Michelle,
Distraction pain is a patient's term to describe what I call 'surgery-induced leg pain'. Some surgeons have adopted the same term, others call it 'stretch neuropraxia', to describe symptoms caused by distracting the disc space, stretching the nerves, remobilizing the segment, or even the assault on the nerves during the decompression where they may be removing tissues that have adhered to the nerves.
Onset of these symptoms at several weeks post-op can mean many different things. If you have a serious change in your situation, you should certainly tell your doctor. Depending on what's going on, he may want to do some xrays just to insure that everything has stayed where it's supposed to be.
Are these completely new symptoms or is this pain pattern familiar?
It's possible that new symptoms could be associated with a new problem. It could be associated with the same level or even a different level.
It could also be that you are ramping up your activity level and have reached a place where you are generating an inflammatory response that is causing more nerve root irritation. Remember that it's possible that the operated level is now more mobile than it used to be, but at low post-op activity levels, you never get to the place that is still sore. With higher activity as you get further away from the surgery, you can find out how much is too much.
The bottom line is that every situation is different. There are so many things that can cause these symptoms. Some are completely benign and some are not. Make sure that your doctor is aware. If you are doing something that hurts... especially so close to your surgery.... let pain be your guide... don't aggravate the situation. No-pain-no-gain therapy may have a place in rehab for some people at some point, but not in the weeks following spine surgery for most of us.
Good luck, please keep us posted.
Mark
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