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What about step aerobics? Not expecting miracles here, but will I be able to go back to class after a year or two? Or is the risk of falling still too great?
Thanks,
Evelyn
age 48
80* thoracolumbar; 40* thoracic
Reduced to ~16* thoracolumbar; ~0* thoracic
Surgery 3/14/12 with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis, T4 to S1 with pelvic fixation
Broken rods 12/1/19; scheduled for revision fusion L1-L3-4 with Dr. Lenke 2/4/2020
Not "confused" anymore, but don't know how to change my username.
I think they are about 3 1/2-4 inches, so not really high, but comfortable enough that I have danced in them.
Karen
Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
Rib Hump-GONE!
Age-60 at the time of surgery
Now 66
Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
Retired Kdgn. Teacher
See photobucket link for:
Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right. http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/
I think they are about 3 1/2-4 inches, so not really high, but comfortable enough that I have danced in them.
Good grief, woman! You're able to dance in high heels? I need to stay away from 4 inch heels now that I'm 5'10" again... don't want to be an amazon. Perhaps I'll start wearing my heels when I walk through the house to get used to them. LOL! That will be a sight.
Warmly,
Doreen
44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA
Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height
Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!
Dr. Lenke's office called today and said my recent xrays look good. Yippee!! I asked if there will be any restrictions flying to France at the end of this year and I was given the green light to go. We booked an apartment in Paris; SO excited!
Warmly,
Doreen
44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA
Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height
Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!
Why did a bee decide to land on my back? My daughter and I walked out of a store and were getting into our car when Lizzie yelled, "Mom! There's a bee on your back!" Instinctively I start shaking my shirt but then realize it has a large cowel neck and a thought ran through my mind: What if I shake the bee into my shirt? So I stop shaking my shirt and told Lizzie to get it off. She said, "Let me find something to hit it." Another thought runs throw my mind: Will she really smack my back with something? Fortunately, Lizzie took, whatever it was that she grabbed, and nudged it under the bee and it flew off. We can laugh about it now but we were freaked out for a few moments.
Warmly,
Doreen
44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA
Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height
Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!
Dr. Lenke's office called today and said my recent xrays look good. Yippee!! I asked if there will be any restrictions flying to France at the end of this year and I was given the green light to go. We booked an apartment in Paris; SO excited!
Warmly,
Doreen
What a thrill - An apartment in Paris!
Glad the bee didn't take offense to being moved on Doreen!
Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
Osteotomies and Laminectomies
Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free
Doreen,
Sounds like things are looking up for you, except the bee incident! I'm scared of bees. I think I'm allergic, but not sure, so I try like mad to avoid them. Oh, and I garden. LOL
Be happy!
We don't know what tomorrow brings,
but we are alive today!
Dr. Lenke's office called back last night to answer a few more questions. Kelly said I'm allowed to walk inclines but to take it easy because it will hurt. I walked to the top of our street this afternoon and WOWZA! I'm hurting, it really wiped me out. My original plan was to walk to the top of my street once a day for a week or so and then extend the walk, but now I'm rethinking that idea. We'll see how I feel tomorrow because I wasn't expecting to feel this bad.
Kelly said the longest screws in my sacrum measure about 2 - 2.25 inches long.
We booked our flights for Paris today. We'll spend Christmas and New Years there. :-D
Warmly,
Doreen
44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA
Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height
Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!
I over did it today. Since rain is in the forecast for tomorrow
I decided to walk th hill to the top my street today
because it was warm and sunny today. The
problem started when I went to the grocery shortly
after the walk and as the cart became full with groceries it
was hard to push. I didnt realize this until I was almost done
shopping and asked Lizzie to push the cart.
We weren't out of the store when the pelvic pain kicked in.
As soon as we got home I went straight to bed to stretch
out. I'm feeling better so I'm definitely not walking incline
tomorrow.
Warmly
Doreen
44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA
Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height
Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!
What about step aerobics? Not expecting miracles here, but will I be able to go back to class after a year or two? Or is the risk of falling still too great?
Thanks,
Evelyn
Evelyn, I am 48 and eight months post op. I started doing step aerobics again about a month ago. No problems!!
50 years old!!!!!
Wore Milwaulkee Brace 1976-77
Original curve 36 degrees ( measured in the 70s)
Advanced to 61 degrees 01/2011
Surgery 07/11/2011
Fused T1-L2 (curve now in the 20s!)
Dr. Lenke's physical therapist mailed me a handful of exercises I'm allowed to do (I'm 15 weeks post op today). I'm SO excited to do something other than walking! Today I did the following exercises lying on my bed using 5# dumbbells:
x2 sets of x10 reps presses
x2 sets of x5 reps flys (I was a little nervous about these but they didn't hurt)
x2 sets of x10 reps tricep curls
I also did bicep curls while sitting at the corner of my bed x2 sets of x10 reps.
I took a couple of days off from walking to the top of my street since last Thur and walked it yesterday. When I was done, I laid down for a little bit and had no pain in my pelvic area whatsoever. I plan to walk the hill on Wed.
Lenke's therapist also approved me to do small lunges which I will do tomorrow.
My plan is to walk the hill every 3 days (eventually lengthen the distance beyond my street), alternate upper body and lower body workouts every other day, continue with my 3 - 4 miles daily walking throughout the day/night at home and Sunday is rest day. That is my theory of balancing the walking and workouts so let's see how it unfolds this week. :-)
I'm starting to realize that walking and standing are more comfortable than sitting for a long period.
Warmly,
Doreen
44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA
Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height
Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!
You are doing so well. It is exciting to be allowed to do some new exercises. Keep up the good work.
Karen
Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
Rib Hump-GONE!
Age-60 at the time of surgery
Now 66
Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
Retired Kdgn. Teacher
See photobucket link for:
Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right. http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/
For those of you fused to sacrum, have you been able to sit/lay on a lounge chair while on holiday near a beach/pool?
Warmly,
Doreen
44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA
Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height
Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!
Doreen--
Beach/lounge chairs are quite a trick. Be very careful getting on it so you don't end up on cement--chair and all. Once I get in position it feels fine on my back. I still can't do stomach sleeping on the bed but I have managed for short stints to lie on stomach with face basically flat, with a towel to pad it some, looking through slats at my book. Again be sure you are balanced getting in and out. Each year it has gotten a bit easier. Janet
Janet
61 years old--57 for surgery
Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.
All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.
I didn't have a problem with a louge chair that had an adjustable back, but I was over a year post-op. I didn't attempt to lay on my stomach.
Karen
Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
Rib Hump-GONE!
Age-60 at the time of surgery
Now 66
Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
Retired Kdgn. Teacher
See photobucket link for:
Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right. http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/
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