Twisting, bending by accident?

[Roxjanine]

How much twisting and bending is " okay"? I know I am twisting in my sleep slightly and sometimes during the day by accident. I know its protocol to forbid all bending lifting and twisting...however being realistic, I am sure we have all twisted and bent before we should have. Can someone give me some honest feedback about how likely I am messing up the fusion process by twisting/bending slightly by accident?

Other note, I have been doing pt since 3 weeks post op...at first it was rough but now I feel like its helping. A lot of the feedback I received on the forum is that it was too soon for my surgeon to prescribe me PT. Now considering I am in my 20's, does anyone think this may be why I started pt too soon?

Last note(s), I still have muscle spasms in my back that at times make my ribs more crooked. Has anyone experienced this? Also, my neck pain is terrible, its hard to support my neck up and I feel like I need to lie down to get relief. Is that normal? My fusion starts at t2 and I can feel the top of my rod ( I am very thin). Thank you all in advance for responding

[Pooka1]

Hey.

Those are questions for your surgeon. Here are my lay opinions...

You are so young that I think you group with the kids in terms of general recovery. For kids, ~95% need no physical restriction whatsoever to get a good fusion. Thus any bending, lifting, and twisting you are doing within your pain tolerance probably can't affect your fusion. The instrumentation is that good. But again, ask your surgeon.

The neck think you should ask your surgeon about. Make sure you are not developing a kyphosis above your fusion.

Good luck.

[LindaRacine]

I agree with Pooka1 about the bending/lifting/twisting. Unless you're purposely and forcefully doing any of that, you should be fine.

Fusions up to the top of the thoracic spine are tough. The implants are very close to the skin, and there's also a lot of pull against them. Be careful about doing anything (such as reading) that makes you look down for more than a few seconds at a time. Hopefully, you'll eventually get used to it, when your musculature has adapted.

--Linda

[titaniumed]

Be careful about doing anything (such as reading) that makes you look down for more than a few seconds at a time. Hopefully, you'll eventually get used to it, when your musculature has adapted.

--Linda

Boy, am I guilty of this.....it is best to try to keep the model “catwalk” posture with the head up or in its natural position always. Be aware of your positions, your ergonomics when sitting at a computer.

As far as pushing the limits of bending or twisting, the hardware is strong and will hold, and as time passes, you will see that you will eventually break the rules and see that everything is ok.

You are young, and healing every second.....they have no studies on fusion “rates”, time to heal to a certain level.....many books say 12-24 months for bone to “fully” heal, but there is probably a good chance that you could be 1/2 way healed right now.....my anecdotal statement for today.

Ed

[Confusedmom]

Search on the forum for posts from "JenM." I remember she had a lot of neck/shoulder pain for a while and had trouble holding her head up. I seem to remember it resolved pretty well over time and with PT.