Microsuccess15. I read your blog with much interest. I find it very exhaustive and very detailed. Exactly what back pain sufferers need and are looking for. I myself am after having had a microdiscectomy 19 days ago.
I must say I knew beforehand it wasn't going to be an easy one and was prepared for the worse. Luckily so far this hasn't come. Most of the pain I was in it is pretty much gone except for when I am getting up from bed do walk around the house. It was a slow gradual process. I can see improvement in the way I walk and how much I am able to walk in a day. My surgery was a microdiscectomy on l5s1 which neurosurgeon said was a success. It is up to me and my genetics to have a good recovery.
To all you people out there who consider this option or had it already don't loose faith and stay positive. I will try and update you weekly on my progress and hope to see others doing it as well.
Hi Daniel. I wish you all the best with your recovery. To get the most out of your blog you may wish to start a new thread so people can hear 1st hand your developments from the start to wherever you end up. I am not really bothered if you use my thread provided the flow of information gets out there:)
All the best
Hi Microsuccess15, I have indeed started my own thread after posting here. I hope you are doing well too and keep on updating us every now and then. People like us need to hear the positive stories too :).
Regards
Microsuccess15.
Thanks for staying with it all this time, some don't last a day.
I am 7 weeks post op and pretty much everything has gone to plan and I haven't pushed anything too hard as advised. I had a package deal and my final physio session will be in the next couple of days. I am walking 3 * 500m a day, doing some gentle squats and a couple off core exercises at the moment, but my query (and detail would be great if you have the time) about what to expect from now on with respect to physio exercises and progress.
Hi Anglo,
What your physio advises is always going to be the best course of action as they can see where your weaknesses lay. Whats equally important is where your located geographically (as in country) and also amenities? Peoples recoveries and failures will be defined by the level of healthcare they get and its standard. I'm based in the UK so I have had what i consider excellent healthcare (Aware some people dislike NHS due to wait times etc but with respect they are heavily overburdened and so the best they can with what they have). Equally what can be offered is also going to dictate much of your recovery. HOWEVER (and this is the downside) a lot of this will be down to you as an individual.
Your walking sounds good in comparison to what i was doing in the early days and does the minimal core exercises. Its now a question of SLOWLY building on these and adding in some additional exercises. So before the physio meeting write down all the niggles, and thoughts in your head. Are you weak in some areas (muscle groups), do you have pains in specific areas. WRITE THEM DOWN. When you see the physio say to them you would like future guidance on how to improve yourself in these areas and ask for a prognosis or recovery. Think long and short term. I found by the 6-9month I really had a good idea of my body and muscles, what areas i needed to build on and improve. I then did a lot of research into youtube and online things such as "how do i build the glute medius muscle" and "dorsal muscle strengthening". I then went about designing my own regime bespoke to myself. Does that make sense?
Ask A LOT of the physio then study yourself. Assess what YOU can do to improve yourself. Perosnally without the injury i wouldn't have got so clued up and knowledgable about myself. I am possibly in better shape than pre-injury. Any other queries please just ask anglo and best of luck on the recovery
A Good Qu today from Dan about early post op niggles i don't think I've ever addressed.
The most pain I get is in my foot and the back of my thigh. I still cant sit for more than a minute when I go to the loo. Sitting on the bed or a chair is a bit different. I can sit for more something like 5 minutes. The nerve is still very inflamed I guess. I tried lifting something of the floor and bent at the knees like the book says but as soon as I did that I felt my left calf and behind the knee literally exploding. I haven't felt that strange pain since more than a year ago when the nerve was starting to inflame.
My Answer:
if pain was this line (left ankle, furthest right glute) ----------- then after surgery people usually see it as -- -- ------. Over the months it should turn to -- ---- and then finally. ---. The reason you get the pain in the knee and calf is because this part of the s1 nerve is the first to recover. By squashing the nerve your giving the nerve that reminder "crap im an entire nerve, i best reconnect those pain signals". As should be made sense below, its temporary so don't panic, just limit it where possible
Lifting: However you life in these early months its going to hurt. Remember they've cut a tiny whole in your spine. This is now a pocket between the nerve and tissue. When you bend the pocket gives a tiny (talking millimetres) bit of space then the nerve is squashed (as currently inflamed). The longer this goes on the less inflamed the nerve so more bending can be down without aggravation.
For those that keep messaging my email remains jimsleighty at hot mail dot com . Its not changed in the last 3years and is in this thread somewhere still should you wish to confirm I'm still me and no imposter. Thankyou for your concerns
Hi,
How is it going after all these months. Please update us!!
So the second time I hit the big 40 in my life.... Month 40
I will firstly apologize for being out of contact my life has just been manic.
So the last 2 months have been the most backwards in my recovery (note i dont come on here when bad things happen. Go back through everything Ive written on my log before thinking only the negative is written and good times omitted).
The topic here is back spasms and potential future surgeries. Two months ago following kayaking on a stag weekend I had what I thought was just tightness in my hamstrings, which over 6hrs went up into my back and for the first time since all this began i got "back pain". Fear factor 10/10. To cut things short I ignored seeing a dr and opted for bed rest. MISTAKE. I hate when people say "keep moving" especially when they never can know how brutal and tough back pain and the discectomy can be both physically and mentally. However 8 weeks on and begrudgingly I now agree.
The pain I had was intense, not dull. Sharp enough to bring me to tears and long enough for me to despair. The cycle mentally post surgery has remain positive because falling into despair is self perpetuating and in a short space of time we can hit rock bottom and become our own worse enemies. I did that in only 4 weeks which is ridiculous. So please when you hit setbacks don't shut down and give up.
I have in the last 2 weeks jumped back into the post surgery mindset of regular light exercise as opposed the near gym and lifestyle i had got back to. I think it was a reminder to me and I hope others see that post sugery its a lot of hard work and at times luck that we recover to any degree. I did at week 2 go and pay £299 for an MRI privately which showed nothing. 40 weeks on and the spine is exactly as it was post surgery 40 months ago! I was somewhat shocked and it reinforced to me that we as humans are extremely robust both man and woman.
I said short version (sorry). So after the MRI I went to see the physio who instructed me that after back surgery that lifetime of tissue and muscle they cut through is prone to SPASM. Especially inter skeletal muscles around the spine that when twinge can put extreme pressure on the nerve. I point out those 6 hours off the kayak i was crying non-stop in agony.
My point is 4 weeks, 4 months, 40 months post surgery remember keep flexible if you hav the movement and if not find a reputable physio that can guve thigh and lumbar massages to keep tension low in the spine.
A lesson learned the very painful way.
Pain level until then 0.5/10 and that 0.5 tends to be once every 3-4 days and a nerve pain so dull its hard to describe, its like someone tracing the nerve down my leg with a pen for 10-20 seconds then its gone.
People I havent emailed back I am so sorry but this site keeps blocking me (that or my old age means i forget my password) jimsleighty@hotmail.com remains unchanged for those that have personal questions but remember guys and girls im not a healthcare professional and they should always be the first point of contact, im just someone who wants to do right by others and will where i can.
Hi All
I am new to this thread and just read most if not all the posts. I haven't needed surgery
yet but I am worried I could be headed in that direction. I have an L4 S1 disk herniation confirmed by an MRI have been going to Physical Therapy for 12 weeks now.
First 40 days (June 21 to August 1) could not walk more than 1000 ft and was house bound
August 1 started walking about 1-2 miles a day, taking gabepentin for nerve pain as prescribed by physiatrist . I had an epidural injection 10 days ago, it may have helped slightly. I am still having lain and burning in my ankle usually anywhere from a 2 to 5 on the pain scale (0 being no pain 10 being severe pain).
My physical therapist is urging me to be patient and not rush into surgery. I am just wondering if this is good advice.
Anyone care to weigh in on your experience?
Do these things get better with physical therapy?
Thanks
Steve
Hi Steven,
I say stick with your physiotherapist. It looks like you've been making some progress. Depending on the situation and on how you treat your back from now on there are some chances that you can avoid surgery.
Try to asses yourself-how good do you sleep, how comfortable are you when sitting and how much can you walk without crying in pain.
Surgery has to indeed be the last resort. It is something you can't undo and it will stay with you for the rest of your life. Myself and James(microsuccess) got surgery when it got practically impossible to walk, sit, sleep...live. I was bed bound for a month an I can't remember one night I slept more than 2 hours and that under extremely heavy sedation.
I am trying to make you see that you probably are still doing well and you should do everything possible to avoid surgery.
Myself after 8 months since l5s1 microd can say I got a good 3-4 months pain free out of it so far. The first 3 months post op where he'll because I had pain on and off and now for the past month I am experiencing nearly the same pain pre op. This goes to show that there is no magic solution to this. Surgery can work as well as it can fail. My best advise to you is keep in touch with your doctor and pt and follow professional advice in everything you do or try doing.
Regards
Daniel
Month 58
Well I guess firstly Happy New Year. I note each time I return to try post it gets harder to find this page which makes search engine results more difficult for people to find when useful pages when their searching for help (I HOPE AN ADMIN PERSON READS THIS).
The rollercoaster seems to have subsided considerably in the last few months. I've been more active running however I think I am going to have to lay plaudits to yoga. I've never been someone to do new years resolutions since pretty much getting hurt, I now go with the seize the day as you never know whats round the corner. Any way I've been using youtube following the basics of yoga and will include fightmaster and styles as two yoga instructors which seem to have made a difference to my wellbeing.
However before you start googling I will caveat this with some pointers. We as an injured group of people struggle with the mental focus this training requires. We all have pain in our heads that worsens when we least expect and can depress us into a state of not wanting to move. These bendy people and their ebb and flow into countless positions probably don't have to tackle the pinches and pains we get as we try to move at speed. So how to get the benefit....
Warmth - Either have a bath or turn the temperature up in the room for 30 minutes before exercising. Get the muscles relaxed.
Time - The lessons last 50minutes and when you watch how quickly they move you'll possibly just think "i can't". And your probably right. So don't try. Watch a lesson a chose maybe 3-5 moves they do and link those together as a personal regime. Practise going through the moves very slowly focussing on posture. Rome wasn't built in a day.
Mood - Relax. This is the time your trying to have you time. Find some relaxing sounds (not music) to have in the background as to go through your moves.
PAIN - If a move isnt for you stop. Swap it out don't push through.This should be a positive part of your day. Focus on knowing it is doing you well without strenuous activity.
I would say from personal experience I could have been doing this from month 3-4 and it certainly even now seems to work on my conditioning around the core stomach area.
I hope this helps someone.
James
Month 58
Well I guess firstly Happy New Year. I note each time I return to try post it gets harder to find this page which makes search engine results more difficult for people to find when useful pages when their searching for help (I HOPE AN ADMIN PERSON READS THIS).
You can just go to your profile and click on the Postings tab to find it easily.
Energylz: I didn't mean for me to find hence "their searching for help". I direct people to your site if I'm contacted on email so they can read the entire post from my injury to present day however I get nearly every time the reply "I can't find where on the site". This wall isn't for this kind of reply so I will leave it at that. Thankyou
Hi all, I've been thinking about it for a while and I think I am going to try put down some exercises and points I learnt over the last 5 years onto an instagram account as i can upload videos. The account will be searchable as ROCKHOPPINGMAN . I will not neglect the site here its just a thought as most of the people that reach out on email often need visuals to understand what i mean. I'm not one for social media put this seems the easiest platform beyond youtube. My intention is to try upload at least 1 new point each day when possible. I hope your all well
Hey guys, just a quick top 10
I keep getting emails about exercises and things to do to help with pre surgery and post recovery.
1. You need to walk daily. Up hill is preferable (on a treadmill even better). Walking uphill engages more of the buttock muscle groups. Slow and for long periods. The fatigue helps drown the nerve signals and there is longterm benefits
2. Every time you are going to sit and also when you are about to stand (if laid down) do the opposite downward dog position ( http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/fitness/video-mastered-the-downward-dog-now-try-a-perfect-upward-dog/article7029695/ ). It helps realign the spine and aides often in reducing the pain signals going down the leg after prolonged sitting. Unlike the woman in the video keep your hips flat to the floor as you life and do it in a slow steady movement.
3. Increase the number of baths or go to a swimming pool. I know this is a waste of water but I found that when the body is suspended in water the gravity helps take weight off the disc and in turn the nerve. After you swim go for a walk to help the muscles reactivate (just leaving the pool and going home and laying down is counter productive.
4. Get firming up with the glute bridge. A ball is helpful but just on a chair works the same. Whether pre surgery or post (about the 4-6 week point onward) you need to start rebuilding this core muscle. If it wastes away you will pay the price. After you do the exercise do some side clams to really target the glute medius (
5. Get a theraband. weight lifting is very difficult and can make things worse but there are hundreds of theraband exercises that use minimal resistance to keep core muscle groups in check and the beauty is its easy to transport to work.
6. If the pain is in the glute then purchase a golf ball or cricket ball (best with a seam) and place it under your glute (on the site of the pain) and roll it in a circular motion. It helps break down the muscle around the nerve. Focus on the site of the pain but if too raw then focus on the glute medius muscle first and work inward. Never let the ball touch bone.
7. Find something to focus on other than the injury. Extremely difficult I know. You want something that will test your brain. A book isn't usually good for this unless its learning. I found audiobooks on languages the best for when walking (Mandarin can be fun!)
8. Routine. Get the body into a routine in terms of exercising and doing stretches (dont over stretch), the more you do the better.
9. Fatigue. If your ankle pain comes on then calf raise until fatigue to overload pain signals. If its the glute then you need to do your glute bridge or clams. Usually this is just before bed. My theory behind this is body builders work their legs first as it releases more chemicals into the body, to help muscle development, so fatigue them and the whole body gets these positive chemicals. The pain of fatigue I found as a relief from the nerve pain and often doing it before bed helped me sleep
10. Funny films, chilli-dark chocolate, friends. Try to maintain some positivism in your day.... Very hard but trust me
I hope someone finds this of use
If anyone has the time please spare a thought for a Miss Kirsty Keep an extremely brave girl who is having her own fight and looking for help https://www.gofundme.com/8pnwn724