35 years post op, pain free but think I need a Dr

[heidi]

I have 2 harrington rodes but I am not sure what my curves were or are. I havent been followed by a physician about my back since the surgery and I am assuming i should have a regular physician to keep an eye on me. I am very athletic so I have remained relatively pain-free or I ignore the relatively minor, intermittent pain down my right leg. I live in Redondo beach california. Does anyone have a suggestion for a physician? Is it alright that I run and ski? Is anyone else out there athletic and do they find they are very slow at everything (running, swimming....)?

[rachael]

I'm pretty athletic and slow, but I don't really know how much I can blame on the rods. I have a feeling I'd be pretty slow without them too
I swim pretty much the same speed, or faster than non-pro triathletes, however I run much slower despite how much training I do. I do think the rods are partly to blame because I feel like my body is telling me my max speed before damage occurs below and above the fusion. That's why I like to go for longer distances, versus sprints.
I think it's great to stay active and minimizes back pain for sure (although may increase other pains...ha ha!).

[SIsForSarah]

I played a lot of high impact running sports up until a few years ago (field hockey in high school, Ultimate frisbee up until a couple of years ago, road hockey on occasion) and still play some very non-competitive soccer. My problems have always occurred though when I try to train for longer running events (longest I've done is the 5K) - my knees, in particular, don't like it. The physiotherapist I've been going to see since I herniated a disc about two years ago, told me no more jogging, but a little bit of soccer was O.K. (it's actually less running overall). I also skied for awhile and have done a lot of recreational ice skating. I've been trying to get information on whether or not I should lay off on the sports, but have gotten more of the "just be careful" responses. So I think you're O.K. with the skiing and O.K. with the running if it doesn't bother you.

In terms of being fast: I used to take it easy running long distances (definitely not a fast pace), but I used to be one of the faster girls on my Ultimate team and I play forward when I play soccer (a faster position). I'm a really inefficient swimmer, mainly because I can't seem to swim in a straight line - I'd like to blame it on my curve, but it's probably just me

The leg pain you're describing sounds like sciatica - you may have a disc below your fusion irritiating a nerve. It couldn't hurt to get a quick check-up with a physician.

[jrnyc]

Hi Heidi
sent you a private message...

good luck in your search
jess

[rachael]

I agree with SIsFORSarah about the pain sounding like sciatica. When I had that, physical therapy took care of it. The most helpful stretch was lying face down, keeping your pelvis on the ground, push up with your arms trying to arch the parts of your back you can and take a deep breath and exhale while trying to deepen the stretch, repeat several times. It feels great