, it could have been a lot worse. Learn, and live!

Joe

I'm 60 years old and I'm three years post surgery for scoliosis. It was a two day surgery and I'm fused from T4 to S1. I'm pain free compared to pre-surgery, however I have some discomfort at the end of a long day.

I'm happy I did it. I can do everything I did before the surgery, but some things are a little more difficult because of no bend in my back. I'm able to downhill ski, cycle, walk long distances, hike, and jog. Recovery was long, in part because I was given a restriction of no bending, lifting, or twisting for one year.

I went to PT for a short period of time, but found more benefit working with a personal trainer that I have been with for many years. It seems results of a fusion vary significantly. I would recommend anyone that is planning a spinal fusion take the time to prepare and go into being in the best physical shape possible. I planned my surgery for about two years, taking daily injections to improve my bone strength, maintaining weight, and focusing on core exercises.