Does anybody know a person who has had this type of surgery. I was just told by an orthopedic surgeon that I am a candidate for this surgery. I’m wondering if anyone has had it, (and continues to do Triathlon) and what general quality of life is like post surgery.
x2
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x3 a perminent fix would be great for me, vs. live with it then miss things when it acts up.
After 4-5 years of nagging chronic back problems I ended up flat in bed in extreme pain. I finally got rid of my crappy family doctor and went to see a doctor who was an athlete and understood my desire to lead an active and healthy lifestyle.
My L5/S1 disk was completely blown out and pressing on my nerves so badly the doctor couldn’t understand why I wasn’t paralyzed in one leg. Honestly, I was in so much pain that I wish I was paralyzed.
I had my spine fused using a method that uses coral to act as a framework through which bone will grow and fuse the two vertebrae into one. It takes a little longer to heal, but from what I understand the end result in musch more natural and has better long term results.
Three months after my surgery I started training again… slowly… and nine months after my surgery I did my first IM… IMLP 2009. This year I’ll be doing #2 at IMLP.
I know of another very active guy who went through a similar things, but had titanium rods used to fuse his spine.
Key things to keep in mind…
-get a doctor you trust and who understands the mentality of someone who wants to lead a healthy, active lifestyle
-find out your options for different methods of fusing your spine and decide which is best for you
-listen to the doctors and physio when it comes to recovery. If you do waht they say and work hard without overdoing it, you should be in great shape afterwards
I’ll always have to keep on top of my core exercises, do yoga and stretching and watch my back, but that’s the kind of life I wanted anyway.
I’m so happy I had my surgery done. If you or anyone else wants to PM me with specific questions, feel free to ask. I know I wish I had someone to bounce questions off of when I was considering surgery. It is a big step, but one I’m so happy I took.
I had my spine fused from L3 to S2 in May of 2006. I’ve done three IM’s and a number of half’s and olympics since then. I have no regrets about having the surgery.
scott
A surgeon who does Triathlon himself is who looked at my MRI’s.
He is the chair of Orthopedic Surgery at the local hospital.
He suggested that I get a discectomy first (to see exactly what is going on with the disc and then possibly an epidural shot with a facet nerve block. I had an epidural about year and a half ago with no nerve block.
My herniation is at L5/S1 as well. This doctor said my pain is not from the herniation though. ( Last year my pain was down my leg) This year it is not.
That is why the dr. says now it is b/c the discs have degenerated and are compressed and now I need fusion.
I have also been dealing with this for a long time and I am tired of it. Its limiting me from doing things I want to do and effecting my live drastically.
Did you have the shots before the actual surgery ?
Sorry to keep going on…
I have 3 small children and my wife works so I take care of my kids 3-4 days a week by myself.
How long after surgery do you think I can do this.
Also…I’ve heard of fusion surgery where they go in through the front but my Dr. said my back has to be done from the rear.
How was yours done?
I’ll answer you from my perspective. I have titanium screws and braces that were used to hold the cadaver bones in place while they fused. The procedure was an anterior entry. I was in the hospital for 4 days post-op. I was working from home from the time I was discharged and was back to work a week later, but this was not ideal. The first four weeks after the surgery were miserable. I had quite a bit of pain and was convinced the procedure was a failure. After about four weeks the pain started to subside and I was able to become more active. Mostly in the form of walking and easy cycling. It was three months before I was able to start formal PT, and it wasn’t until after I started PT that I was able to swim without pain.
scott
There are several threads on this on ST, if you search the forum you should find them.
I know several people who have gone on to have great success post-fusion including IM PR’s. Trimama posts here and had her fusion a couple of years ago.
I had a microdiscectomy in Aug '08 with good, albeit temporary, success. Will be having an S1/L5 fusion (TLIF) on June 7th. I actually had 3 spine specialists agree that it is my best option at this point. All are also in agreement that the prognosis is very good.
Once they found nerve damage in my left leg, that seemed to be the sign to fuse.
Am anticipating swimming 4-6 weeks post surg, biking upright on trainer in 8-10 weeks and jogging in 14-16 weeks. Will keep you posted.
I would recommend finding a doctor who is familiar with what we do. Outcomes and averages on often based on a much more sedentary population…as I understand it, athletes tend to do much better.
Good luck!
G
I thought I was going to eventually need a microdiscectomy and after speaking to this last surgeon who is an Ironman Triathlete himself he feels it would not help me.
Probably be temporary like yours and need the fusion anyway.
I agree with everything you wrote whole heartedly and appreciate your post.
I’m going to continue to do research, get the shots and see how I feel.
thanks
How did your surgery go?
The first view is from the side, second is from the front. They ended up doing a TLIF @ S1/L5 (with rod, screws and an Aspen device) and a repeat microdiscectomy at L4/5. Report was that when they got in there, S1 and L5 were just crushed together. I have about a 3" incision right along my spine, but it is not bad at all. Pain was very manageable with meds.
I spent the night after surgery in the surgicenter, but was walking that day, started PT in a couple of days and was able to fly from Denver to DFW five days later. No, it wasn’t a fun trip, but was tolerable.
At 4 weeks out, I am making steady progress. I am walking 4-5 miles a day at 16-17 mpm pace and doing basic PT exercises. I am actually ahead of where I expected to be. Started swimming (500 yds and no flip turns) and riding on the trainer (20 mins) last week and will be adding 10 mins per week to each. I am scheduled to be able to start easy running in 3 more months. I have to wear a back brace for another couple of months (a real pleasure in the TX heat) and have been told no BLT (bending, lifting or twisting) for 3 months.
I have cut my pain meds down to one first thing in the morning and another right before bed. Hope to get rid of those soon.
I still have some nerve pain in my left leg and glute, especially when sitting and driving. I also have no S1/S2 reflex and that helps to explain why my run had fallen apart towards the end. I know that I did a fair amount of damage over the past 3-4 years. I don’t know how much that willl resolve as the nerves will heal, but with some space between S1/L5, I should not be tearing things up anymore and that is a good thing. I can live with the way things are now…if they get better, that’s a bonus. Hopefully, I will be able to maintain an active lifestyle and maybe even race again.
I wish I could have done the fusion sooner, but you have to follow the proper path…or so they tell me.
If you want more info, PM or email me.
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I still have some nerve pain in my left leg and glute, especially when sitting and driving. I also have no S1/S2 reflex and that helps to explain why my run had fallen apart towards the end. I know that I did a fair amount of damage over the past 3-4 years.
Glad to hear you’re recovering well. Based on my experience (L5/S1 fusion of my own two years ago) you’ll be able to race again as long as you don’t rush recovery and listen to your docs.
Regarding the nerve damange… It may never come back, but you can help increase the chances it will. My surgeon told me it takes approximately one month of healing for every inch of nerve damage that occured, but the length of time the nerve was damaged also factors in.
It took almost a year for my nerves to heal. I had the glute and leg sensations (or lack of sensation) you talk about and also lost a number of reflexes. That “lazy foot” was really frustrating.
One thing that really helped with my recovery was doing yoga. You need to be careful with forward bends though. Where yoga really helped was with my core strength, keeping my hips open and with getting my reflexes back. The balancing postures helped to stimulate the little muscles and got everything in the leg working together again. My doc says he figures my nerves healed much more quickly because of the yoga.
Hope your recovery continues to go well.
Jason:
I’d be VERY interested in some details on what, specific, core routines your PT (or just you) recommend as best for you given the specific issues you have. Would you mind sharing some of them? Thanks in advance
Jason:
I’d be VERY interested in some details on what, specific, core routines your PT (or just you) recommend as best for you given the specific issues you have. Would you mind sharing some of them? Thanks in advance
Wow, there were so many and different ones at different stages of my recovery.
First and foremost at every stage of recovery was walking… lots of walking. It may sound to easy to make a difference, but it really did. Walking got everything working together and lubed up all the joints.
As for specific core work… I started out with stuff like sloppy push ups and easy core exercises. Some were simply laying on my back and contracting my ab muscles in certain ways. As I got stronger and my fusion healed I was able to start doing more and more. I did a lot of balancing stuff, ball work, etc. Everything from laying on my stomach and raising my legs and arms up off the ground and holding to doing weird contortionist stuff on the ball.
There was so much and some of the stuff is difficult to explain so I’m not doing a very good job of answering your question. Sorry. I just listened to my PT and doctors and it worked. 9 months after my surgery I did IMLP.
Now that my back is completely healed and I’m in “maintenance mode” I tend to focus on core work once a week at the gym and the rest of the time I’m getting my core work from yoga (usually 3 times a week). I do Moksha, which I have found to be the most well rounded style for strengthening and stretching.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask or PM and I’ll do my best to answer.
my wife had this done. if you still have questions shoot me a pm, i’ll help if i can.
For those of you that have lower spinal fusions, how concerned are you about the additional stress on the other vertebrae from running? I have L1-L3 fused by titanium rods and screws, from an accident in which L2 burst fractured. I wonder if in 20 years, my back would be a lot better off if I just stuck to cycling and swimming or if I should enjoy the running now, because its messed up either way.
For those of you that have lower spinal fusions, how concerned are you about the additional stress on the other vertebrae from running? I have L1-L3 fused by titanium rods and screws, from an accident in which L2 burst fractured. I wonder if in 20 years, my back would be a lot better off if I just stuck to cycling and swimming or if I should enjoy the running now, because its messed up either way.
My doctors helped me to come to this point of view…
Keeping active doing the things I like to do (including running) will help me to stay healthy and strong. That will result in much better long term back health than not being active.
While an argument can be made that you can still stay healthy without running (which I realize is what you’re suggesting) I (and my doctors) don’t think running will do any further damage. The amount of “cushioning” lost due to my fusion is far less important than that which comes from having a strong core, flexible muscles and a good/functional range of motion. As long as you make sure you’re keeping that core strong and flexible (yoga is the key for me) you’re probably better off running than not.
Even after having my fusion I have fewer back issues from running and cycling in my aero position than a couple of my training buddies. I’ve taken the time keep my core strong and flexible, where as they have focused solely on their running, swimming and cycling and no crosstraining or core specific work. And despite having my fusion, I still have much more back flexibility that most people who attend classes at the yoga studio I belong to, simply because I have worked on it.
Thanks for the informative response Jason B, much appreciated.
Hmm, at almost 5 weeks post-surg I can’t imagine taking care of anybody but myself…and I still need help with that. Lifting will be very limited for quite awhile, so that will be a problem. And driving is difficult.
Depending on the age of your kids, you will want (and need) help for awhile. The consequences of overdoing it early on are just too great.
G