Spinal Fusion

[Omgitsme]

Hey y’all, hope you are well.

I’ve had health issues on and off my whole life and it recently culminated into the need to have lumbar fusion surgery. My L5 and S1 vertebrae are currently being held in place by some titanium rods. The disc was removed and the plan is that the two vertebrae with grow together into one.
I’ve been recovering for nearly a month and I’m starting to wonder if it will ever be “better”

So essentially, have any of you had back surgery (particularly lumbar region) and what were your final results? How long did it take to really heal?

Thank y’all in advance.

[Where_sMyWhite]

I had a far more extensive spinal fusion. The clamshell didn’t come off for 5 months. One month isn’t that long for bone to heal. Patience can be hard, I know

[Omgitsme]

@Where'sMyWhite

I had a far more extensive spinal fusion. The clamshell didn’t come off for 5 months. One month isn’t that long for bone to heal. Patience can be hard, I know

I appreciate that! Have you been able to ride since?

[Where_sMyWhite]

@Omgitsme

I appreciate that! Have you been able to ride since?

I don’t want to discourage you. Me? No to be honest. Having said that, mine was not a straightforward case and riding was probably on the over optimistic side.

[Omgitsme]

@Where'sMyWhite

I don’t want to discourage you. Me? No to be honest. Having said that, mine was not a straightforward case and riding was probably on the over optimistic side.

I’m really sorry to hear that. I guess I’ll find out in the next few months

thanks so much for taking time to answer my panic post!

[Where_sMyWhite]

@Omgitsme

I’m really sorry to hear that. I guess I’ll find out in the next few months

thanks so much for taking time to answer my panic post!

Firstly, don’t panic.

Second, follow your Dr’s directions and be patient during healing. Bones heal slolwly regardless of where they are.

Is your pain decreasing or increasing or staying the same?

When you say “better”, what were you hoping would be improved that isn’t yet?

[Junior123]

@Omgitsme

Hey y’all, hope you are well.

I’ve had health issues on and off my whole life and it recently culminated into the need to have lumbar fusion surgery. My L5 and S1 vertebrae are currently being held in place by some titanium rods. The disc was removed and the plan is that the two vertebrae with grow together into one.
I’ve been recovering for nearly a month and I’m starting to wonder if it will ever be “better”

So essentially, have any of you had back surgery (particularly lumbar region) and what were your final results? How long did it take to really heal?

Thank y’all in advance.

Hi OP. I had multiple procedures on L3 through S1, including hardware, in April 2017. It takes quite a long time for bone to heal and a fusion to be considered “complete”. I was stuck in the brace for two months, which surprised me because I was told to expect to wear it for three months, minimum. I returned to riding about a week short of four months post op.

Something that was very helpful to me was searching the forum for spinal surgery threads to read about others’ experiences. Not only did I do this (quite some time) before my surgery, I also went back and read them again after my surgery. I found a lot of good information - and encouraging stories from folks who have had back surgery.

If you want more information on my procedures/recovery, I’d be happy to share with you.

[Laurierace]

I had laminectomies, disc decompressions and fusions done at L3 to L5 in November. I have zero pain in my back, still have some pain in one leg that seems to be at least in part related to my back though. I am In PT still and started acupuncture this week which helps a little.
I was cleared to ride as tolerated week 5 but most of the time I didn’t have access to a horse. Now that I am home I have ridden several times for short periods. No pain at all at the walk, most days no pain at the trot. Some pain at the canter so most days I don’t canter but I figured out I could two point the canter the other day so that is progress.
The first week sucked for sure but each week since has been better than the week before as a whole with some peaks and valleys along the way. You still have a long ways to go.

[Omgitsme]

@Where'sMyWhite

Firstly, don’t panic.

Second, follow your Dr’s directions and be patient during healing. Bones heal slolwly regardless of where they are.

Is your pain decreasing or increasing or staying the same?

When you say “better”, what were you hoping would be improved that isn’t yet?

My surgeon told me pre-op that, “most of my patients who have this surgery have been in pain for so long they bounce back quickly.” He said some of his patients have returned two weeks after surgery. I’m in week 4 and I had to get a refill of the oxycodone which shocked me as I’m very tolerant of pain. Of course, I only had to have the refill because my leg gave out when I was getting out of a car and I hit my back pretty hard on the car door.

I was foolish and didn’t ask any questions at my first post-op appointment (pretty sure I was still riding the muscle relaxer wave).
I’ve written down questions for this time around (I see him again the 12).

I’m just getting so antsy. I’m pretty independent so not being able to go down stairs alone and having to bring a chair into the shower are making me a little batty. I can’t drive so I’m mostly housebound.

[Omgitsme]

@Junior123

Hi OP. I had multiple procedures on L3 through S1, including hardware, in April 2017. It takes quite a long time for bone to heal and a fusion to be considered “complete”. I was stuck in the brace for two months, which surprised me because I was told to expect to wear it for three months, minimum. I returned to riding about a week short of four months post op.

Something that was very helpful to me was searching the forum for spinal surgery threads to read about others’ experiences. Not only did I do this (quite some time) before my surgery, I also went back and read them again after my surgery. I found a lot of good information - and encouraging stories from folks who have had back surgery.

If you want more information on my procedures/recovery, I’d be happy to share with you.

I would really appreciate that!
Pre-op my surgeon told me I won’t be back in the saddle for a minimum of three months, but he would prefer I wait nine months. Anything I can do to hurry along the healing is greatly appreciated. (Obviously I can’t make my bones grow faster, but I can at least regain strength in my legs.)

[Omgitsme]

@Laurierace

I had laminectomies, disc decompressions and fusions done at L3 to L5 in November. I have zero pain in my back, still have some pain in one leg that seems to be at least in part related to my back though. I am In PT still and started acupuncture this week which helps a little.
I was cleared to ride as tolerated week 5 but most of the time I didn’t have access to a horse. Now that I am home I have ridden several times for short periods. No pain at all at the walk, most days no pain at the trot. Some pain at the canter so most days I don’t canter but I figured out I could two point the canter the other day so that is progress.
The first week sucked for sure but each week since has been better than the week before as a whole with some peaks and valleys along the way. You still have a long ways to go.

I think at this point I’m just super antsy. I can’t leave the house without a chauffeur and I’m really tired of it. I’m hoping at my appointment next week he can at least give me exercises to do so I can officially put my walker into the attic.

[Laurierace]

I was cleared to ditch the walk at day 5 and was driving at 3 weeks. Are you still on pain meds?

[Omgitsme]

@Laurierace

I was cleared to ditch the walk at day 5 and was driving at 3 weeks. Are you still on pain meds?

Really depends on the day. I was doing just muscle relaxers for a while, then I hit the car with my back and got more oxy. Now I’m off the muscle relaxers and only take half an oxy at night if needed. Honestly it’s my mother who refuses to let me drive. To be fair, my car is lower to the ground and I’m still having strength issues pushing up from a seated position. My surgeon said he really had to wrench my muscles apart to get to the spine.

[Where_sMyWhite]

OP, if you are on muscle relaxers or opiates (oxy), I suspect you should not be driving as you may be considered under the influence of drugs. Scrip or not, probably ought not be driving.

No need to rush recovery. You’ll get there and we all recover differently. Back surgery is non-trivial even when it sounds like it should be.

[WellOkay]

I had an L5-S1 fusion in 2016. Mine was an anterior and posterior fusion, so I had an incision in the lower abdominal area in addition to the ones on the back for the sextant.

The first month was awful sleep-wise, I would wake up every 1.5 hrs in excruciating pain and then experience more excruciating pain while trying to roll over to the other side. This got better when my incisions healed more and I could sleep on my back with a wedge pillow under my legs.

At first, walking was painful and so so slow. By 3 weeks post-op I was walking at least 3 miles/day, everyday until I went back to work at 12 weeks (mostly because I was bored and couldn’t really do much of anything else). I think that had a lot to do with my recovery going so well.

My neurosurgeon wasn’t thrilled about my wanting to ride still, but he told me to wait until I was done with PT to get back in the saddle. I did PT 2 or 3 times per week for 3-4 months (can’t remember specifics), so by the time all was said and done I was out of the saddle for about 7.5 months.

4 years later, I have ZERO regrets about the surgery. Any “bad” days I have now are much milder than my good days were pre-fusion and typically happen after I’m stubborn and try to lift something heavy-ish that I know I shouldn’t. I have occasional twinges in the SI area, but those don’t happen as long as I keep on top of staying active and stretching. I’m actually 32 weeks pregnant now and have had minimal back pain…very thankful for my titanium reinforcement!

Just hold in there and listen to everything your care team is telling you. It’s a serious surgery and the recovery just takes time. I didn’t feel “normal” until probably a good 6 months after surgery. Some of that was needing to rebuild muscle/stamina/let my nerves recover, some of it was needing to feel comfortable about using my body normally (especially after coming out of the back brace).

[Laurierace]

@WellOkay

I had an L5-S1 fusion in 2016. Mine was an anterior and posterior fusion, so I had an incision in the lower abdominal area in addition to the ones on the back for the sextant.

The first month was awful sleep-wise, I would wake up every 1.5 hrs in excruciating pain and then experience more excruciating pain while trying to roll over to the other side. This got better when my incisions healed more and I could sleep on my back with a wedge pillow under my legs.

At first, walking was painful and so so slow. By 3 weeks post-op I was walking at least 3 miles/day, everyday until I went back to work at 12 weeks (mostly because I was bored and couldn’t really do much of anything else). I think that had a lot to do with my recovery going so well.

My neurosurgeon wasn’t thrilled about my wanting to ride still, but he told me to wait until I was done with PT to get back in the saddle. I did PT 2 or 3 times per week for 3-4 months (can’t remember specifics), so by the time all was said and done I was out of the saddle for about 7.5 months.

4 years later, I have ZERO regrets about the surgery. Any “bad” days I have now are much milder than my good days were pre-fusion and typically happen after I’m stubborn and try to lift something heavy-ish that I know I shouldn’t. I have occasional twinges in the SI area, but those don’t happen as long as I keep on top of staying active and stretching. I’m actually 32 weeks pregnant now and have had minimal back pain…very thankful for my titanium reinforcement!

Just hold in there and listen to everything your care team is telling you. It’s a serious surgery and the recovery just takes time. I didn’t feel “normal” until probably a good 6 months after surgery. Some of that was needing to rebuild muscle/stamina/let my nerves recover, some of it was needing to feel comfortable about using my body normally (especially after coming out of the back brace).

Thanks! I had the surgery in November and am doing great for the most part. Good luck with your baby

[Omgitsme]

@Where'sMyWhite

OP, if you are on muscle relaxers or opiates (oxy), I suspect you should not be driving as you may be considered under the influence of drugs. Scrip or not, probably ought not be driving.

No need to rush recovery. You’ll get there and we all recover differently. Back surgery is non-trivial even when it sounds like it should be.

I’ve been off meds for a while now. Saw my surgeon and have officially been discharged as a patient! He said I don’t have limitations but to ease back into things and be smart. I don’t plan to ride until next month and even then I’ll be starting with just a casual walking trail ride.
I’m really excited! I hadn’t realized just how much pain I was in before my surgery and how much it had limited my life.

[Omgitsme]

@WellOkay

I had an L5-S1 fusion in 2016. Mine was an anterior and posterior fusion, so I had an incision in the lower abdominal area in addition to the ones on the back for the sextant.

The first month was awful sleep-wise, I would wake up every 1.5 hrs in excruciating pain and then experience more excruciating pain while trying to roll over to the other side. This got better when my incisions healed more and I could sleep on my back with a wedge pillow under my legs.

At first, walking was painful and so so slow. By 3 weeks post-op I was walking at least 3 miles/day, everyday until I went back to work at 12 weeks (mostly because I was bored and couldn’t really do much of anything else). I think that had a lot to do with my recovery going so well.

My neurosurgeon wasn’t thrilled about my wanting to ride still, but he told me to wait until I was done with PT to get back in the saddle. I did PT 2 or 3 times per week for 3-4 months (can’t remember specifics), so by the time all was said and done I was out of the saddle for about 7.5 months.

4 years later, I have ZERO regrets about the surgery. Any “bad” days I have now are much milder than my good days were pre-fusion and typically happen after I’m stubborn and try to lift something heavy-ish that I know I shouldn’t. I have occasional twinges in the SI area, but those don’t happen as long as I keep on top of staying active and stretching. I’m actually 32 weeks pregnant now and have had minimal back pain…very thankful for my titanium reinforcement!

Just hold in there and listen to everything your care team is telling you. It’s a serious surgery and the recovery just takes time. I didn’t feel “normal” until probably a good 6 months after surgery. Some of that was needing to rebuild muscle/stamina/let my nerves recover, some of it was needing to feel comfortable about using my body normally (especially after coming out of the back brace).

I’m officially out of the brace and discharged as a patient. I’ve been doing a lot of walking, managed to do two miles without my brace and zero pain…it’s incredible. The only issue I’ve really had pain wise is my other muscles that are unaccustomed to holding me upright.
I’m just over 3 months post op and I feel amazing.

[Where_sMyWhite]

Great news :encouragement:

[summerhorse]

It takes time and how much you recover can depend on how much damage might have been done to nerves before you had the surgery. I had extensive nerve damage so I still have a lot of sciatic pain and foot drop and numbness. But I could ride for about 2 hours max before my legs went numb. Now I need a much higher block to get on as I have 2 more herniations and a mass (scar tissue they think) on my spinal cord and my legs are too weak to mount normally (even from a surface level with the stirrup). I will have to get a block made that is much higher so I can settle down on to the saddle rather than having to swing over it. Once I am on I am OK but I probably cannot ride as long now and I doubt I can sit a trot (jog would be OK) or canter. Time will tell on that one! It took me about 2 years before I could turn over in bed without a LOT of pain and now it is difficult but not horribly painful. This journey is now 12 years old.