Feeling my rods

[Pooka1]

Just found a great illustration of the posterior view of the sacrum and ilium, which happens to show what it looks like when we sit. You have to love that the measuring device is called an assometer.

http://www.nidus-corp.com/TinyImages.../assometer.jpg

--Linda

I can't seem to stop laughing at this! I am sitting here giggling like an idiot.

sharon

[kennedy]

I don't feel my rods. only when i put my hands on my back i do feel the rods.

[Singer]

I can't seem to stop laughing at this! I am sitting here giggling like an idiot.

sharon

OMG, that's a riot !!!

[mbeckoff]

Just found a great illustration of the posterior view of the sacrum and ilium, which happens to show what it looks like when we sit. You have to love that the measuring device is called an assometer.

http://www.nidus-corp.com/TinyImages.../assometer.jpg

--Linda

That is just too funny. I needed a good joke
Thanks
Melissa

[kassie84]

Rods and bones..

Hey guys.. I'm only fused t4-t11 and 7 weeks post op.. Doing great! I am sure I can feel some rods or
Screws. Also have a lot of numbness in muscles all around my scar and shoulder blades. But most recently I've started to bend from about L1? We didn't fuse both curves hoping the bottom one will correct itself in time. Since getting more movement back these bones about t12,l1,l2& l3 are really sticking out and sore.. Has any had this experience or ideas why it would be? I'm a little worried I've got to be careful not to slouch and damage the chance of my lumbar straightening...
Thanks guys

[LynetteG]

I have always felt the rods since surgery, and more so now since I'm off the meds, especially when I walk. It feels quite strange but certainly not painful

[doodie]

for what it's worth

Hi Amanda -
For what it's worth, I am fused to S2... I'm not sure if you can tell that from the x-ray I posted in my signature or not - you can zoom in on it and see better in that area though - maybe that helps.

Linda -
Your sitting skeletal diagrams are very helpful. I too love the 'assometer'. I'd like to know who named that gizmo - they certainly had a sense of humor!

[LindaRacine]

Linda (if you're still out 'there' )

I wonder if you can answer my question a few posts above - about whether there is variation of what fusion to the sacrum means. I explain there that I have sacral pain and that it doesn't feel (or sound) like my sacrum is entirely solid anymore.

Do you perchance have any images such as you've posted, actually showing fusions to the sacrum - how and where the hardware attaches?
Again, I'm wondering if it every varies - for instance, to include more of the sacrum than just S1 (which I assume is what the topmost sacral vertebra would be if it were still separate from the rest)?

I wonder too when calculations are done (about how many segments are being fused), how the sacrum is counted. Guess it doesn't matter if it IS (always) only that top segment. I know the sacrum is not usually considered movable.

Wonder what they could do if my sacrum IS a bit - - - "loose" . I suppose under normal conditions., the sacrum fuses sometime before birth (and stays fused). Mine definitely seems movable. I read in my MRI reports that I also have "Tarlov" cysts in and under the sacrum. Unless the difference is in the readers' interpretations, they also seem to be getting larger.

I've been told they are harmless but that was before the size was increasing (apparently) and also before this pronounced sacral pain began - a few years ago. I only get it at night, lying down, and its starting to extend into my hip sockets - referred I guess. It's just as bad as the lumbar pain I get when I'm standing. That leaves me no comfortable positions any more.

Have you ever heard of someone having problems necessitating a fusion extending further down than "just" S1 (not counting the pelvic fixation, whatever that is)?? Or a problem requiring it (wondering what it's called). None of this - jelled - as an issue l right now. Naturally, I'll ask surgeons about it, but meanwhile....

I'm not sure how one would know that movement is coming from the sacrum. As Doodle mentioned below, one can be fused to any part of the sacrum, so I don't think it really matters. The sacrum can be fractured:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/532020_1

--Linda

Jess, it also reminded me of Thanksgiving!

[Back-out]

I'm not sure how one would know that movement is coming from the sacrum. As Doodle mentioned below, one can be fused to any part of the sacrum, so I don't think it really matters. The sacrum can be fractured:

I think it's moving because I get sound effects when my sacrum is manipulated or when I lie on a solid object (even a hard pillow). This is for a kind of a do it yourself chiropractic adjustment or massage. Gravity + exercise (or rolling), can relieve discomfort .

It can be done anywhere in the spine. For me, this flexibility/adjustability (and noise) extends to the sacrum. Blech!

Reading about it, I see gas pockets can be located throughout the spine - a vacuum. Along with Tarlov cysts, they've shown up on MRIs. Since I've started having sacral pain, I've requested sacral MRIS on top of the usual one for the lumbar spine.

Reading about sacral instability lately (accompanied by cord compression, in that area) I just learned some shocking caveats about the importance of addressing this problem in deformity surgery. I know I can't assume it will be attended to, unless I insist. From fortunate instances in my own life (narrow escapes), I've learned we can't just turn over our problems intact to even the best surgeon - I mean, assuming s/he will always pay proper and adequate attention to our overall needs. Our lives (and those of our children), are ultimately OUR responsibility, though.

Restricting myself to this excerpt for now, here's a message about sacral instability, cord compression and neuro signs in that area in relation to "our" surgery. Paraphrased intro...If the [instability] isn't properly accounted for it can lead to...

..displacement or entrapment and compression of the neural elements during operative reduction and fixation. The degree of displacement has important implications for the safety of operative reduction and instrumentation as well as the risks of subsequent implant failure .

[ADMoul]

Thanks for the illustrations, Linda. That really helped me understand what my Dr. meant about having pain from the iliac screw and why it hurts where it does. As far as feeling rods, the only time I notice them is if I sit back against something hard--like a church pew. It doesn't hurt--just feels like there's "stuff" there.
Gee, could "assometer" be a scrabble word????