Riding after spinal surgery

[DuncsGTi]

I've found myself in the unfortunate situation of needing a lumbar spinal fusion L4L5. I'm booked in to go under the knife on the 22nd.

Has anyone here had the same done and continued riding afterwards?
I've continued riding after previous less serious operations, including a few track days around 6 months post microdiscectomy.
This time it all seems more dodgy with metalwork getting screwed into vertebrae etc.
I know I'm not going to know for sure how I'll be feeling until after the op but I just wondered if anyone on here had gone through similar?

[Muppet007]

Slightly different from you but my wife had back surgery after breaking her back in 3 places and rupturing 3 disk. Surgery was to repair / remove parts of the disk.

This was about 5 years ago but within 12 months was running ultra marathons and still his.

The military (broke whilst on exercise) said she would be in a wheelchair in 3 years.... That's a longer story.

[DuncsGTi]

Muppet007 said:

Slightly different from you but my wife had back surgery after breaking her back in 3 places and rupturing 3 disk. Surgery was to repair / remove parts of the disk.

This was about 5 years ago but within 12 months was running ultra marathons and still his.

The military (broke whilst on exercise) said she would be in a wheelchair in 3 years.... That's a longer story.

Mine is due to military service, a longer story too

Great to hear your wife made such a good recovery

[Waynester]

Yep, I was injured 15 years ago whilst in the Police.. discs L4/5 & L5/S1 went pop! I had a discectomy first, then an ADR (artificial disc replacement) at L4/5, and L5/S1 spinal fusion at Stanmore orthopaedic hospital.
I didn’t ride again for a few years after. Not because of the surgery, but because I didn’t have a bike at the time. I have 4 bikes now, all sport bikes and tbh I don’t really have much of an issue on shortish rides. But any longer than 1 hour and I get uncomfortable. My lower back usually tightens or goes into spasm, so I need to crouch & stretch it out.. Riding when it’s cold makes it worse too.
An issue I am having today, 15 years after the surgery is the ADR is suffering wear and tear, so it’s stiffer in movement than it used to be. It actually creaks like an old wooden sailing ship in certain positions.
Having a single spinal fusion shouldn’t cause you to much grief.. Just take it easy once you’re are all healed up, see how you feel. If it does cause you discomfort then perhaps a change of bike (if you have a sports bike) to something more upright would be better..

Good luck with the surgery, you’ll be fine.

[DuncsGTi]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Awesome, hopefully he sees the thread.

Edit to add, obviously not awesome that he had the injury

[DuncsGTi]

Waynester said:

Yep, I was injured 15 years ago whilst in the Police.. discs L4/5 & L5/S1 went pop! I had a discectomy first, then an ADR (artificial disc replacement) at L4/5, and L5/S1 spinal fusion at Stanmore orthopaedic hospital.
I didn’t ride again for a few years after. Not because of the surgery, but because I didn’t have a bike at the time. I have 4 bikes now, all sport bikes and tbh I don’t really have much of an issue on shortish rides. But any longer than 1 hour and I get uncomfortable. My lower back usually tightens or goes into spasm, so I need to crouch & stretch it out.. Riding when it’s cold makes it worse too.
An issue I am having today, 15 years after the surgery is the ADR is suffering wear and tear, so it’s stiffer in movement than it used to be. It actually creaks like an old wooden sailing ship in certain positions.
Having a single spinal fusion shouldn’t cause you to much grief.. Just take it easy once you’re are all healed up, see how you feel. If it does cause you discomfort then perhaps a change of bike (if you have a sports bike) to something more upright would be better..

Good luck with the surgery, you’ll be fine.

Thanks for sharing your experience, very helpful.

I'm booked in at the same hospital which treated you. I too had the disc shaved first, done twice over the course of about 16 years but the same part of the disc keeps rupturing.

Edited by DuncsGTi on Saturday 10th April 14:51

[Waynester]

DuncsGTi said:

Thanks for sharing your experience, very helpful.

I'm booked in at the same hospital which treated you. I too had the disc shaved first, done twice over the course of about 16 years but the same part of the disc keeps rupturing.

Edited by DuncsGTi on Saturday 10th April 14:51

Found a picture of my metal work. ADR top, fusion below. Definitely a worthwhile operation for those with disc issues and chronic back pain.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

It's not always necessary to have the fusion. Even in extreme cases you can physio your way back to health but the preventative physio is the same as the recovery.

I was on the disc-ectomy / fusion path following unsuccessful nerve root block therapy.

However, i happened upon the back-care charity and had a consultation. I was advised the following:

• Regular breast stroke sessions (sadly swimming and not stroking breasts). The position helps re-align the discs.
• Buy a bosu ball and use it every day to build up core and lower back strength. Just use when watching TV instead of sofa.
• Dorsal raises + variations.
• Dorsal stretches - lie flat on stomach and raise your torso until arms locked and hold for long duration then repeat.

I never needed surgery and as an ex-rower and 195cm tall and keen cyclist I tick every risk factor.

I can now ride / race enduro (mtb) without pain.

Obviously every injury is different but building good core strength is a surefire way to massively reduce the risk of occurrence / reoccurrence.

[DuncsGTi]

Waynester said:

Found a picture of my metal work. ADR top, fusion below. Definitely a worthwhile operation for those with disc issues and chronic back pain.

Part man, part machine Does it set off the metal detectors in the airport?

On a more serious note, what was it like in the immediate aftermath? Did you have an instant reduction in pain as the nerve was decompressed?

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

It's not always necessary to have the fusion. Even in extreme cases you can physio your way back to health but the preventative physio is the same as the recovery.

I was on the disc-ectomy / fusion path following unsuccessful nerve root block therapy.

However, i happened upon the back-care charity and had a consultation. I was advised the following:

• Regular breast stroke sessions (sadly swimming and not stroking breasts). The position helps re-align the discs.
• Buy a bosu ball and use it every day to build up core and lower back strength. Just use when watching TV instead of sofa.
• Dorsal raises + variations.
• Dorsal stretches - lie flat on stomach and raise your torso until arms locked and hold for long duration then repeat.

I never needed surgery and as an ex-rower and 195cm tall and keen cyclist I tick every risk factor.

I can now ride / race enduro (mtb) without pain.

Obviously every injury is different but building good core strength is a surefire way to massively reduce the risk of occurrence / reoccurrence.

Fully appreciate that a good physio and recovery plan can make a world of difference. I've been extremely fortunate in that I've had access to the defence national rehabilitation centre who are absolute world leaders when it comes to using rehabilitation to avoid the need for surgery.
I did a residential complex spines course there and had a huge flare up during the course.

While I agree that fusion should be a last resort, I'm at that point now where I've tried all of the more conservative treatments and less invasive surgeries. My most recent MRI shows that the disc has herniated in the same place as I've had 2 microdiscectomys performed. The consultant is of the opinion that if he does another revision then I'm at an extremely high risk of it failing again.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Sounds like my advice is only relevant post fusion then.

It needn't affect mobility. I'm an ex-rower and know a couple of folks who had it done and continued to row successfully.

IIRC Tim Foster had the same op and then competed in redgrave's coxless Olympic 4 which won gold.

Good luck. Back pain is utterly utterly brutal.

[Biker's Nemesis]

Yes and a bit more, its all in the mind, if you wanna keep going you will.

[dreamer75]

I think I've posted on your other thread, but I think we've had a similar journey. Microdiscectomy (relatively quick recovery) then L4/5 fusion. Mine was a few years ago now, but since the fusion I've learnt to ski (regular ski holidays pre COVID), got into road cycling and mountain biking (including the Alps and Bike Parks), and got my bike license and done a few track days. Oh and started jogging during lockdown.

Obviously varies person to person but for me it was life changing (combined with some pain management counselling about a year or so post surgery).

Don't rush the recovery, do the exercises (maybe for life), and... don't rush the recovery (again!). Be patient and don't despair if you don't "wake up fixed."

Not sure which bike you ride, but a sports bike would be out of the question for me (I've got a Z1000 which is about as leant down and knees bent as I can deal with), but you might be fine!

[airsafari87]

My Mrs had the same surgery and she manages fine on the bike, and she is soft as sh*te.

[DuncsGTi]

Biker's Nemesis said:

Yes and a bit more, its all in the mind, if you wanna keep going you will.

This is generally my mindset towards things, I'm sure that won't change.

dreamer75 said:

I think I've posted on your other thread, but I think we've had a similar journey. Microdiscectomy (relatively quick recovery) then L4/5 fusion. Mine was a few years ago now, but since the fusion I've learnt to ski (regular ski holidays pre COVID), got into road cycling and mountain biking (including the Alps and Bike Parks), and got my bike license and done a few track days. Oh and started jogging during lockdown.

Obviously varies person to person but for me it was life changing (combined with some pain management counselling about a year or so post surgery).

Don't rush the recovery, do the exercises (maybe for life), and... don't rush the recovery (again!). Be patient and don't despair if you don't "wake up fixed."

Not sure which bike you ride, but a sports bike would be out of the question for me (I've got a Z1000 which is about as leant down and knees bent as I can deal with), but you might be fine!

That does seem similar to my situation and does bring me a bit of comfort. I'll certainly be taking the recovery at a sensible pace and allow things to recover at their on speed.

Bikes wise, I've got a couple of sports bikes, an MT10 and a Ducati Hypermotard so I've covered a few bases there for different styles of bike.

[Waynester]

DuncsGTi said:

Waynester said:

Found a picture of my metal work. ADR top, fusion below. Definitely a worthwhile operation for those with disc issues and chronic back pain.

Part man, part machine Does it set off the metal detectors in the airport?

On a more serious note, what was it like in the immediate aftermath? Did you have an instant reduction in pain as the nerve was decompressed?

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

It's not always necessary to have the fusion. Even in extreme cases you can physio your way back to health but the preventative physio is the same as the recovery.

I was on the disc-ectomy / fusion path following unsuccessful nerve root block therapy.

However, i happened upon the back-care charity and had a consultation. I was advised the following:

• Regular breast stroke sessions (sadly swimming and not stroking breasts). The position helps re-align the discs.
• Buy a bosu ball and use it every day to build up core and lower back strength. Just use when watching TV instead of sofa.
• Dorsal raises + variations.
• Dorsal stretches - lie flat on stomach and raise your torso until arms locked and hold for long duration then repeat.

I never needed surgery and as an ex-rower and 195cm tall and keen cyclist I tick every risk factor.

I can now ride / race enduro (mtb) without pain.

Obviously every injury is different but building good core strength is a surefire way to massively reduce the risk of occurrence / reoccurrence.

Fully appreciate that a good physio and recovery plan can make a world of difference. I've been extremely fortunate in that I've had access to the defence national rehabilitation centre who are absolute world leaders when it comes to using rehabilitation to avoid the need for surgery.
I did a residential complex spines course there and had a huge flare up during the course.

While I agree that fusion should be a last resort, I'm at that point now where I've tried all of the more conservative treatments and less invasive surgeries. My most recent MRI shows that the disc has herniated in the same place as I've had 2 microdiscectomys performed. The consultant is of the opinion that if he does another revision then I'm at an extremely high risk of it failing again.

Initial post surgery was kinda rough for me.. I spent 2 days in ICU as both my kidneys stopped working. Never really understood why.....
As other have said, don’t (you can’t really) rush recovery.. it takes a while to get back on your feet. I think because I had the ADR at the same time this slowed my recovery compared to just the fusion.. so I had a lot of discomfort for 6 weeks or so.. But, once that had subsided, the pain & nerve compression issues I was having had pretty much gone. No more twitching thigh muscles at night or sciatic pain.. It just takes a little time to recover, which varies from person to person.
I had also exhausted pre Op treatments.. physio, chiropractor (not recommended!), numerous epidural injections via the pain management clinic, use of a tens machine, and of course our old friend ‘Tramadol’

All in all, I have ‘no’ regrets having had the surgery. For me, it helped with the pain I had endured for years enormously!

One other thing that just occurred to me.. Have they discussed the risks, I.e. risk to surrounding nerves when they perform the Op? I was told there was a 3% risk to nerve damage, and I signed the consent form to that effect. And yes...I was one of the lucky 3%.

[Scrump]

I never managed to get back to riding after my last spinal fusion and sold my VFR as it sat in the garage for years.
The back was up to it but I had nerve damage in my left leg and so wasn’t able/didn’t feel confident to hold up the bike when coming to a stop.

A few years on I have regained some strength in the leg and am thinking about starting biking again,