Day 9 Post-op Lumbar Fusion, L2-3-4

9+ years L1,2,3

Everyone is a bit different, so I can only speak to my experience. Mine was due to car wreck and included a broken femur with rod and pins and some other party favors. I now have a piece of rib and a steel cage with what I lovingly refer to as deck screws in my back.

I am blessed to get around very well now and actually lift 40-50 lbs bags at times, but in a VERY methodical manner. I've learned my limits albeit they're not as bad as I thought they would be nine years ago. That took time.

As I started writing this I saw I was likely just repeating the things your doc and physical therapists have told you. Basically have patience, be a good patient and things should get better. Yes, it starts slow. My first day after surgery (with help of two men) was back brace on, stand up, one step, sit down, lay back down and rest. On day two I sat in a chair for 30 minutes.

Here's the visual I have for this:

If you can imagine taping a small pipe to the middle of a fishing rod, that's your back now. The middle part doesn't bend, so the areas above and below the pipe will get much more stress when bending/lifting/twisting.

Some suggestions:

My Doc recommend Vitamin B Complex for nerve repair and I do believe that helped.
Since I stopped wearing the back brace (after 3 months), I've used "microbead pillows" to give my back support when sitting. Those things allow me to adjust to hit the sweet spot and not put undue stress on my back by keeping good posture. The down side is early on that had some discomfort due to the scar tissue from the incisions, but once I got settled I was fine.

Take Care

14 months out from a L2 - S1 fusion. It gets a little easier every day. The pain will diminish. Don’t skip the PT or the pain meds and whatever you do don’t fall! I’m 69 years old and I was actually able to play 9 holes of golf (long game sucks, have to learn how to twist again)in August and Went scuba diving last month. My daily walks are approaching a mile.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.