Restrictions on activities for those 20 years after surgery?

[SIsForSarah]

Hi! I was really excited to find this site. I've searched around on other sites for back pain, but realized my situation is very specific and was thrilled to find a group of people in a similar situation.

I'm hoping my situation won't require revision surgery, but this seemed like the most likely place to find the advice I need (and I've read other threads that are sort of similar though not identical).

Like many of you who had the surgery many years ago (I had mine in 1990), after my surgery with a Harrington rod for a 62 degree curve (that had progressed 15 degrees in two months), I was told to go off and have a happy life after my fusion was complete. I am fused from T5 to L2. I believe the only restrictions I was given were no gymnastics (which was sad, because I did do gymnastics before the surgery) or competitive diving. So off I went, playing field hockey, tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, ball hockey - you name it.

I also wasn't particularly careful about how I lifted things and in 1999, ended up with really bad lower back pain (a bulging disc, I believe). 4 months of physio resolved it and off I went again, playing my high impact sports and now being far more careful about lifting things. I've still had lower back pain on and off over the years and have been having very bad lower back pain and sciatica the past few months. I am in physio again and am confident that things are getting better.

However, from research I've been doing, I've learned that when you have fusion in your back, the areas above and below the fusion tend to degenerate. That's what I'm starting to worry about.

So my question: If the areas below the fusion tend to degenerate over time, have others found they've needed to increase the restrictions on the activites they do? For example, have some of you played sports in the past and eventually realized you needed to stop? What other restrictions have you realized you needed to follow? I'm worried about causing future problems, especially since I hope to have kids in the near future and am worried that this wouldn't be possible with really back lower back problems.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[PNUTTRO]

No Restrictions

I have thought about this question for some time. I think that doctors not giving restrictions are a good thing. Mostly, when I go to my surgeon and say I have pain, the response is. If it hurts, don't do it. Its an old joke, but still good advice.

My fusion is similar to yours and was done in 1986. I consider what my life would have been like without all those activities and sports that I did when I was younger. I don't regret it at all. It was fun!

I think that I would have had back problems of one sort or another whether I had the fusion or didn't have the fusion. I would have had back pain even if I didn't an active youth. Its the most common complaint in the US.

Try not to feel guilty that you did something wrong. Don't blame the surgeon who says, go live your life. Would you rather he said, "Don't do anything."

[JulieBW]

I had my first low back pain in college. After that I began intermittent back strengthening exercises, and I became faithful with back strengthening in my 40's after developing pain from arthritis in my low back just below the fusion. Now (in my 50's) I probably have stenosis in that lumbar area, with symptoms in the distribution of the femoral nerve (quadriceps weakness and sensory symptoms in the front of my leg). I've never participated in high-impact sports. I've always been drawn to swimming, gardening, walking and bicycling. Intuitively I felt jarring kinds of sports would not be good for my back. I was specifically told to avoid trampolines and springboard diving. I continue to go with the "don't do it if it hurts" philosphy, but keeping my lower back strong and avoiding stress to it makes sense. While gardening I pay a lot of attention to body mechanics and use of better tools.

[Karen Ocker]

Julie:
Some people with H rods developed "flatback syndrome" caused by making the back too straight from the side-meaning the normal lumbar front to back curves were not maintained. This caused un-natural stresses/wear on those discs and joints. Do a search on flatback syndrome, on this forum and on-line, to get the best options for therapy and treatment. It's not from anything you did wrong.

[JulieBW]

Response

Hi Karen,
Did you intend this response for Sarah? My post was in response to hers. Flatback is specific to lumbar fusions, and mine is thoracic.

[SIsForSarah]

Thanks for the responses.

I totally agree with you PNUTTRO - I am really glad my surgeon gave me very few restrictions at the time and am happy with the years I've been able to spend playing sports. I don't blame him or myself for the problems I'm having now. I guess I'm sort of looking to see if anyone else reached an age, or a certain number of years after the surgery, where they needed to start to take it easier to avoid lower back problems caused by the unfused portion of the back taking brunt of everything.

Karen - I think I may be one of the lucky ones who doesn't have flatback syndrome. I am only fused from T5 to L2, and when I look in the mirror, I do have a curve to my lower back. My problems are more related to sciatica, which I'm currently not sure has been caused by a herniated disc or an SI joint inflammation (I'm on a waiting list for a CT scan).

Anyway, if anyone else has stories, experiences, etc. to share about having to give up certain activites (i.e. high impact sports) as they got older, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

- Sarah

[rainbow2010]

I used to be very active. I have disc problems above and below my fusion along with arthritis. My doctors will not operate to fuse the area because it is too dangerous. I had to give up bowling (I worked for Brunswick for many years). I now get my exercise in a pool. No stress on the back and a great work out.