When I walk it feels as if I have ledshoes on! My knees also hurt.. I'm worried that I will never walk normal again. I'm am @7 weeks post op. Anyone else have this type of issue after lumbar spinal fusion?
And how long did it take to feel you have your gait back? Thanks LJE😍
Hi again 😊, are you having physio?
It takes a long time to heal from a fussion so what I would say is please dont push it and listen to your body, if it hurts then stop.
I won't compare it to mine because like I said previous I had no after care but I hope someone is taking care of you
You need to give yourself at least 9-12 months for the fussion to set which is why you really can't push this or long term you will suffer.
Have you tried ice? I find it works good for me but some people prefer heat, 20 mins on 20 mins off and over a t shirt not on the skin.
Let me know if there's anything else I can help with 😊
7 weeks is still really early days, take care 😊
Have you been basically off your feet for over two months? If yes, your muscles have atrophied. Think of someone with a broken leg in a cast for 8 weeks. Leg becomes a toothpick as all the muscles (quads, glutes, hammies, core) have wasted away. I had a knee replaced last year and was just getting started regaining my strength last October (yes...toothpick legs after 7-8 months) when I got stenosis at L2/L3. Knocked me down until surgery 7 weeks ago. Hope to get neuro clearance to restart exercise.
It's very frustrating, especially after playing hockey for 45 years and having very strong legs...which are now toast. I had a spinal fusion L3 through S1 over two years ago...PT helped IMMENSELY! Leg pressing 230 pounds within 8 weeks of starting PT. I got a lot of my strength back quickly because I'm a rehab freak and really worked at it.
Have you done any PT? That would be helpful along with a supervised exercise program that specifically avoids stress on the fusion for quite a while. Golfers are told not to swing a club for 6 months and then gradually expand their range of motion over the next six. Gotta let the fusion actually "fuse" but that does not stop you from working your legs, glutes and abs.
That's very interesting information thank you. So is it muscle weakness/atrophy that causes the legs to feel so heavy as I have this problem too but I haven't had surgery but I do have 3 slipped lumber disks.
When you are in pain that emanates from your spine, lots of things happen...
- You slow down
- You avoid activities that bring on the pain, especially exercise
- You change your gait, which can...
- ...cause hip and spine misalignments that result in...
- ...more back pain, sciatica and more
Basically, you lead a more sedentary lifestyle because you want to avoid the pain. This lets your muscles weaken over time...so slowly that you never notice it until you look back on a longer time span and wonder how you got to the state you're in.
But this happens very quickly after experiencing a broken limb, joint replacement or spine surgery. Within 8 weeks, your muscles are gone. That's why we do the PT afterward...to regain range of motion (ROM) and then work on strengthening.
Case in point...knee replacement. Had my TKR in March of '16. With my left quad and glute completely shot, I was unable to use that leg to get to the next step on stairs so I'd go up one step at a time with my good leg first. Now after my LLIF fusion, I need to rebuild all that leg strength again in order to climb stairs like a normal person in the future.
Does all this make sense? If you're healthy, you have to keep moving in order to maintain your body strength. If you are injured, you have to get it fixed, take the muscle hit and then work like hell to get a normal life back. There's really no other way. I've had a replaced hip and knee plus three spine surgeries. Believe me...
I am due this op in 2 wks but 7 wks is still quite early may take some time to feel normal again
That's why I asked if he was having physio, you need someone to take you through the steps to recovery, it's just as bad to not use your body as it is to over use it and that's why you need after care, i was a personal trainer before all this but after my opp I really didn't know what had hit me, I went back to the gym and started Back to basics but never seem to progress, it was 7 years before I found out about the cyst, I just hope he's having physio, great advice chiko on swinging a golf club😊
I wrote this for my TKR group...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
...with help from my daughter, the ACSM- and ACE-certified personal trainer and graduate nutritionist. She overcame Stage 3 breast cancer from 3 years ago and kicks P90X's a$$. Hope it helps.
I had spinal fusion in March 2015, T2 - T7 after suffering cancer in T5.
Was bedridden for the first couple of months, paralyzed from the waist down at first and could not even wiggle my toes.
Doctors and physio said at that stage nobody knew if I would ever get the use of my legs back again.
They slowly came back and it took until Jan 2016 before I took my first steps unassisted. My legs were like toothpicks as they say and I struggled to walk even short distances at first, even just to stand.
By March 2016 I was walking 100 mtrs a day and slowly building up my leg muscles again doing squats and heel lifts, the best exercises of all for anyone learning to walk again.
Since then I have walked over 900 km and done over 50,00 each squats and heel lifts and for the first time in my life my legs are actually muscular !
Can now get around the house and garden without the walking stick but use it when I go out to big shopping centres etc.
The secret is to work hard and exercise until it hurts, in my case it meant spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair, or not.
My legs still feel heavy at times but I have reached the point where I can walk 3km and do 250 squats and heel lifts in just over 60 minutes.
A lot of learning to walk again is based on muscle memory, you can tell when it is coming back because you get to the stage where you are taking steps without looking at your feet and thinking about it. You just do it.
I watched my one year old son take his first steps in September 2014, and when I was teaching myself to walk again I often thought "If he can do it, I can do it" lol
Exercise and work hard on it, it's the only way to get those legs working again !
Since I've had 3 spine surgeries plus hip and knee replacements, I can tell you...from my experiences which may not necessarily translate to yours since we all heal differently...
- Laminectomy L4/L5 for bone spur. Walked out that day. Zero rehab. Sciatic nerve inflammation gone in a week.
- Right Hip Replacement. Ten days hospital and rehab facility. Then hit the therapy pool and gym 5 hours a day, six days a week. Full rehab done and back to work in six weeks. No cane, no pain, no meds. Like it never happened.
- LLIF (Lateral) Spinal Fusion L2/L3. Walking and climbing stairs two hours after waking up. One night hospital stay, no rehab. Decreasing nerve pain in front of quads for 6 weeks.
- L3 through S1 Spinal Fusion. Typical rails and screws. 10 days in the hospital, 3-4 months rehab. No pain at six months, continued strengthening lower back afterwards. Could no longer touch my toes (who cares...I'm 69). No residual pain, full functioning even now at 2+ years.
- Left Knee Replacement. THE BIG BAD ONE!!! Writhing in pain and drooling on myself for over a month...even on Percocet AND Flexeril. 10 weeks of very painful rehab as the PT has to break down all the scar tissue. Started at -14 degrees straight and +84 degrees bent. Finished rehab at -1 straight and +123 bent. Goal is 0 / +120...finished it on my own. You only start feeling better in the six to nine month range...full rehab with strengthening takes a FULL YEAR!!! My most difficult surgery ever...rather have four more kidney stones. And I still have one more knee to go...
The lesson: We all heal at different rates but a lot also depends on your commitment to the rehab process. I could push the hip...and did...to recover quickly. Spines and knees cannot be pushed. It's always a slow, lengthy process that takes a strong will and dedication to the recovery. You have to OWN it!!!
My legs and knees began to hurt terribly on day 10 post op multi level fusion l4-s1. My docs gave me a steroid pack for 1 week and it immediately took the leg/knee pain away . Apparently a fusion inflames the nerves, some feel it more than others. I am now 4 1/2 weeks post op and I still use ice about once per day and my legs and knees have not bothered me at all. Maybe they can check for inflamed nerves? They can't be treated with nsaids as they prevent fusion but short courses of steroids work without preventing fusion . I know there is some controversy about this but my neurosurgeon is strong in his passion against nsaids until fusion is achieved. Hope you get some answers!
Hello All,
Thank you for your informative and encouraging replies!
I'm climbing my stairs several times a day and still watching my feet! Lol guess 7 weeks is still early.... but feels long long time!
I will be starting physical therapy end of May ! Sounds like that will be key to optimal healing! However sounds like golf is on back burner! Relief to hear that being committed to excersise and physical therapy!
So next when can I pick up my 30 lb Grandson lol! Thanks for replies! 👍😍LJE
The location of the post-op pain coincides with the nerve roots affected during the fusion. My recent LLIF of L2/L3 inflamed the nerves in the front of my thighs (quads) just as the neuro predicted.
Nerve pain is hard to stop. I refused the gabapentin (puts 20 pounds on you in a month) and Lyrica (totally ineffective on me), so I went with topicals like Aspercreme with 4% Lidocaine to numb the nerves. Started a few days after surgery and decreased over 6 weeks. Pain is pain...you get past it.
The fusion was perfect. Walking and climbing stairs within 2 hours of waking up, one night in the hospital and now zero stenosis pain. Good decision to get it done laterally.
Sorry but gabapentin does not cause weight gain - where have you found that information?
I have to disagree with you. It is listed as one of the side effects , rapid weight gain. I am also an RN . I did not take the job but I know many people who have been prescribed it and weight gain is a problem for some people, not all but for some it is.
I have to agree it is listed as a side affect . My best friends a pharmacist and she agree with this statement too.
I experienced it firsthand...so did my wife. Also, I was married to a pharmacist for 25 years and know how to do the research on side effects and interactions. I even know the difference between the opioid painkillers oxycodone (Vicodin and Norco) and hydrocodone (Percocet)...do you? Do you know that you have a 1 in 100,000 chance of getting serotonin poisoning if you mix duloxetine with codeine or anything based on the codeine molecule...and it can kill you? Listen to a PHARMACIST...they know more about the drugs than all the doctors put together. If you didn't experience weight gain on gabapentin, consider yourself a lucky one.
WARNING: If you rely on the doctors checking for drug interactions before they prescribe or your pharmacy's computer for catching something bad, you're a fool. ALWAYS check for drug interactions YOURSELF before you take ANY medicine...even OTC products!!! Docs almost killed my wife with serotonin poisoning. The ER docs were clueless...it took the hospital pharmacist to figure out what was wrong. Sorry if I sound stern, but I'm very sensitive on this topic. Educate yourself on the meds...challenge the doc when he prescribes...protect your own life. Warning complete...
Everyone is affected differently by the drugs they take. I have heard of quite a few people stating this particular drug caused weight gain, for them.
I went through 6 months of chemo, 8 doses in all, without once suffering nausea which amazed the doctors and nurses.
Fentalyn was the first hard core drug I was put on, my doc really did not go into detail about the do's and dont's and one of the main things was not to have hot baths as it releases more of the drug into your system and can kill you, I don't take anything now without researching as much as I can first