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Excercising with Scoliosis Rods?

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  • Excercising with Scoliosis Rods?

    Hi!

    I don't know if I'm posting this in the right forum but I had scoliosis rods put in in 2003. The rods limit the types of exercise I can do and I was wondering if anyone has any methods to use to keep fit? - especially concerning the waist area since this is where I gain most of my weight but I have a hard time bending/twisting. All the exercises I've researched seem to require being able to do stuff with your back (like crunches).

  • #2
    I am only 7 weeks post-op but am working with a PT to get my abs back. I had a ... well, a four pack anyway, pre-op and worry about losing that tone. Try a Physical Therapist. They can help you learn how to find and isolate your abs and obliques again, safely. If you have insurance, PT is usually covered.
    Female, age 38
    4 years of bracing, concluded at 42*upper/38*lower
    currently 64*upper/40*lower
    Fused T3-L4 on Feb 23 2011
    now 32*upper/18* lower

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    • #3
      I agree with going to see a physiotherapist. I ended up needing to go to one after herniating a disc under my fusion several years after my surgery. An excellent physiotherapist, trained in spinal problems, helped me get my core strength back so the disc problem went away. The exercises she gave me mostly use an exercise ball and do not involve bending at all. Some of them involve light weights. I now do them on my own at home - I have an exercise ball and 3 sizes of weights and I follow the instructions she gave me to a "T". I no longer try any exercises I see in magazines or on TV - you never know how they might affect a fused spine. Also, walking in general is good for fused spines. Good luck and know it is possible to exercise with a fused spine - just make sure you get some guidance before starting.
      - 39 years old
      - At age 14, curve progressed from 45 degrees to 62 degrees in two months.
      - Surgery in 1990 at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) with Dr. Letts. Fused T5 to L2. Corrected to about 30 degrees.
      - Harrington rod
      - Herniated disc - L5/S1 - January 2008. Summer 2009 - close to making a full recovery.
      - New mommy as of February 2011
      - Second child - September 2013
      - Staying relatively painfree through physio exercises!

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      • #4
        If you do a search, you'll find some older threads about exercising. Here is one-- and in post #14 I attached some directions for core strengthening exercises my physical therapist had given me to do. I hadn't been cleared to do them until 11 months post-op though.

        http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...core+exercises

        I agree it would be best to see a physical therapist who is trained in working with people with back fusions. Good luck!
        71 and plugging along... but having some problems
        2007 52° w/ severe lumbar stenosis & L2L3 lateral listhesis (side shift)
        5/4/07 posterior fusion T2-L4 w/ laminectomies and osteotomies @L2L3, L3L4
        Dr. Kim Hammerberg, Rush Univ. Medical Center in Chicago

        Corrected to 15°
        CMT (type 2) DX in 2014, progressing
        10/2018 x-rays - spondylolisthesis at L4/L5 - Dr. DeWald is monitoring

        Click to view my pics: pics of scoli x-rays digital x-rays, and pics of me

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        • #5
          Thanks guys - this really helps - especially with the workout you attached Susie*Bee! I will try these and be really careful so I don't hurt my back .

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