runner's surgery blog, L4/5, 2008

[runner]

Steel,

I will answer you about the PT exercises soon. I have to go for a walk right now. Keep it up. I think it will be a short walk today since my back is a little sore today.
I found a while back that walks over 2 miles hurt some so I'm probably keeping it under 2 for the most part. Last week had a long walk and it took 35 minutes--which is under three miles for sure (I was walking at a good pace).

Feels good when I get to sweat a bit.

[runner]

Hi Steel,

A synopsis of a typical PT day:
1) Start off with laying down on a heat pad for about 10 minutes.

2) PT works on piriformis and spinal muscles, massaging them, getting them looser, putting his elbow into my tight muscles, etc..

3) Stretches with PT doing them. Hamstring, piriformis.

4)Onto the pilates reformer machine. Three exercises, 1) core exercise with feet at table top position, towel between my calves, 2) Heels together, and my hands in straps together--another core exercise like below, initially used ball between knees, 3) hamstring stretch using the pilates strap and recently added, 4) stretching hip flexors on pilates.

5) Walking across room with band around ankles, sideways, about four times.

6) me hooked up in harness as PT guy resists my movement. Forward, sideways and backwards. Four times each way. Coming back facing the same way as to work each side. (Picture a horse howing a field)

7) Bosso ball, balance on ball and hold stick as therapist resists your movement. Knees bent. aND two exercises using low-weight dumbbells (3 pounds?)

8)Bird dogs--hands and feet on cushion bench. making sure not to raise feet too high.

Also different exercises that have irritated my back and thus were discontinued. Fishes on boso ball. No rotational exercises, no full-bridges. No cobra like movements.
Paying a lot of attention to keeping a pelvic tilt with core exercises.
Finish off with laying on ice pad for 10 minutes.

I also have home exercises that I do.

Knee to Chest stretch, bilateral

Pelvic tilt

Supine hamstring strech

Supine piriformis stretch

Gastroc stretch

Soleus stretch

Bird dogs, Arm/leg extension

Trunk stability, straight leg raise

Pelvic tilt with crunches, lifting shoulders off floor.

Steel, you got to remember that my PTs have not done ADR patients before. They are just really good PTs (there are three of them) and I usually now work with only one.
I gave the PT all the PT info I had and he made up a program. They have worked extensively with fusion patients so they have a lot of experience, but some exercises have been kind of hit and miss. Like I did some arm pulls and that messed with my back so no more arm pulls or lat pulls.
Some exercises just don't work and so we have scrapped them.

It varies on how my back feels and how I am doing. Sessions last usually an hour-and-a-half.

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[runner]

Thank you soooo much for this valuable input with regard to PT. I have my follow up tomorrow and would expect to hit the PT path in the next month. I will use your post as a guide when I am out asking questions of the different PT options made available to me. Thank you.

Paul
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MVA on 20AUG07 at work
L4/L5 Annular Tear
One failed epidural 12OCT08
Discogram 10FEB08
ADR Prodisc L 10JUN08

[runner]

Hi everybody,

Had my six month check-up today and it sure doesn't seem like six months ago that I got my Pro-disc at L4/L5.
Time does fly.
This isn't exactly how I pictured I would feel at six months, but this is one heck of a roller-coaster recovery.
The good news is that my Pro-disc is working perfectly and the x-rays look great.
The not so great news is that I cannot go back to work at this time as I have increased back pain and sciatica. The sciatica started 10 days ago and hasn't abated. Also have numbness in both lower legs/feet and right upper leg. Kind of comes and goes to different spots.

So going into this appointment today, I knew I had some nerve irritation, just not what was causing it.

y Dr. thinks it is from micro tear(s) in another disc. He told me this can happen after ADR surgery.

So I was told to ice, take Aleve (I have already started that), walk and skip PT for the rest of the week, to try to calm this down.

I hope this is just another bump in the road and not something more.

Has anyone had something similar happen to them? I see the doc in 4-5 weeks and take it from there. It doesn't sound that bad, but to get back similar symptoms that I had before surgery is kind of scary.

I didn't miss the numb feet and shins and whatever.
The doc said something about phonophoresis or something they can do in physical therapy. Luckily, I have a good PT and I can continue PT.

Though, I am kind of on the stop-the-train-I-want-to-get-off mode. You go through major surgery and you want to just get better and leave behind the stuff you had before surgery.
I really enjoyed going for a walk for an hour. That was fun in its way, this isn't.


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[runner]

ooo, I really hope you're able to get that pain to calm down. I havne't run into a problem like that yet, but at only 3 months, who knows what I'm in store for next. I do know that icing my back has been my life line now that I'm ramping up the difficulty of my PT exercises. I've got my fingers crossed for ya.

~Sara
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27 yrs old
Lumbar herniation L5/S1

- Did mild PT, some chiropractics and self regulated pain management since initial sports injury in Spring 1997.
- XRay and Bone Scan Jan/Feb 2007
- PT March to May 2007
- MRI Jan 2008
- Disco positive at L5/S1 Feb 2008
- ADR surgery at L5/S1 on June 23rd 2008 - Prodisc
- Recovery - so far so good!
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[runner]

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Thanks so much, Sara, for your post.

Yes, you have to be careful. On Aug. 22, I was in PT and felt a sharp pain on my right side of my back and then nothing. I was doing the side stepping band exercise and felt it again and my therapist noticed.
After that we took out some back exercises and that seemed to help.
My therapist then thought that my muscle soreness was caused by my weak back and hip flexor muscles. My core muscles have gotten a lot stronger but getting the back muscles strong has been more difficult.

Anyway I didn't feel any sciatica until Sept 5th and around the same time, I started getting increased numbness in my lower legs and for the first time since my surgery, numbness above my knees.

Any exercise causes me pain, it is eighty-sixed.

The thing is it is real easy to tick off your back muscles after surgery. People have mentioned on here that walking hills can hurt as well as walking too far.

It is a balancing act to try to get core/back muscles strengthened and not cause more problems.
I think this is the case whether you have ADR or fusion.

The sciatica I have been feeling intermittently cranked itself up this morning. It feels like I tore my right hamstring.
Taking tylenol and aleve for pain and inflammation and using ice, of course.

Resting a little, too. There just is not much downtime in my household with four kids running around. But there is no boredom, either. Too much to do.

[runner]

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Hi runner!

Aw shxx!! I am sorry to hear about the set back. Now you have me scared. I was proud of how far you have come. So what type of exercises will you do to strengthen the core? I will be thinking of you as you stuggle back up the hill once again.

Paul
__________________
MVA on 20AUG07 at work
L4/L5 Annular Tear
One failed epidural 12OCT08
Discogram 10FEB08
ADR Prodisc L 10JUN08