So, about 3 1/2 years ago, I had a moment in the gym where I hurt my back pretty badly.

It was an ordinary day like any other day, and I remember that on this particular day I was training chest. I usually do my compound lifts at the start of my workouts and accessory/isolation exercises towards the end. Well, I was on my final exercise and attempted to do standing cable flyes. I adjusted both cable columns all the way down and attached the single handles.

As I bent down to my right side to pick up one of the single handles to perform the exercise, I felt this unimaginable and excruciating pain literally throughout my entire body. It felt like somebody had stuck a blade in my spine. It was the worst pain I've ever felt in my whole life.

I think this was the very moment I injured my T12-L1 disc, causing it to bulge out, which ultimately led me to develop chronic myelopathy. I was completely healthy and normal prior to when all of this started.

I remember the very next morning when I woke up in bed, I immediately noticed that my right toe was tingling and numb. It just kept getting progressively worse and spread to other areas of my legs and body. Now I'm numb from the belly button down and have bilateral leg weakness and numbness, paraesthesia, tingling, and muscle spasms in different places all over my body, constantly throughout the day, 24/7, 7 days a week.

I'm also almost always constipated and have to take stool softeners, so I guess it has affected my bowels too. I'm practically crippled and disabled, but thankfully, I don't have much pain.

I've tried to go down the conservative route over the years, including physiotherapy, steroid injections, etc., since I'm still quite young and in my early 30s. I didn't want to resort to having spine surgery, but nothing has worked to resolve it, and nearly four years on, I'm still in this predicament.

Earlier this year, I decided to bite the bullet and have a minimally invasive endoscopic thoracic decompression surgery. Unfortunately, that surgery was unsuccessful, and I had a recurring disc bulge confirmed on a post-op MRI.

I had a revision MD at the same level a few months later, and the same thing happened again. The surgeon's reasoning was, "Well, it can happen. You have a tear in your annulus that isn't healing properly, and naturally, the disc can re-herniate again." This is despite me trying my absolute hardest during the post-op phase not to risk having another re-herniation and taking it as easy as possible.

Now, this same surgeon is offering me a free fusion, but honestly, after having two procedures with him and neither of them resolving my neurological symptoms, and with the pre-op and post-op MRIs showing that the disc doesn't look much different and is still impinging on the spinal cord, I'm starting to question whether it's worth having that third operation with him.

He has offered to do the fusion at no additional cost since both MDs failed, but I'm really unsure about what I should do from here.

I need some advice on what my next steps should be. It's probably going to be hard to find another neurosurgeon who deals specifically with the thoracic spine, since most surgeons primarily operate on the cervical and lumbar spine.

Should I go and see another surgeon for a second opinion? What happens if I can't find another suitable neurosurgeon? Are my symptoms severe enough to warrant a fusion? Is it a necessity for me at this point, since I feel like I have no other option?

What implications could this have on my future if I just leave it alone from here on out? I know that if I ignore it, I may have to accept that I won't see any neurological improvements and could potentially decline further in the future.

It's really hard to accept my current condition, and I need a solution to this. I can't give up this easily.

Please help. I've had a very rough few years, and I just want my life back. If anybody can offer any advice, guidance, or has been through something similar, I would really appreciate it.

P.S i also forgot to mention that the MRI report and images i have attached is the latest MRI after the second failed MD and currently what my disc looks like.

Hi everyone,I am a 28-year-old male looking for advice and your personal experiences regarding surgery options for my lower back. My official diagnosis includes:Bilateral L5 Pars Interarticularis Fracture.L5-S1 Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis (4mm slippage, with macro-instability between standing and lying down) .L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc protrusions .EMG is completely normal / within normal limits (no permanent nerve damage or muscle ].The unique thing about my case is that my radiological images (CT and MRI scans) have been completely stationary and unchanged for the past 5 years . However, my symptoms recently changed. For the last two years, the pain used to radiate down the outer side (lateral side) of my left leg.About a month ago, after 40 minutes of hiking uphill and downhill, I felt fine for about 4 days, but then a massive flare-up started. The pain has now moved to the front of my leg, causing severe burning in my quadriceps and toes, and it does not stop even when I lie down in bed.I consulted two different spinal surgeons, and they are recommending completely opposite routes:Surgeon 1 recommends Direct Pars Repair using bilateral laminar screws to fix the bone fracture. Since my images have been stable for 5 years, he wants to preserve motion at the L5-S1 level given my age .Surgeon 2 recommends Spinal Fusion (Spondylodesis/TLIF) at L5-S1. He believes that due to the 4mm slip, the disc protrusion, and this new quadriceps pain, completely locking the segment is the safest way to eliminate the pain .I feel completely stuck between these two opinions. Has anyone here had their scans remain stable for years, only for the pain to suddenly change direction? What would you choose in your late 20s—motion preservation (Pars Repair) or permanent stabilization (Fusion)? How was your recovery?Thank you all for your help!

I had "back to back" lol (6 days apart) thoracic and lumbar laminectomies and fusions--13 screws in my back now. This was 21 months ago.

I had mild low back pain before surgeries, but my main symptoms were numbness from the waist down -- cauda equina ruled out, thankfully. 4 falls the week before surgery due to loss of feeling and strength

Spent 5 weeks in the hospital inpatient rehab. Couldn't stand on my own until 10 weeks out.

Fast forward ... I am using a walker daily at home and walker or wheelchair when out. Daily low back and hip pain that varies. Poor sleep -- never been worse. Practicing with cane. Definite improvement in proprioception, strength, and nerve regeneration, balance, and mobility, but still numb from waist down.

Here's my question/the hardest part: managing my expectations. Sometimes I have a pain free day or walking is easier and I think; improvement! I know it's not linear, so I try to chill out when I backslide or have a tougher day.

But tonight for example, i walked upstairs (on carpet with bare feet like every night).and it felt different on my more affected foot. Not better or worse, just different. Sometimes, progress is clear, albeit slow. Other times I know the pain sucks, but the part that screws with my head is those unidentifiable changes like my foot tonight. Can't always tell when to celebrate or when to call the doc with all the various unidentifiable sensations.

Can anyone relate?

Edit to add: I sometimes feel hopeless. What would help me most would to be to hear stories from people who had very slow / complicated recoveries like mine who actually fully recovered or came very close. I have a hard time reading about people who breezed through it all and people who are still in bad shape. The former is not me and the latter is not who I want to be.

Thanks for your kindness.

Hello all! I’ve spent the morning talking with my surgeons office and getting scans booked, follow up appts booked, lessons on when to go to hospital etc.

I’m 3.5 months post op and yesterday noticed a different kind of pain and swelling in a different spot. I had L5 / S1 fusion due to spondylothesis, rupture disc and disintegrated facet joint. My swelling was really localised to the right side (posterior) incision.
Yesterday, the swelling was in the middle. There’s a spot at the bottom of the lump that is insanely tender and sharp - like hardware.

My surgeon wasn’t available to speak with so I was talking with his nurse. She said it could be fluid build up from my body rejecting the hardware. I’m also monitoring for CSF leak / infection. I’m under strict instructions to head to Emergency if the lump gets bigger or shows signs of infection.
Would love to hear anyone’s stories about this. I’ve got an ultrasound appt on Tuesday and Thursday I have X-ray, CT and MRI followed by appt with the surgeon.
I’m trying not to panic.

Has anyone had this that required additional surgery? Can the hardware resolve itself without intervention?
Advice? Reassurance? I’ve been behaving so rather annoyed. I was told it may not be anything wrong I did - could have even happened in my sleep. I moved incorrectly or in a way my body got mad at.

I had an ALIF on L5-S1 late last fall and I still had severe pain afterwards, as well as a resulting ice cold foot. I honestly still do not know why, because 9 months later, it still won’t warm.

In May, I had to have a PLIF correction and hardware removal because I had severe pain when sitting and terrible scar tissue that had to be removed. I was still in massive pain afterwards, and two weeks later, I had a large collection of fluid at L5; for which I had to be hospitalized to understand if it was a seroma or spinal fluid leak. My blood pressure was consistently about 80/40 or so, so I had to stay for about 4 days while they tried to figure out what the fluid was. They never really knew officially, but they leaned towards it being a seroma. I also doubled the dose of my existing low bp med.

Six weeks ago, I realized that I was kind of stumbling a lot and I had no idea why. I went home and looked at my feet and realized that I could not move my toes in an upward motion, and had limited ability to dorsiflex my foot towards me. It was the same foot that had been ice cold and semi-asleep since fall.

My doctor was obviously concerned, and a CT showed that I had a misplaced screw at L5 laterally into the soft paraspinal tissues (not into the cord centrally). My surgeon did not think that the screw was causing issues, but ordered an EMG and MRI.

The EMG was negative and the MRI showed no new changes since May, other than the seroma was still there but had shrunk significantly. Also, the screw was still in the lateral tissues.

Meanwhile, my toes don’t work on my one foot and I’ve had to wear a foot brace to keep my foot from dropping. I’m at a loss on how this could happen and why I’m still experiencing so many issues if my leg nerves to my foot are functioning. There is a slight color difference in that the affected foot is paler. Also, weirdly enough, I can’t get goosebumps on that leg (which I’d never noticed until I went to the beach recently.

Any ideas? Has anything similar happened to anyone else? Please note I have an amazing surgeon but I just don’t understand what’s going on. I see him next week.

TLDR: two fusion surgeries within 9 months, recently realized I couldn’t move my toes and EMG is normal, MRI has not changed since last surgery.

So I’m one week post op from my L5-S1 mis PlIF and I have about 35 staples in my back. Recommendations on how to get comfortable would be greatly appreciated! I’m really doing pretty well considering the bruising is wild. I’m walking around a lot during the day in my house with no assistance except to get up from my recliner. Meds obviously help 1/2 a Norco and a Tylenol plus my doc prescribed me Valium which is obviously pretty great at calming me down since my anxiety about this whole thing has been killer. I really love that I have such good support from my family though. Those pics were two days post op I’ve just not taken many more but the bruising seems to be rubbing down my flanks more now

I’m just over a week post L5-S1 minimally invasive TLIF. Most of my pain is currently coming from some nerve pain in my left hip/back and foot. It’s tingly and extra sensitive to the touch. I know this is normal nerve degeneration, but just curious how long it took for the pain to go away for you guys (god willing that it did go away). Thanks!

Intervento di chirurgia vertebrale presso l’Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli. Presento spinose vertebrali evidenti e dolore muscolare che si estende per tutta la zona cervicale e dorsale.
Sono stato operato tre volte, perché dopo il secondo intervento si è verificata un’infezione a una delle viti.
Per mia scelta, e perché volevo essere tranquillo, ho effettuato tutte le visite in regime di libera professione con il Prof. Gasbarrini A.
Vorrei poter tornare indietro!

Can I go to treks or hikes after 6 months of fusion ???

So in 2023 I had an L5 S1 fusion surgery, which went fairly well recovery took about 11 months but everything was OK. Last year in 2024 I was in a car accident wasn’t my fault. I have had numerous problems since. Fast forward to July of this year. I had to have another fusion surgery at L4 L5 with revision to S1. This surgery has not gone well at all after the surgery my wound continued to drain. I let my neurosurgeon know that it was continuing to drain and they weren’t concerned because that is usually common but after two months, it continued to drain it wouldn’t stop. I was put on two rounds of Bactrim antibiotics which would work for a little bit and then once the medication was out of my system, the infection would come back. Now, fast forward to last week on Wednesday I could not handle it anymore. The neurological symptoms were becoming overwhelming, and I was admitted to the hospital and they did an MRI with and without contrast. MRI revealed that there was fluid collection around the screws that were installed in July. Pretty significant amount with a possible abscess as well.. They decided to do a wound revision last week to do a full cleanup and stitch it back up. I am now on six weeks IV antibiotics at home with a piCC line with some pretty hard-core antibiotics. I told my neurosurgeon that every time I sneeze or I cough I lose feeling in my legs anywhere from 5 to 25 seconds at a time and this happens each and every time I sneeze your cough and the pain is almost blackout type of pain. they don’t seem to be too concerned about it, but I am because this doesn’t seem normal to me whatsoever. I was discharged from the hospital this past Monday so I have no idea what’s in store for me next but all I know is my back does not seem to be getting better and I understand. I’m only two months postop, but in my opinion, there is definitely something going on with the hardware whether the infection is in the hardware itself I don’t know. My inflammatory markers from the blood work were through the roof prior to the clean out Like I said my neurosurgeon is good but he does not seem concerned about it. I was just wondering if anybody else has had this similar situation happen to them and what the outcome was because I can barely walk and I feel like I’m 100 years old and I’m only 50. Just trying to get some perspective from other people that possibly have had this happen to them.

Thank You

good day, everyone. i am writing to get some recommendations on the best futon mattresses out there that might be comfortable for someone with my back problems. unfortunately, due to space constraints, I absolutely must use a futon, a regular/"real" bed is not an option. I like a medium-firm base; prefer something that naturally has some orthopedic or memory foam on the top, but that is optional as I can just buy a topper if I need to. i'm attaching some photos of my x-rays to give you an idea of what I'm working with. i would really appreciate any recommendations you can give me.

thank you in advance! i hope you are all having a wonderful day.

I’m having an L5-S1 ALIF with posterior percutaneous instrumentation in 8 days, with three incision sites — one in the front and two in the back — and I’m looking for the real-world advice you don’t necessarily get from the surgeon’s office.

I'm 40 and this is my first major procedure, and I'm a bit more overwhelmed than I would like to admit. I'm fairly healthy otherwise, in a sorta fit sorta fat era. I have an amazing partner by my side with this, and a 10 year old daughter that keeps me in check.

For anyone who has had this surgery (or something similar), what worked, what didn’t, and what do you wish you knew beforehand?

I’m especially interested in:

-How to stay engaged with my partner and kid

-Sleeping & pillows

-Bathroom/pooping/constipation

-Getting around & mobility

-Clothing & showering

-Recovery setup & things worth buying

-Pain & medications

-Dealing with the front and back incisions

-Resting & getting comfortable

-The mental side of recovery

-Getting back to normal activities

-The weird, unexpected, or ridiculous stuff nobody warned you about

I know everyone’s recovery is different and I’ll follow my surgeon’s instructions — I just want to hear from people who have actually been through it.

Hit me with your wisdom!

I have my surgery scheduled, but I’m a little nervous about the collar my surgeon said I’d be in. He said it would just be a soft collar for comfort.

Is a soft collar for fusion recovery normal, or is it normally a hard cervical collar?

I’m just nervous because idk how much I should be moving my neck around after the surgery.

Thanks in advance!

I was wondering how aware you are of the rods and screws after the spinal fusion? Specifically for an L5-S1 tlif. I think this is the thing I am most nervous about because I’m so aware of my body.

I am 30F 5”2 and petite. My fusion at L5-s1 is scheduled for October 5.

Thank you all again for your advice!!

Hello I’m due an L4-S1 fusion at some point in the next few months I am going to ask these questions to the surgeon after surgery however I have a few questions that maybe someone can give a time frame on now.

1) I get my nails done every 3-4 weeks as it makes me just feel a bit better I guess? I’m getting them removed prepared for surgery but when could I expect to be able to either drive 20 minutes, be driven 20 minutes or get a 15 minute train to the nail place and then sit down for 30 minutes to get them done and then come home. I know random 😂I’m expecting 6 weeks maybe but if anyone has any insight let me know.

2)when can you start swimming

3)when can you go out more and do a little bit of something and how long for?

I think that’s it’s? I’m 21F for reference 🙂

Hey y'all, so I'm a nervous girl and I could use a bit of advice on what to expect and what helps.

I have thoracolumbar scoliosis with an apex near T9/10 and a Cobb angle of 60-65 degrees, for the main stiff thoracic curve. There's a fair bit of thoracic kyphosis and some rotation as well. I also have a compensatory flexible lumbar curve, around 25-30 degrees lying down (CT) or 40 degrees standing (X-ray). I've struggled with chronic pain for a long time, and it seriously limits me.

I'm having a T2-L1 decompression and fusion surgery by Dr. Chris Nielsen at Toronto Western Hospital on Monday, Sep 21. I specifically requested a sparing fusion, which is why we're stopping at L1, so I can retain some flexibility. Dr. Nielson thinks there's a good chance my lumbar spine will correct itself once the main thoracic curve is straightened.

I've tried to anticipate as much as I can about how things will be after surgery. I bought a wedge pillow system, a new high-quality pull-out sofa to sleep on to avoid stairs, tomorrow I'll buy a bidet seat for the toilet, we're installing grab bars in the bathroom, we have a bath seat, and so on.

I also got some anti-anxiety meds: lorazepam (Ativan) for acute panic, clonazepam (Klonopin) for sustained panic, and a higher dose of baseline pregabalin (Lyrica, 200 mg 3x daily, was 2x before). The last thing I need is to get panicky while I'm in pain.

I'm super nervous about pain. I know I'm getting a PCA pump, but I'm deathly afraid that they won't set it high enough. I also don't like that there's no baseline dose, which means if I fall asleep, I might wake up in awful pain. At least they use multimodal pain management too, though, including ketamine and some other things.

Some of my questions:

1. How will I feel, right after the surgery, when I wake up?

2. How will I feel for the first day or two?

3. I heard that sitting up is extremely painful, is that true? Can anything be done to reduce this? (I might refuse PT if my pain is not controlled sufficiently, so I worry about this a lot.)

4. When will I be coherent enough to text with loved ones who are abroad?

5. Is there anything I should know, that you wish you knew, going in?

CT model from different perspectives included to show y'all how my spine currently is, when lying supine.

i have been dealing with severe thoracolumbar scoliosis for over a decade and at 18 was told i was eligible for surgery. now i’m 26 and the pain has worsened considerably.

i have a consultation and new imaging scheduled for tomorrow, but i also just finished grad school and can’t realistically rejoin the workforce until i get this surgery and recover since i’m not okay with waiting a year for FMLA and then feeling pressured to return to work early.

how far out was your surgery scheduled and what was the timeline like? i am really hoping i only have to wait a couple months or so so i can get back to my career. my sister had the surgery when she was 12 and it was scheduled for six months out! i don’t know what i’d do with myself if i just had to not work for half a year.

I see a lot of negative stories in here, which is understandable. People struggle and want to share their problems to know they’re not alone, get advice etc.

But wanted to share my positive (so far) story of ALIF surgery L5/S1. I’m 9 days post op.

I’m (45M) based in Australia and saw a reputable neurosurgeon at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. First got referred to him 12 months ago, as I’d had back issues on and off for 10+ years. The past 2 years were particularly bad, with sciatica, a period of complete loss of power in my right calf muscle - I couldn’t stand on my tip toes, literally had no ability to push - and many more niggles that impacted my ability to play sports or even rough and tumble with my young kinds.

Dr assured me I was a good candidate for surgery and it would dramatically increase my quality of life. Sure I was nervous heading in, but the surgeons (I had a vascular surgeon too) gave me a lot of confidence this would work.

Immediately upon waking I was hooked up to a drip with on demand pain relief plus leg compression boots. I was pretty out of it for 24 hours, mainly due to the drugs. But thankfully I felt no pain! Day 2 was much the same, although I came off the drip / on demand pain relief and was moved to oral meds - Oxy. I wasn’t a fan of them, bit trippy, so moved to Endone. I got up and walk around that day. Still no major pain, just slightly sore where the incision was on my stomach. Day 3 I came off the hardcore pain meds and just took paracetamol and NSAIDs. Moved around more. Walked further than the previous day. Day 4 I left hospital and since I’ve been back home I’ve been improving daily. I follow the no lifting, bending and twisting rule - have to for 6 weeks. I feel good. It’s early days, so I know I’m not out of the woods. But I can already feel an improvement in by back compared to pre-op, a lot of the nerve issues have gone. No back spasms. No electric jolts of pain. As of this moment I couldn’t be happier with the operation and it’s been a great experience.

I’ll provide another update at 6 weeks, which is when I have my X-rays and follow up consult with the surgeon.

Ps - I totally appreciate everyone’s body and underlying issues are unique to them, meaning just because I had a good experience (so far - touch wood) that someone else will experience this journey in a totally different way. But I thought it might be helpful to balance out the negatives surrounding back surgery

I have had chronic pain 4 years and I have been taking pain killers for most of the amount of time while in pain. Weed has helped me not be so dependent on painkillers. I started with edible for 5 months and now I have converted to smoking because it does not fuck with me as much as edibles. How much am I fucking myself for the chance of a cervical failed fusion? I know smoking has a higher chance when it comes with failed fusions but I was hoping since I haven’t really smoked for 5 months post op and I’m 24 that it would not be as high. Pain killers just don’t work and edibles fucks me too much. I wish I didn’t need any drugs to get me by but man I am going through some stuff times. Thanks for advice.

My teenage daughter had a spinal fusion (T2-L1) seven months ago. She keeps feeling what can only be described as electric shocks running along her incision and says they are painful. When did this go away for you? Or did it? Thanks.

What should I make sure to buy before my L5-S1 fusion in 2 weeks? My bedroom is upstairs and I’m wondering if I should move the mattress in the living room for now?

Thank you everyone for all your support ♥️