Anyone out there racing following spinal fusion and discectomy surgeries? I was hit while training for IMLP in April and have since had 2 spinal fusion surgeries (T7-9 & C6-C7, also fractured C2) and a discectomy. Fortunately I was not paralyzed. I am now starting to wonder if I will ever run or bike competitively again. The doctors are unwilling to give me any real prognosis until I am further along in my recovery. Is there anyone out there that has gone through something similar? If so, can you share some insight into your recovery? I feel lucky to be alive, but am also feeling quite depressed at the prospect of potentially not being able to do what I love.
I had a fusion years ago (like 20?)…no problems. Since then, many, many tris (3 IMs) and many, many marathons). And, my guess would be that with “new technology” you may even have fewer recovery “issues”…
I had a fusion @ C6-C7 in 2002, I thought i would never get back from it in fact I had the ER doctor tell me that life as I lived it was never going to be the same again. Arsehole!!! I can say that now I do have some occasional pain I am ok. Once in awhile I get sore from being in the aero position to long. From what my surgeon told me he has given fusions to pro football players & they have continued to play once they were healed up. It will take time but do your rehab & you will be back!
C6-7 on 11/20/06 - I was flat on my back for a little over a month, and on some pretty good drugs. Christmas day, I woke up wishing I was dead - lots of pain - took several pain pills and drank lots of liquor. I can’t tell you anything about Christmas. I woke up on 12/26, and was in NO pain at all - and have not been since. I started with walking/running on 12/30. All in all a little under 6 weeks I was back on my feet.
That is the kind of story that I wanted to hear. I am hopeful to get back to where I was before my accident. I know it is going to take time and hard work.
Was your fusion a result of an injury? I am just extremely frustrated/impatient and want to know where I can expect to be in a year or two. I am also guessing that the psychological aspect of getting back on the bike is going to be difficult for me due to my accident.
Any way, thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!
That is the kind of story that I wanted to hear. I am hopeful to get back to where I was before my accident. I know it is going to take time and hard work.
Was your fusion a result of an injury? I am just extremely frustrated/impatient and want to know where I can expect to be in a year or two. I am also guessing that the psychological aspect of getting back on the bike is going to be difficult for me due to my accident.
Any way, thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!
Physical pain lasted up until Christmas. There was lots of, um, mental stress as I lost lots of strength on my right side, which I had not gotten built back up until nearly March of this year. It felt crazy to have to have my wife open a bottle of soda because I can’t grab the cap tight enough to turn. Plan on not being 100% for at least 6 months, though after 2 months life gets easier.
Mine was not the result of an accident. I was carrying about 100 lbs of computer equipment and sneezed. I was tensed up and had my head turned just wrong. It took just over a year to go through everything (rest, PT, injections, stem, etc.) before a surgeon said “OK, lets do surgery”.
I had four vertabrae fused (L3-S1) in late May of last year. I started doing short rides on my fixed-gear in mid July. Was riding 40-50 miles at a time by the end of August. Started swimming in Sept/Oct. Water running in November. Running for real at x-mas. I’m now swimming 12-15k per week; riding 200-300 miles per week; and running 30-40 miles per week.
The first 6-8 weeks post op were hell. I don’t do well with pain meds, and I had a real tough time getting the pain under control. The more pain, the more tension, the more muscle spasms, the more pain… Doctor put me on fetanyl patches after ~8 weeks which got the pain under control and I made steady improvement from that point on. I went off the pain patches in Sept. and haven’t had any kind of pain meds since December.
The surgeon went through my abdomen (just below the abdominal muscle wall), which avoided muscle damage to the lower back, but I still lost all “core strength”. When I started swimming, I literally had to learn to swim again. Keeping my legs up was impossible, and I’m still trying to regain the rhythm of my legs, hips, arms working together.
Running was similar to swimming. The muscles in my legs didn’t seem to fire as I expected. I ran very awkwardly for the first few weeks. I feel much smoother now when running, but my run speed (which wasn’t great to start with) is lacking.
I raced (oly distance) for the first time in three years a couple of weeks ago. Wasn’t my best performance, but not my worst either. I’m just happy to be back doing it again.
Be patient during the first few weeks post op and get the pain/muscle spasms under control. Be committed to the physical therapy, and be patient with your progress.
I had surgery first part of December, was not in good shape and “normal” until April - so 4 months of recovery. The “trick” is (as I’m sure you have been told) - listen to how you feel and do not overdue it.
I am approaching my 18 year anniversary of having my C6,C7 and T1 fused together after a gymnastics accident. I was 12 years old at the time and gave up only football. 1 year later I was 100% healthy, but a little underdeveloped compared to my peers. 2 years later I was completely fine and went on to be successful in every sport but triathlon. My lack of success has less to do with fusion and more to do with beer however. I experience stiffness occasionally and try not to think about crashing. Performance wise I don’t feel as though I am at a competitive disadvantage.
Not sure exactly what you mean by implants, but they put a whole bunch of titanium hardware in my back and neck. Used some sort of synthetic substance for the graf in my back. For the discectomy they used cadaver bone.
And to everyone else, thanks for all of the replies. It’s nice to hear your success stories.
Glad to hear that you are back competing. That is fantastic. I am about 8-9 weeks out from surgery and still in a lot of pain. Just underwent an EMG to determine the extent of the nerve damage in my arm and unfortunately my right deltoid isn’t working at all. Now I need another MRI and to see another specialist. At least my legs are fine… so maybe next year I can do some running races again.