Pre-surgery PT started this morning..

[trapdoor2]

Oooh. Sore legs from stretching!

I haven't done much in the way of stretching in years...and it is showing!

Doing simple "step up, step down" type plus various leg stretches (all standing) have my thigh, calf and achilles barking at me.

Go ahead, pick up enough weight to get you to 360lbs total (my weight). Now step up on a step with one foot and then let the other one down to barely touch the next step down (unsupported)...and then back up. Do that 10X...and then another set. Then switch legs and repeat. That one made me break a sweat!

If they keep this up till they cut me, I'll be able to leg-press the surgical table...in sets.

L5-S1 spinal fusion in a month. I'm sure I'll be in PT for a while after that...

 

[Bob M]

I had L3,4 and 5 fused 2 years ago. I’m still going to physical therapy twice a week and work with a personal trainer twice a week as well. Every situation is different. In my case there was a lot of scar tissue that the surgeon didn’t anticipate. I did 2 stints of short term rehab in 2021. I walked with a walker for 6 months and got rid of my cane around Christmas. I’m walking, but it isn’t easy. I see constant improvement-but it’s slow. You will need patience. I have met wonderful therapists, nurses and doctors. Follow their instructions. But remember-you can’t rush it. Steady work will get you there. Good luck my friend! Looking forward to hearing from you regarding your progress.

Regards,

Bob M

 

[MisterZ]

Follow the instructions. Those sadistic therapists do actually know their stuff.

 

[imwjl]

Oooh. Sore legs from stretching!

I haven't done much in the way of stretching in years...and it is showing!

Doing simple "step up, step down" type plus various leg stretches (all standing) have my thigh, calf and achilles barking at me.

Go ahead, pick up enough weight to get you to 360lbs total (my weight). Now step up on a step with one foot and then let the other one down to barely touch the next step down (unsupported)...and then back up. Do that 10X...and then another set. Then switch legs and repeat. That one made me break a sweat!

If they keep this up till they cut me, I'll be able to leg-press the surgical table...in sets.

L5-S1 spinal fusion in a month. I'm sure I'll be in PT for a while after that...

My sincere best wishes for the prep, surgery and weight matters. In addition to high hopes for the surgery outcome, I'll be hoping it will all be sustainable and a great help for quality of life. Good Luck!!!!

 

[Stubee]

I haven’t had spinal surgery but several others and PT is sure important. Glad to hear you’ve started pre-op and hope you get good results from the fusion.

 

[trapdoor2]

I had L3,4 and 5 fused 2 years ago. I’m still going to physical therapy twice a week and work with a personal trainer twice a week as well. Every situation is different. In my case there was a lot of scar tissue that the surgeon didn’t anticipate. I did 2 stints of short term rehab in 2021. I walked with a walker for 6 months and got rid of my cane around Christmas. I’m walking, but it isn’t easy. I see constant improvement-but it’s slow. You will need patience. I have met wonderful therapists, nurses and doctors. Follow their instructions. But remember-you can’t rush it. Steady work will get you there. Good luck my friend! Looking forward to hearing from you regarding your progress.

Regards,

Bob M

I worked with a guy who had progressive (one at a time over a few years) fusions of 3, 4 & 5. He always claimed that each time, his golf handicap got smaller!

Mine is supposedly the simplest, most common. MRI review sez I'm on the low end of the age-related issues (like stenosis or arthritis or spurs, etc.) so prognosis is good. Pain is a great motivator. I'm looking forward to the PT in hopes I'll be ahead of the game...and I've already lost 12lbs since January 1.

I think I'm lucky to be getting pre-op PT. Nobody I know (who has had this) has had pre-op PT. They've all had sudden problems with immediate corrective surgery. I've known for 20 yrs but have been able to hold off.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

Had back problems for a couple of years, until a couple of vertebrae decided to make nice. Did their own fusion, or at least wore on each other so the nerves weren't being pressured. Problem disappeared. Yes, I am freaky in that way, too.

Apparently, I'd had a broken or at least cracked neck from early adolescence (my brother pushed me off a roof). About 10 years ago, it went car-ICK! when I was moving across town and a buddy lost hold on a mattress going upstairs, slamming me against a wall. Thereafter, freaky hornets-stinging-me sensations would start in my wrists, climb up my arms, zap my legs and face--just a nightmare. The docs traced the bad vibes back to my neck, did the X rays & etc.'s, a couple of ineffective epidurals, etc. So I had a C1 and C2 fusion. Yes, a big deal--they move the esophagus out of the way, for example--but worked like a charm. I do have to take Lyrica twice a day, and feel the old symptoms returning if I forget a dose. But otherwise, I don't even think about that problem. It's amazing what They can do these days.

So confident best wishes to you, @trapdoor2. Show us your power-chord windmills once you've recovered!

 

[bluesfordan]

my brother whom I live with is about to have surgery tomorrow on his neck and spine, all of his cervical vertebra will probably be fused. It's going to be a long recuperation, the doctor said 3-4 months.

Bro has always been a gym rat, so he has advantage a lot of people don't have. He will have PT after, of course. We're going to have a parade of visiting nurses and PT over the next couple of months.

He had similar surgery 9 years ago, using bone grafts. The stenosis has gotten worse since then. This time it will be metal rods and plates and fusion. We've known this day was coming for some time. I've actually held off on construction here until after we get through this. No point in spending money on the house if we have to give it up. He's the breadwinner and I am dependent on him for a place to live.

 

[boris bubbanov]

Follow the instructions. Those sadistic therapists do actually know their stuff.

Follow the instructions from the surgeon. The therapists are just following orders - don't over-estimate their insight as to what is going on. They will watch a patient tear their body to pieces, if your pain threshold is high enough.

But yeah, the only great results come for the patients who are super diligent and don't slack off on the PT. But if something seems haywire, by all means go back and talk to your surgeon or get a second ortho opinion.

 

[bluesfordan]

PT is key. I rehabbed a knee that the lead surgeon was ready to fuse. The younger attending surgeon said "He's only 22 years old, let me try something" My knee is in the New England Journal of Medicine. I did the rehab like Rocky Balboa training for a fight. I invented a loop to bend my knee while lying on my stomach, pulling the loop over my shoulder. I made it out of a couple of towels. Today that loop is a purpose made leather strap used by PT everywhere.

A couple years later, I was delivering pizza on campus, with 2 buildings that had 10 floors and one that had 8 floors. I never took the elevators, always the stairs. One time I heard a girl calling to me from the elevator as I ran through the lobby to the stairwell. I got to the 10th floor, got to the room and a few seconds later, the girl who called out to me came up behind me. "You beat the elevator. The only time I've ever gone from lobby to 10th floor without stopping and you beat the elevator."

 

[ZackyDog]

Best wishes! Don't be afraid to speak up if you think that you are being pushed too hard.


I was in PT for several months following my medically induced coma.

 

[Kandinskyesque]

Best wishes when the surgery happens trapdoor.
I love the attitude you have towards the prep.
Keep on keepin' on (and avoid lycra!!!)

 

[trapdoor2]

Update: Going in tomorrow morning, 0800

L5-S1 fusion. Spread the two vertebrae, remove trashed disc, roto-rooter some minor stenosis, grind some spurs, install a shim, drive a couple of screws...piece of cake, Robotics and everything...

Might be home by dark...might keep me overnight.

Then...back to PT! Hopefully no sciatica for a long time. I'll be glad to get back to my 2-3mi daily walks...lose some weight and maybe get back on my bike.

 

[LeftFinger]

I had it done 11 months ago
best decision I ever made
They kept me in 3 days but everybody's different

 

[papa32203]

Follow the instructions from the surgeon. The therapists are just following orders - don't over-estimate their insight as to what is going on. They will watch a patient tear their body to pieces, if your pain threshold is high enough.

But yeah, the only great results come for the patients who are super diligent and don't slack off on the PT. But if something seems haywire, by all means go back and talk to your surgeon or get a second ortho opinion.

Boris,

As a Physical Therapist with 30 years experience, I cannot tell you (respectfully), how far off-base your comment on therapists is. We very rarely get instructions from surgeons, and don't just "follow orders". Yes, there are protocols post-op, but the skill is in creating the proper rehab plan for the particular patient- considering multiple variables and factors.

Quite frankly, the majority of my patients have not had surgery, don't need surgery, and should not be considering surgery (especially spine surgery). They come in with "orders" from some Nurse Practitioner or Physician's Assistant that say things like "Eval and treat for shoulder pain". I take it from there.

I, and my colleagues, know way more about the rehab process than almost any medical doctor, NP, or PA out there. If you- or anyone else- has a PT who will "watch a patient tear their body to pieces, if your pain threshold is high enough", you should be shopping for a new therapist.

Just like lawyers, mechanics, surgeons and garbage men, there are good and bad.

Come and see me and you will be in good hands.

My profession has not done a good job of educating the general public- or, for that matter fellow medical practitioners- on the actual skillset that physical therapists bring to the table. Consider this me doing my small part here.

Carry on!

 

[trapdoor2]

My surgeons instructions were minimal. "Go to PT." The therapy team got all their info at my first day's interview...not from the surgeon.

I have a team of three therapists. #1 is wonderful. She is specific, pays attention, tracks my progress and doesn't let me cheat. #2 simply follows #1s notes, pays attention...but he is a "pusher" (More! That looks too easy, do it higher/longer, etc.). #3 is inattentive & bored but nice. I almost have to tell her what to do...and last session, she forgot to have me do any warm up stretching. I won't let her do that again.

Nobody's hurt me but I also am not injured...yet. I will be more sensitive of my limits after surgery tomorrow.

 

[teletail]

Boris,

As a Physical Therapist with 30 years experience, I cannot tell you (respectfully), how far off-base your comment on therapists is. We very rarely get instructions from surgeons, and don't just "follow orders". Yes, there are protocols post-op, but the skill is in creating the proper rehab plan for the particular patient- considering multiple variables and factors.

Quite frankly, the majority of my patients have not had surgery, don't need surgery, and should not be considering surgery (especially spine surgery). They come in with "orders" from some Nurse Practitioner or Physician's Assistant that say things like "Eval and treat for shoulder pain". I take it from there.

I, and my colleagues, know way more about the rehab process than almost any medical doctor, NP, or PA out there. If you- or anyone else- has a PT who will "watch a patient tear their body to pieces, if your pain threshold is high enough", you should be shopping for a new therapist.

Just like lawyers, mechanics, surgeons and garbage men, there are good and bad.

Come and see me and you will be in good hands.

My profession has not done a good job of educating the general public- or, for that matter fellow medical practitioners- on the actual skillset that physical therapists bring to the table. Consider this me doing my small part here.

Carry on!

I couldn’t agree with you more. I was in a bad motorcycle accident 15 years ago and spent 2 weeks in ICU and 2 weeks at a rehab facility followed by years of PT. 99.9% of my physical therapists were knowledgeable, caring individuals. To generalize that physical therapists are pushing people to hurt themselves is just … well, I won’t say because I don’t want to get suspended.

 

[1guy]

Hope all's well with you and your health and you're on the mend...

One thing I can say about this forum... whatever you think, do, or are going through, someone else is doing the same.

I've got surgery scheduled for later today.. nothing major, but everyone I spoke to said the recovery...4 weeks or so is painful.

The problem is I haven't been able to play much, over the last week, and I have a new guitar...that ish is driving me crazy!

Worst thing in the world is having a new toy and just looking at it.

 

[mrfitz98]

Had a discectomy at L5 in 1995 while I was in the Army, who was it that recognized I had a problem that should be evaluated for surgical intervention? The physical therapist. I had crushed the disc while attempting to hook a trailer up to a truck (the 2nd Lt who told me he had raised the prop leg at the back of the trailer admitted after my injury that he didn't know what the prop leg was, but that he didn't think it was important...) and the doctor never examined me, just put me on rest for two weeks.

My current therapist at the VA is a doctor, and anytime I've run into issues that won't heal on their own they have been excellent about developing a plan for me. I just had my shoulder rebuilt. I had a month of PT before the rebuild, and now, 6 weeks post-op (2 weeks into post-op PT), I have full range of motion and we'll be starting the strengthening this week. I think the therapists are as important as the surgeons.

 

[teletimetx]

Best of luck, @trapdoor2 !