Expectations for recovery after L3/S1 decompression and fusion

My experience was a fusion from C2 through t3. It sucks. Very limited range of motion. But you won't have that problem since yours is lower in your back. You should be cover nicely. Good luck

@pikemike
Good evening, unfortunately, I believe that your next surgery will be more painful and have a longer recovery time because this is your lumbar region. Your lumbar spine supports the weight of your body and therefore is more painful to recover from surgery.
This is definitely not something that I want to say, it’s just in answer to your question on what to expect.
I had a T11 to L4 fusion December 2024.
I know that there will be several people who weigh in on this topic.
Also, if you use search bar, you will find many discussions that will cover and hopefully answer questions that you have on this topic.
Wishing you the best, Sherry

Good morning,
Thanks Sherry for your reply. What you say makes sense. I’m not afraid of the hard work at therapy but my patience isn’t the best. It will be what it will be. I’ll use the search function as you suggested. Thanks.

In 2000, had L4-S1 fused, doc said 6-9 months out of work and he told me for the foreseeable future all he wanted me to do was walk as my pt. I’d take a couple of pain meds, put the kids on the bus for school and by my 3 month follow up I was walking about 40 miles per week and he let me go back to work. Walking is one of the best excersises for back issues.

I have days my lower back hurts, tough to sit or stand but 100% better than before the fusion. Just walk, don’t push it but it’ll help you heal and recover faster. Good luck.

The walking helps reduce the gut which reduces the stress on your lower back. Ok. Now I’m done.

@bobt8 thanks very much for the input. After surgery and when you got home, did you need a walker or a cane to move around the house? For how long before you became independent? How long did you wear a brace?

I don’t know if you play golf, but if you did, do you think you could you play golf after 6 months?

@pikemike Master of Golf Mike😁, I did play golf! I stopped shortly before I had my shoulder replaced in 2020. I was actually pretty happy with my swing because I looked like a pro when compared to Charles the golfer with the most hideous swing and a seemingly lack of any sport talents, just kidding. Played in a league, shot a hole in one, took longest drive in many tournaments and was always quite flexible because I really don’t produce scar tissue which allowed my joints a little more ROM. I played hockey growing up and I was also a catcher on the high school and local teams, but I really took a beating in hockey and catching. It seemed that whenever someone was rounding 3rd they’d just lower their head and chase me until I was down. I did enjoy it though. The day after my lumbar fusion I had a morphine pump and a guy from the brace company moving me every which way and very painfully, the morphine pump shut me down in seconds. The next year the guy who flipped me around measuring for the brace was in golf league. I believe I probably wore that obnoxious brace for about 2 months. Sometimes I don’t think very smartly when deciding to go all in on PT or walking. I needed to get the brace trimmed as it was rubbing on my upper thighs. I didn’t really think things through when I decided to walk the 10 miles from my house to the brace offices. I’m 64 and I still don’t think things through when I decided an aluminum snow saucer would be safe transportation down the mountain on packed ice/snow. Ya think I would learn at some point.

When I first got home after the fusion, I was in soooo much pain. I called the surgical PA to whine about the pain I had. His comment was “Bob, you gotta understand. We break your spine and bolt it back together “. He doubled my pain med and I was able to work into longer and longer walks. I started seeing a new PCP and we talked narcotics and I told her I’ll do my best to not ask for any and if I did they would never be strong enough to really help. Didn’t want the doctor to think I was a junky. About 6 months ago I said to my PCP that after all those years of suffering through the daily pain I said to he I needed pain meds but even more importantly, I really deserved them. I have a pretty good tolerance for pain ( I played hockey and wore the “tools of ignorance” as a catcher but I was so afraid of what the doctor might think of me, what my family might think, I let their opinions dictate if I was ot was not going to ask for opiates. As we get older and older we have to advocate for ourselves, we know our bodies and just because Big Pharma misrepresented opiates and the doctors failed to prescribe them properly, those of us who kinda came after all the nonsense were forced to suffer through all those bad day of pain. I should’ve fought harder for myself t get better pain control. Certainly a learning point for the chronic pain sufferers. Learned my lesson a little too late.

@bobt8 thanks for all the info and interesting stories. So I shouldn’t worry about golf, which is great news. The more important information you shared was with regard to pain. I should be prepared for that. Knowing that everyone’s body is different, I’ll just take it one day at a time. I hope you are doing well now and your health allows you to do the things that you enjoy.