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It hasn't set off anything for me! Btw, recliner was the only thing I could get comfortable in for about 4-6 weeks
Well it has been a little over a month. Recovery is going alright. Still not sleeping very well, but my lower back is adding to the issues. I have about three months until I can get that taken care of. Here is an updated photo of the incision area. It is still a little swollen and swallowing feels weird still.
Next Tuesday the 19th I will be going under the knife to have a spinal fusion done. I have 2 bad areas in my spine. One in the cervical area and one in the lumbar. Both will need a fusion done. They want to take care of the cervical fusion first. It involves the C5, C6, and C7. I have been having pains in my neck causing headaches and pain shooting down my right arm with numbness in my hand.
I have had back surgery before (discectomy in lumbar area) and was very nervous before that one, but this one is beyond nervous. I don't like the idea of them going through the front to do this one. The doctor did a good job last surgery, but this one is much more to it. Anyone else had a fusion done before? Especially a cervical one and how did it go for you?
How old are you? From the pic you look relatively young. Always thought these fusions were for the old guys.
Damn bro... Prayers sent.42. Back is pretty shot from previous jobs. Pretty much last resort time. My lower back is worse than the neck area but they had to do neck first because there could be compression on that area while doing surgery on the lower back.
Jason is 100% correct. I had C-3 thru C-5 disc and bone spurs removed with cages installed. PT has been a life saver and was huge in restoring flexibility. I do the exercises three times a week and am doing o.k.Well that's just a big ol ****in wet greasy bag of false.
No injury is the same but to suggest PT can't fix some disc problems is idiotic. Depending on the severity of the injury, sure. Someone people just need the surgery and there's nothing you can do. But to think postural training, proper stretching, core strengthening, manual therapy, and other holistic approaches like dry needling (that I'm certified to do) "cannot help in the long term with disc problems" as a cover all statement may be one of the dumbest damn things I've ever read on here.
Maybe you just either had too severe an injury or a shit therapist.
Rabid it takes about three months to heal and my experience with lumbar surgery was eighteen months to feel 100%. I had mine in 1982 and have worked ever since. Surgical techniques have vastly improved since 1982. Good luck and prayers to your sister.My little sister just had lower lumbar spinal fusion surgery done in early February. She's still recuperating and is still in a lot of pain. As far as I know, the surgery went fine, but the full benefits of the surgery are still undetermined.
Wordon one of my clinical rotations I sat in on 2 surgeries in one day where both patients had ACDFs done (anterior cervical disc fusion) where the surgeon went in through the front of the neck. Was pretty cool. It's actually fairly simple even though it can seem intimidating just because of the nature of it. Just remember your surgeon *most likely* has an incredible knowledge of the human anatomy and you're safe. Both surgeries were done in 45 minutes to an hour once they started.
As a physical therapist I've treated dozens upon dozens of patients that have went through both lumbar and cervical spinal fusions of various spinal segments with the mid-lower segments of both L sine and C spine being the most common (C5-C7 and L3-L5). The most important thing is going to be letting it heal over the course of the first few weeks and then working on core strength and flexibility there after. You may not regain full range of motion of the neck and back because there's going to be hardware fixating your spine, but should be able to regain a large portion of it... enough to be fully functional and relatively pain free compared to what you likely are now.
if the therapist doesn't include some soft tissue work/massage to that muscle guarding along with exercises for strength and flexibility then you need to bitch at em haha
What area did you have fused? L-5 C-4 ? I can't remember if you mentioned it before. That picture is pretty frightening.
I'm not thinking very clearly right now, but I believe this one was called an L5 S1 fusion. Sounds like they are doing some weird cellphone merger in my back.
+1 on the update.How is your back doing now? I had a failed discectomy at the same level you had fused and now both my legs are just on fire with nerve pain. A fusion might be in my future but the long term outcome kinda scares me, especially only being 26. Also getting out of work for 3 months of recovery is gonna be hard to come by.
Dr. William Brooks did L4 and L5 discectomy on me in January 1982 and I worked 32 years with very few major problems. Dr. Brooks shut me down in 2014. Inoperable scar tissue and spinal stenosis. I would do it again. It got to the point that I couldn't tie my shoes and was in misery. The surgery was a no brainer for me. I just couldn't see taking pain pills the rest of my life.+1 on the update.
I had my 2nd round of lumbar steroid injections (L5 S1) 2 weeks ago and it hasn't seemed to work as well as previous (I've had at 12-15 or so over the last 7-8 years).....PT has helped this time around. Getting dry needle acupuncture this Thursday morning.
Trying to power through and get back into golf/tennis, just have to get on with life. I'm not having a discectomy or fusion unless it's extremely necessary.
Preds what happened with your discectomy?
How is your back doing now? I had a failed discectomy at the same level you had fused and now both my legs are just on fire with nerve pain. A fusion might be in my future but the long term outcome kinda scares me, especially only being 26. Also getting out of work for 3 months of recovery is gonna be hard to come by.