An Overdue Update

[BendyBill]

Hello old friends,

You may not remember me but I had surgery back in January 2012. I just wanted to do a little update to let everyone know that, a little over 6 years down the line, I'm doing great and have had no problems bar the odd minor twinge here and there. Things may change in the future but, for now, I'm living my life and am always looking after my back as best I can. I know I'm going to need this body for a long while so maintenance is important.

Thank you all for your support either side of my operation, it's not something I'll forget.

Wishing you all health and happiness,

Billy

[titaniumed]

maintenance is important.

As long as you rotate the ole tyres, you should be fine. Its the tranny flush you have to worry about.....(smiley face)


Its awfully nice of you to stop in with such a glowing report Bill, we do like hearing about those around here....


How is the music coming along?


Ed

[BendyBill]

Ed, I hate to say it but I had to Google 'tranny flush' and it turned out to be something quite different to what I expected!

All well with me thank you. Still doing the music thing and loving every minute.

Are you well? Getting much skiing in these days?

[titaniumed]

Bill

Tranny is short for transmission. Whatever is on Google, don't believe what you see. (smiley face)

Maintenance at your age is mostly about having as much fun as possible!

Am I well? The ageing process is a challenge that comes with all sorts of surprises....

No skiing lately for multiple reasons, lack of deep snow,(spoiled skier)and a herniated neck which is a delicate problem. My surgeon gets mad at the high speed head plants.

How is your spine doing? Its been 7 years. Any pains or gripping sensations, or popping? Anything at all? We don't get too many testimonials from younger folks.

Ed

[BendyBill]

Hi Ed,

Apologies for the delay.

Honestly, everything has continued to be great from the moment I went back to work 3 months after my surgery in January 2012. For the first year I had a few sharp pains but really only a few and they only lasted a few seconds. Now my life is unchanged by scoliosis and, honestly, it's like it was all a dream.

I'm enjoying my pain free body and am making sure I treat it well. If things go wrong somewhere down the line then I'll tackle those issues as and when they arise.

I'm also expecting my first child, a daughter, in early December and will be sure to monitor her spine throughout her childhood.

I hope you are all well and happy,
Billy

[titaniumed]

Sounds great Bill, congrats on your December daughter.....

We had the best powder skiing in Feb 2019 in many many years here but I didn't go due to weather related pains....I am going down to South America this winter seeking perfect weather to prove this out. The winters have been exhausting for me over the last couple of years.....mainly due to my neck.

Pain free is a good thing...

Ed

[BendyBill]

I'm sorry to hear that, Ed. Was this pain a progressive thing or have you always had it post-op? Is there anything you think I should be doing to maintain my back health over the next 50 (here's hoping) years?

Wishing you all the best and very much hope South Africa is the holiday you're looking for.

B

[titaniumed]

It is mainly the neck...herniated discs and spinal stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal cord. My neck became painful in May 2013 around 5 years after my scoliosis surgeries. I do not believe this was the result of my fusion surgeries, more of a degeneration thing.

Maintaining back health over 50 years? That's a good question. and of course funny to ask a scoli who has his spine fused most of the way. Once the spine is fused, I don't believe there is anything we need to do as far as the bone is concerned. Maybe Linda has some input on this question from the soft tissue side.

I am in Colombia which is South America. Never been to South Africa.

So far so good on the weather related pain. There is no change of seasons here, and we are up high in the mountains so it stays nice and does not get hot. No air conditioning or heating is needed.

Ed

[LSKOCH5]

Hello old friends,

You may not remember me but I had surgery back in January 2012. I just wanted to do a little update to let everyone know that, a little over 6 years down the line, I'm doing great and have had no problems bar the odd minor twinge here and there. Things may change in the future but, for now, I'm living my life and am always looking after my back as best I can. I know I'm going to need this body for a long while so maintenance is important.

Thank you all for your support either side of my operation, it's not something I'll forget.

Wishing you all health and happiness,

Billy

Hey Bill - I finally popped back on and there you are! Did not realize that you and my Jacob had the exact same fusion T3-L1 on the EXACT same day! Are you having any issues with arms, legs, hands, any nervy pain? We are back on and looking for other young active people (even up to athletes) who might be able to shed some light for him.
Congrats on your baby, and your music career. You're still singing then? I seem to remember it was a Pentatonix-type group?

[BendyBill]

It is mainly the neck...herniated discs and spinal stenosis, or narrowing of the spinal cord. My neck became painful in May 2013 around 5 years after my scoliosis surgeries. I do not believe this was the result of my fusion surgeries, more of a degeneration thing.

Maintaining back health over 50 years? That's a good question. and of course funny to ask a scoli who has his spine fused most of the way. Once the spine is fused, I don't believe there is anything we need to do as far as the bone is concerned. Maybe Linda has some input on this question from the soft tissue side.

I am in Colombia which is South America. Never been to South Africa.

So far so good on the weather related pain. There is no change of seasons here, and we are up high in the mountains so it stays nice and does not get hot. No air conditioning or heating is needed.

Ed

Any knowledge of any studies related to long-term back health in post-op scoliosis patients? Yeah I imagine it's impossible to do anything that will help the bone but perhaps there's a method of muscle strengthening to increase stability and stave off lower back problems in those without(/with?) lumbar fusion. I might have a little root around the forum and see what it comes up with...

Not sure why I read South Africa! Glad to hear the weather is helping you out over in Colombia. My brother lived there for a year and I always regretted not going to see him as it's somewhere I'd love to go.

Billy

[BendyBill]

Hey Bill - I finally popped back on and there you are! Did not realize that you and my Jacob had the exact same fusion T3-L1 on the EXACT same day! Are you having any issues with arms, legs, hands, any nervy pain? We are back on and looking for other young active people (even up to athletes) who might be able to shed some light for him.
Congrats on your baby, and your music career. You're still singing then? I seem to remember it was a Pentatonix-type group?

Hey! Yeah I come along every now and then to check in and let people know how things are going. How is Jacob doing? I've been really lucky since 2012 and haven't had any significant issues since I recovered. No limb problems or nerve pain. I noticed a loss of feeling in my right thigh after the op which hasn't come back but it doesn't give me any grief and I don't notice it most of the time. I do stay active with some Brazilian Jiu Jitsu a couple of times a week and I try and go surfing as often as I can but it's usually only a few times a year but I don't have a specific regimen that I follow (which is what I'd like to have).

Thanks! It's a beautiful time and I can't wait to meet her. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on her spine... Yep, still singing. Currently only taking work at home (baby could come any minute) so mostly in the live band for a TV show we have over here called Strictly Come Dancing. I think it's the same as Dancing With The Stars over in the US. What are you and Jacob up to these days? How old is he now?

All the best,
Billy

[Pooka1]

Any knowledge of any studies related to long-term back health in post-op scoliosis patients? Yeah I imagine it's impossible to do anything that will help the bone but perhaps there's a method of muscle strengthening to increase stability and stave off lower back problems in those without(/with?) lumbar fusion. I might have a little root around the forum and see what it comes up with...

Billy

Hey Billy,

Linda would know this better than me but I think the issue future problems with an unfused lumbar under a fused thorax is mainly a function of where the fusion ends and how straight the lumbar is driven. My one daughter was told she would not need more surgery because her T fusion ended at L1 and her lumbar was driven very straight. Her twin had the same fusion but her lumbar was not so straight and the surgeon did not tell her she was done with surgery.

My take home from that is the chance of you having lumbar problems in the future is almost completely a function of the surgical plan and result and there may be nothing you can do to change that with PT. But who know. Actually a surgeon will know.

There was a talk presented at one of the meetings about disc issues in the lumbar many years out from T fusion and it was generally very good news, especially against the fact that non-fused people with scoliosis get disc problems. I don't have scoliosis and have had two herniations, one in my 30s and one in my 40s. Apparently the general population with mostly non-scoliotics has a VERY high rate of back problems such that it would be hard to pin any one problem on the scoliosis. I mean it is like 85 - 90 percent of the general population. It would have to be 100% of people with fusions to say anything and I don't think 100% of people with fusions have these problems.

[LindaRacine]

Any knowledge of any studies related to long-term back health in post-op scoliosis patients? Yeah I imagine it's impossible to do anything that will help the bone but perhaps there's a method of muscle strengthening to increase stability and stave off lower back problems in those without(/with?) lumbar fusion. I might have a little root around the forum and see what it comes up with...

Not sure why I read South Africa! Glad to hear the weather is helping you out over in Colombia. My brother lived there for a year and I always regretted not going to see him as it's somewhere I'd love to go.

Billy

Hi Billy...

As far as I know, there has never been such a study. It's really difficult to do long-term studies, especially when they involve closely tracking things like exercise programs.

I'm guessing that if you questioned 100 deformity surgeons, 100 of them would tell you that your best bet is regular core strengthening exercise. I started having low back pain about 8 years after my original surgery. Xrays revealed I had degenerative changes below my fusion. I was sent to PT where I got core strengthening exercises that I performed religiously for the next 10+ years. I managed to control most of the pain during that time. Then, I started having rib cage spasms whenever I tried to lay on my back on the floor. I should have gone back to PT, but stupidly just stopped doing the exercises. Within a year, the lower back pain returned, and I ended up with further degeneration that led to more surgery.

--Linda

[titaniumed]

Any knowledge of any studies related to long-term back health in post-op scoliosis patients? Yeah I imagine it's impossible to do anything that will help the bone but perhaps there's a method of muscle strengthening to increase stability and stave off lower back problems in those without(/with?) lumbar fusion. I might have a little root around the forum and see what it comes up with...

Bill, Below is a list of some of the things that can happen to us when we get older. There is no easy answer. I hear if you surf goofy foot, it helps with left side foraminal stenosis at L3. Offshore wind only, on a cloudy day. (Just kidding)

For future fusion extensions in adults, I wonder what the real reasons for surgery are, which are the main pain producers? Chances are its a combination of the list below.

Assume the lumbar levels have been corrected years before on initial scoliosis surgery and have smaller Cobb angles.

Adjacent level disease
Herniated discs
Disc pain, minimal herniation
Cord Stenosis (Central)
Foraminal and Latereral stenosis
Bone spurs
Anything missing?

Bone can collapse and cause soft tissue problems. We do have to take care of our bone. Soft tissues, nerves, cord, discs.... I cant comment on if there is anything we can do. (You can do) I am off the hook on this issue, so is Linda) Core strengthening is the easy answer, specifics would be of interest.

Ed