Newbie on a fast track to multilevel fusion???

[lswall]

Hi All. I am a 63 yr old male who, up to this summer, was very active (bike 7000 mi/yr, ski 100+ days/yr) in spite of a decade plus of lower back pain. In August, within a 3 day period, I went from being in the best cycling form in years to not being able to walk, with severe bilateral claudication and right foot drop. MRI showed DDD and stenosis which was exacerbated by a synovial cyst just below L45. The physical medicine guy I saw tried to burst the cyst and inject steroids. He believes he succeeded in bursting the cyst but it has not been confirmed. Bottom line, after three months of serious self-rehabilitation I gained back essentially all my strength but have had bilateral pain in the buttocks ever since. I started the ski season and, with the help of NSAIDs was able to ski until last week. The pain has been gradually increasing. I can make myself comfortable if all I want to do is watch football on TV, which is not what I want to do for the next 20 years.

Because of the initial foot drop the physical medicine doc arranged a consult with a surgeon before I left town. (I was being treated in another major city away from home.) I was told the surgeon was 'conservative', which I took to mean surgery as a last resort. However after 15 minutes with him I realized 'conservative' meant 'tried and true' laminectomy plus 3 level fusion, making my spine into a 2x4. Although he said that skiing post fusion was a good possibility, I am not one to cruise the intermediate groomed runs and could see my skiing life ending. I am not ready to go there yet.

So, I am looking at returning to the physical medicine guy for another MRI, steroid injection, and a discussion of other alternatives. When he last saw me I was still barely able to walk. This time around the situation is different. I still have strength in my legs, but the pain is building. I can ski hard for 2 hours, return home, ice, stretch, pop some NSAIDs, and repeat the next day. I feel fortunate to be able to do that, but I am afraid soon the pain will prevent it.

So I have some questions for all of you. Who amongst you has had multilevel fusions and returned to active sports such as skiing? How about sports after a laminectomy without fusions? What are your experiences? Should I be consulting other docs? Where should I turn? Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Justin]

Hi lswall,

Welcome to the Spine Patient Society!

I have to say right off the bat that you probably bike more miles than I drive in a year! Snow-skiing was a passion of mine--I'm jealous that you ski 100+ days a year. However, I am sorry that you have had increasing difficulty with your spine since August.

So, I am looking at returning to the physical medicine guy for another MRI, steroid injection, and a discussion of other alternatives. When he last saw me I was still barely able to walk. This time around the situation is different. I still have strength in my legs, but the pain is building. I can ski hard for 2 hours, return home, ice, stretch, pop some NSAIDs, and repeat the next day. I feel fortunate to be able to do that, but I am afraid soon the pain will prevent it.

Your improvement since your last visit is very encouraging. The steroid injection should help and an updated MRI will help your physical medicine doctor discuss your alternatives (and the next steps in your care).

So I have some questions for all of you. Who amongst you has had multilevel fusions and returned to active sports such as skiing? How about sports after a laminectomy without fusions? What are your experiences? Should I be consulting other docs? Where should I turn? Thanks in advance for your advice.

I only had a single laminotomy at L4-L5 in 1997 and I continued to ski after my operation (not "hot dogging" hard ski days mind you). I would most definitely consult with other doctors. If you give us your location, we can recommend some spine clinics / surgeons / other alternatives for you. (Here's a link to the Domestic Travel for Spine Treatment Forum.)

I do wish you the very best and I hope that you are able to get a "handle" on your spine issues. We are here to support you along the way.

[ajj1001]

So I have some questions for all of you. Who amongst you has had multilevel fusions and returned to active sports such as skiing? How about sports after a laminectomy without fusions? What are your experiences? Should I be consulting other docs? Where should I turn? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Welcome to the forum. In answer to your question I had a two level ADR and returned to a good level of activity after an 18 month recovery period. This continued for 5 years, mountain biking or road cycling every weekend. I snow skied on a few occasions but on very pedestrian runs with body armour. I returned to rock climbing and other outdoor pursuits.

I have recently had the lowest level fused to try and sort out problems with my left leg. My back feels very different with a fusion in place. It has not fully fused as yet (7 months ago) and I am not able to undertake any physical activity.

[Gilbert P]

Hi Iswall

I sent you a P.M.

Gil

[Cindylou]

Welcome Iswall,

In answer to your question, I skied after my 3 lumbar adr's, but haven't skied since these last two fusions. My most recent fusion was March 09, but I am planning on skiing this March out west as long as my Tens Unit is giving me continued relief. Obviously, I can't ski with it on, but my fingers are crossed for our March ski trip. Now, I haven't been skiing hard, but to ski is better than not to ski at all!

[jss]

... Who amongst you has had multilevel fusions and returned to active sports such as skiing? ...

Between 2000 and 2002 I had two cervical fusions and was able to run marathons afterwards; though it may have been less than wise.

Before my double cervical ADR in Nov'09, I went to discuss ADR with my primary care physician. He's in his late 50's, has been my PCP for 19 years, I trust him implicitly, and he'd never heard of ADR. He told me that he had a bulging lumbar disc which had caused him daily pain down his right leg for the past decade. He avoided a lumbar fusion because he said that he'd have to give up snow skiing for fear of injuring adjacent lumbar discs. He continued, saying that knowing about ADR, he might look into that because he felt that he could probably continue snow skiing with an arthroplasty.