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Walking With Cane After Surgery

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  • Walking With Cane After Surgery

    Did anyone have to use a cane or a walker after surgery and not need these things before surgery?

    How long before you were able to resume walking without them? Or did they become permanent fixtures?

  • #2
    I did not use either before surgery. I used a walker while in rehab early on after the first spinal surgery. I stopped using the walker when I came home. I haven't used one on a regular basis since.
    I also used one in the hospital last year when I broke my neck. I have not needed anything as a walking aid since.
    We are all different but I am fine walking and getting up. As Ed mentioned , I get up from the floor by kneeling and the using one leg to get up.
    T10-pelvis fusion 12/08
    C5,6,7 fusion 9/10
    T2--T10 fusion 2/11
    C 4-5 fusion 11/14
    Right scapulectomy 6/15
    Right pectoralis major muscle transfer to scapula
    To replace the action of Serratus Anterior muscle 3/16
    Broken neck 9/28/2018
    Emergency surgery posterior fusion C4- T3
    Repeated 11/2018 because rods pulled apart added T2 fusion
    Removal of partial right thoracic hardware 1/2020
    Removal and replacement of C4-T10 hardware with C7 and T 1
    Osteotomy

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    • #3
      Originally posted by jackieg412 View Post
      I did not use either before surgery. I used a walker while in rehab early on after the first spinal surgery. I stopped using the walker when I came home. I haven't used one on a regular basis since.
      I also used one in the hospital last year when I broke my neck. I have not needed anything as a walking aid since.
      We are all different but I am fine walking and getting up. As Ed mentioned , I get up from the floor by kneeling and the using one leg to get up.
      This is helpful, thanks. Yes, we are all different. Improvement hasn't gone nearly as quickly for me and my surgeon seems to have expected it. I'm glad you had no loss of walking ability after surgery.

      Sounds like you've been through a lot, though. So you had scoliosis surgery and then later broke your neck in an accident?
      Last edited by Tina_R; 12-20-2019, 09:51 PM.

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      • #4
        Tina...

        Are you using the cane because it's painful to walk without it, or is it just more of security issue? The reason I ask is that it's possible that your sagittal balance isn't perfect. That's a relatively common occurrence.

        --Linda
        Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
        ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
        Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

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        • #5
          Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
          Tina...

          Are you using the cane because it's painful to walk without it, or is it just more of security issue? The reason I ask is that it's possible that your sagittal balance isn't perfect. That's a relatively common occurrence.

          --Linda
          It's a balance issue. I don't need the cane with every step but I'm not totally secure. I don't feel I should walk across a vast space without it.

          "it's possible that your sagittal balance isn't perfect."

          As a result of the surgery? And this isn't something they can go back and improve with more surgery?
          Last edited by Tina_R; 12-20-2019, 10:34 PM.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Tina_R View Post
            It's a balance issue. I don't need the cane with every step but I'm not totally secure. I don't feel I should walk across a vast space without it.

            "it's possible that your sagittal balance isn't perfect."

            As a result of the surgery? And this isn't something they can go back and improve with more surgery?
            If your sagittal balance is off, it can be surgically corrected, though it's a pretty complex surgery. Hopefully, that's not it. Do you feel like you're leaning forward when you walk? Have you worked with a physical therapist on your balance?

            --Linda
            Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
            Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
              If your sagittal balance is off, it can be surgically corrected, though it's a pretty complex surgery.
              And probably expensive and would not be judged medically necessary by my insurance company.

              Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
              Hopefully, that's not it. Do you feel like you're leaning forward when you walk? Have you worked with a physical therapist on your balance?
              --Linda
              No and no. Was not assigned a physical therapist for balance.

              I don't think my legs and buttocks feel as strong as they should, either. Despite walking up to two miles a day in my driveway most days, with a walker.
              Last edited by Tina_R; 12-20-2019, 11:24 PM.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Tina_R View Post
                And probably expensive and would not be judged medically necessary by my insurance company.



                No and no. Was not assigned a physical therapist for balance.

                I don't think my legs and buttocks feel as strong as they should, either. Despite walking up to two miles a day in my driveway most days, with a walker.
                Actually, walking with a walker for more than a short while after surgery, can potentially contribute to a weakening of the muscles and allowing one to have a forward lean.

                I'd like to encourage you to start a program of PT to work on balance and strengthening the muscles that help you stand up straight. Can you get your PCP or your surgeon to order that?

                -Linda
                Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by LindaRacine View Post
                  Actually, walking with a walker for more than a short while after surgery, can potentially contribute to a weakening of the muscles and allowing one to have a forward lean.

                  I'd like to encourage you to start a program of PT to work on balance and strengthening the muscles that help you stand up straight. Can you get your PCP or your surgeon to order that?

                  -Linda
                  Thank you, Linda. That sounds good. I do think muscles have atrophied on me. I probably have depended on the cane and walker for too long. I also wonder if depending on the brace for so long weakens certain muscles. I will be seeing my surgeon in a couple of weeks and I will ask him about physical therapy for balance.

                  There was also deep a numbness around the back of my hip area after the surgery. I get intermittent nerve pains there now and some feeling is very slowly coming back, which seems promising. I wonder if that has had any effect on my walking. If anything, I feel like I am more likely to lean backward too far, not forward.

                  The trouble with physical therapy is that it is as good as the therapist you get. I had a very mediocre therapist once.
                  Last edited by Tina_R; 12-21-2019, 09:27 PM.

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