SpineCurve

Flexibility of Movement

When you have a spinal fusion you lose flexibility of you back-the ability to bend and twist your spine. Depending on how many vertebrae are fused, where the fusion takes place (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral) in your back, and the length of time following surgery will affect how much flexibility is lost. Not knowing how much flexibility I would lose due to surgery was a major concern to me. I enjoy being physically active and taking dance class and I was afraid I would completely lose the ability to bend and twist my back.

During physical therapy I was taught how to do everyday tasks without having to bend over. Things like brushing my teeth and washing my face, household chores, getting in and out of a car, and driving.

To brush my teeth, I would spit in a cup instead bending over and spitting into the sink. I would use a washcloth to wash my face instead of bending over and using water and cleanser directly over the sink. I mostly used shoes without laces that slipped on and when I needed to tie my shoes, I would sit down and put my ankle on the opposite knee and ties my shoe from there. Getting in and out of a car depended on if the seats are low-where you need to crouch to get in- or high-just sit right down. Because my fusion is pretty high up in my back, I could not crouch. I had to lean to the side to get around and into a car with lower seats. I was taught how to use my legs to lunge and use my torso as a whole unit in order to not use my back muscles for opening doors, getting dishes out of the dishwasher, sweeping the floor, etc.

Of course, right after surgery everything was painful and my movement was very restrictive. Five years out I feel like I have a great deal of flexibility. Because I am not fused into my hip or in my lumbar spine, I can bend my back pretty normally. I cannot crouch and I cannot twist as far and neither have significantly affected my ability to do what I want. I DO have to limit how much I use my neck to look down. Too much looking down strains my T1, T2 vertebrae (where my fusion starts) and surrounding muscles.  It strains to the point where I cannot move my head and I get very bad tension headaches that feel like a vice grip on the back of my head and neck.This is something I have to continually monitor to prevent injury.

Getting Back to Normal

My doctor said that recovery moves in phases- one week after surgery you're questioning why you did it; three months later you think it wasn't so bad; and one year later you think it was a good idea. It really did take me one year to get my full energy and activity levels back.

I went back to work after the 12 weeks of FMLA and was able to make it through a 9 hour day with at least 1 to 2 periods of laying down to rest for 5-10 minutes each. I would go to the gym and do light exercises-mostly stretching, water aerobics, walking on the treadmill or elliptical machines a couple times a week. It was the middle of winter in Chicago, so I needed and indoor place to exercise. I went to physical therapy several times a week, too. I did not have enough energy for anything outside of work and physical therapy/exercise. I still spent the majority of my time resting at home. My husband did the housework and kept me company.

It was an adjustment for me, being home so much. I was used to being very active and involved in all kinds of events. Someone who had been through 3 spinal fusions in 6 months had told me that you find out who your friends are and she was right in that for almost a year, you cannot keep up with them. It's not that they don't care. They just don't understand if they have never dealt with a major, chronic illness that requires extensive recovery.

I had tremendous support from my family and church. My dad, grandmother, husband and my minister's family were at the hospital for the entire time of my surgery. My mom came for 2 weeks to live with me and help take care of me when I came home from the hospital. Members from my church came to visit me in the hospital and brought us meals for a month since I was not able to cook.

Before and After Scoliosis Pictures

Here are some pictures of my back: 9 months before surgery, post surgery, and first day home from the hospital.

Recovering at home

Recovering basically became a gradual building of physical strength and a lessening of pain. And it takes months, even 1 year to really feel like you've got all your energy and strength back.

Initially there is a lot of pain with movement and a bit of adjustment in how you do things because you cannot bend over. So things like turning on the shower and spitting out your toothpaste after brushing your teeth needs an adjustment. At first I had someone turn on the shower for me, but then I started turning it on with my foot. I would spit into a cup to brush my teeth. I wore slip on tennis shoes so I didn't have to tie them. I had someone get food out for me from the refrigerator for me to eat, because I could not bend at all to get anything. Likewise, If I dropped something (like food) on the floor, it stayed there until someone else could get it.

Having my mom there to help take care of me was so nice. She would make food for me and we would go on walks everyday and she kept me company. We watched a lot of movies and read magazines. People from my church brought over meals for us for 2 weeks. which was incredibly helpful. The first day home I walked around the corner of our building to CVS and back and that was too much. I was in a lot of pain that night. Everyday I would see how far I could go. It wasn't painful to walk; it was more exhausting and uncomfortable (I could acutely feel the rods).

Being at home all day, feeling like crap was so boring. I could really do much but lay around, go for a daily walk to get some exercise and watch daytime tv. I didn't have much attention span to read much, but magazine material was light and short enough to handle. I window shopped a lot and did buy a pair a really pretty purple high heels shoes that I would wear in bed with my pajamas (obviously couldn't walk in them there). They made me feel better. I generally felt pretty crappy all day, everyday for the 12 weeks I was off home before going back to work. At least I kept telling myself, I am getting better. This is the worst it will ever be, each day is an improvement over the next.

Recovering in the hospital-Rest of the week

I remained in the hospital for the remainder of the week. I checked in for surgery on Monday and checked our that following Sunday. Everyday I had a physical therapist come in to assist me in moving again. We went over how to getting out and back into bed (roll over on your side, push yourself up with your arms to sitting, and then stand up-the reverse to get back into bed). I had to sit for some time which was once for about a 10-15 minutes per day and walking in the hallway with assistance. By the end of the week, I could make it around the entire hallway once. The therapists also had a room were we walked to and it had items to help me learn how to get into a car and sit in a chair, etc.

I had a lot of visitors which was so encouraging. I was pretty tired and would often fall asleep while they were visiting with me in the first half of the week, but by Friday I was gaining more strength. I couldn't eat much, I just wasn't hungry. The dietitian came in one day to talk to me because all I was really eating was jello and fruit smoothies, but I couldn't eat much more.

I had x-rays almost everyday and mostly just rested. The nurses and doctors who checked in on me were very nice. I tried to sleep as much as I could, but it could be difficult at times because the pain made it hard to get comfortable to sleep. Often it was easier to sleep during the day, but at night the pain would bother me and my husband (who was staying with me in the room overnight) would have to help adjust the bed for me to help me get comfortable. I had brought soothing music to listen to which also helped when I was too uncomfortable to sleep.

The drain tubes were removed my last day (very painful) and got a ride home from some friends (we lived in downtown Chicago about a 1/2 a mile from the hospital and had sold our car). It was painful trying to get into the car because it was small. If it had been a larger car, it would have been easier, but I made it home.