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  • atrophying of muscles after surgery

    I know I am a worrier and should just take things one day at a time after surgery, but . . . I am thinking about losing muscle tone after surgery since all I'll be able to do for a long time is to walk. I work out at the Y on a regular basis and have fairly decent abs., quads, biceps, etc. for my age. Can the muscles atrophy in one or two months and if so, have you eventually been able to get them back to where they were pre-surgery? When I'm in many of my classes, I keep thinking that many of the exercises will not be good for my fused back once I'm allowed to go back. I may have to do water
    exerxises instead. I've avoided it now mainly because I don't want to be seen in a bathing suit in front of people I know (it doesn't bother me on vacation)
    Karen

    Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
    Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
    70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
    Rib Hump-GONE!
    Age-60 at the time of surgery
    Now 66
    Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
    Retired Kdgn. Teacher

    See photobucket link for:
    Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
    Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
    tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right.
    http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/

  • #2
    Karen,
    I was about 180 pounds before surgery, very low body fat, and muscular from working out 5-6 days a week for 30 years or so. I weighed 155 when I left the hospital. My muscle mass is gone, and I was left feeling extremely weak. Doc says it's too early for even physical therapy and prescribes walking, which I can do well, but in the process I'm continuing to burn calories. All in all, I'd say this has been one of my biggest issues. So much so, that I doubt whether I did the right thing. Maybe if I had tried to put on a lot of weight before surgery?

    Andrew

    Comment


    • #3
      I was 112 lbs going into surgery (I was pretty muscular), and at three weeks post-op due to lack of eating, exercise, etc., I weighed 98 lbs!! And that was with the extra lbs of metal...haha. I am now a year post-op and weigh about what I did pre-op. Pilates has helped me a lot with regaining muscle definition and strength. I highly suggest it, as it's non-impact and doesn't jar the spine.

      Comment


      • #4
        Andrew,
        How long has it been since you're had surgery? I know there are limitations for a long time, but I sure hope to eventually get back to the things I love to do now.
        Karen

        Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
        Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
        70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
        Rib Hump-GONE!
        Age-60 at the time of surgery
        Now 66
        Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
        Retired Kdgn. Teacher

        See photobucket link for:
        Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
        Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
        tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right.
        http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/

        Comment


        • #5
          Not quite six weeks. Some people think I'm impatient.

          Comment


          • #6
            I too was very fit when I went into surgery. 5' 9" I was 136 lbs prior to surgery and went down to 124 lbs. post surgery. Lost most of my muscle especially in my legs. I look skeletal. Now that appetite is back I'm doing better. Legs get very sore and have a long way to go to develop. I kind of expected this though. I still recommend building leg muscle as legs have to do a lot of work after surgery. Put some weight on if you can too.
            Shari - 55 years old
            Pre-Surgery 62 degree thorasic curve with shifting.
            Post op 13 degree curve.
            Successful surgery 4/15/10, T3-L2 fused.
            2nd surgery to reopen incision 10" to diagnose infection, 5/18/10
            Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI - the late Dr. Harry Herkowitz
            www.scoliosisthejourney.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Karen Andrew

              I wouldn’t worry about gaining back your muscles. I broke my shoulder 2 weeks prior to my scoli surgeries and in 8 months it looked like a toothpick. 6 months after I started pt, I was doing 20 pullups.

              It will be a slow recovery, but in time, you will be fine. I took it easy till I was fused. I just didn’t want to take any chances.
              Ed
              49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
              Pre surgery curves T70,L70
              ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
              Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

              Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

              My x-rays
              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks for your responses.

                Ed, how long until you knew you were fused? I thought it would be a year. Surely, I will be able to at least use light weights with my arms (I hope) after a month or so. I know I shouldn't dwell on my golf game, but if I won't be able to put the twist into the swing for power, I hope I can at least build back my arm muscles. Ed, since you can do pullups, that is sure encouraging!
                Karen

                Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
                Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
                70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
                Rib Hump-GONE!
                Age-60 at the time of surgery
                Now 66
                Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
                Retired Kdgn. Teacher

                See photobucket link for:
                Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
                Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
                tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right.
                http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/

                Comment


                • #9
                  Karen

                  Using BMP its 6 mos, otherwise its 12 mos. My surgeon told me I was fused around the 6 month mark.

                  For the first 2 months I only lifted a dinner plate. (With a light dinner, of course!) Then from 2-6 months I kept it under 10 lbs. At the supermarket, I would tell the baggers to keep it light!!! At 6 months I was given permission to lift 100 lbs. I laid low for 13 months, then started testing things out as far as lifting heavy weights or skiing. I had some delicate and extensive grafting work done down low and was nervous about pushing things.

                  It would be good to find out if Dr Lenke will use BMP on you. I was a candidate, its expensive stuff.

                  Until you are fused, I would be hesitant to do a forceful golf swing. You are not supposed to twist for awhile....

                  Evidence of fusion is already in my x-ray at about 4 weeks. Look for the vertical white lines in the L1-Pelvis area at the tips of the screws. I don’t have a copy of my current x-rays, but it pretty much turns solid white after awhile.
                  BMP was used only in this area, and not above L1. (You might be able to zoom in) Healing starts immediately after surgery. See below.
                  Ed
                  Attached Files
                  49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                  Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                  ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                  Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                  Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                  http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                  My x-rays
                  http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                  http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I know Dr. Lenke usually uses it. At least he did on me. When I got the notes from surgery it also had the things ordered for surgery--including 12 tubes of the stuff. Super expensive too. Janet
                    Janet

                    61 years old--57 for surgery

                    Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
                    Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
                    Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
                    Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
                    T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.

                    All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Bring on the BMP.
                      I'm not even thinking about a full swing until I'm at least a year post op. I told my golfing friends today that I hope to walk along with them next summer and just drop a ball close to the green and then just chip and putt. It will kill me not to play, but I figure just being on the course with my friends and walking is better than nothing. Thanks, again, to all of you who give such good advice. It's such a scarey surgery, but it sure helps to talk to those of you who have already gone through it. I know it won't be easy. I keep trying to prepare myself and my husband!
                      Karen

                      Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
                      Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
                      70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
                      Rib Hump-GONE!
                      Age-60 at the time of surgery
                      Now 66
                      Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
                      Retired Kdgn. Teacher

                      See photobucket link for:
                      Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
                      Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
                      tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right.
                      http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        LeansLeft,

                        I am VERY sympathetic as a later post will describe in more detail. Meanwhile, after re-reading your concern about losing conditioning for the Nth time, I had a thought - forgive me if it's so obvious it is irritating (I know how frustrating it can be when someone comes up with a "solution" which you thought of eons ago! )

                        There's weight and there's weight, You've lost muscle mass if you had almost no body fat before (and I KNOW how hard it is to achieve that), so the suggestions to have put on weight before surgery seem worse than pointless. Fat, especially in the wrong places, can be outright dangerous.

                        But if you're actually concerned about being told to engage in cardio exercise alone (walking) and thus losing still more muscle mass - now DOES seem to be a good time to work at keeping up the calorie intake you need. Enough to at least match your metabolic burn off.

                        I know that for the lean among us, gaining can be as hard as losing is for the rest of us . If you really want to avoid losing more muscle mass, though, surely you can force yourself to swallow those hi calorie bulking shakes or something equivalent.

                        Then, at least, you're not losing what muscles mass remains while exercising! It's so important to keep up your morale, too - and this will also help with that.

                        It must be so dismal to look in the mirror and see reflected a shadow of yourself after all those decades of hard won definition and buff! This will minimize that. You just need to be careful to balance the input and output in calories. Surely, if you've been a fitness devote so long, you can manage that. Then before you know it, you'll be allowed to work on Pilates, isometrics, stationary biking and upper body toning, to regain your definition.

                        I'm with you. This is of considerable concern to me too.
                        Last edited by Back-out; 05-18-2010, 10:13 PM.
                        Not all diagnosed (still having tests and consults) but so far:
                        Ehler-Danlos (hyper-mobility) syndrome, 69 - somehow,
                        main curve L Cobb 60, compensating T curve ~ 30
                        Flat back, marked lumbar kyphosis (grade?) Spondilolisthesis - everyone gives this a different grade too. Cervical stenosis op'd 3-07, minimally invasive

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Ed, Lenke used BMP on me too. Did your insurance cover it? I am wondering about that. Also where did you find a cost breakdown of the surgery? I haven't had my first post op appt yet, maybe I will get this info then?
                          Laura
                          62 degrees
                          49 yrs. young
                          Surgery 3/31/10 with Lenke

                          Before and After pics
                          http://www.flickr.com/photos/13749126@N06/

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            What is BMP?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              BMP links

                              here you go

                              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_Morphogenic_Proteins
                              https://www.infusebonegraft.com/bone..._proteins.html
                              https://www.infusebonegraft.com/how_infuse_works.html

                              Ed
                              49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                              Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                              ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                              Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                              Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                              My x-rays
                              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                              http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                              Comment

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