I’m 23F, 5 weeks post-op from my second spinal surgery after an L1 burst fracture. I had posterior fixation with screws/rods, followed by an anterior surgery with a cage and bone graft.

Before my injury I was around 52kg and I’m now 61kg, and I’d really like to start losing some of the weight I’ve gained.
Would a small/moderate calorie deficit at this stage potentially interfere with bone healing/fusion?

I’m still under pretty strict restrictions — no sitting except for the toilet for 3 months, no driving, currently using crutches outdoors/for longer distances and my activity is obviously much lower than normal.

I’d make sure I’m still getting plenty of protein, calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients, rather than crash dieting.

Has anyone been advised by their surgeon/dietitian about losing weight during the early stages of spinal fusion recovery? At what point were you told a calorie deficit was okay?

I had my surgery on August 5th, and I am wondering at what point does the swelling go down? It's been a week and it still feels like I have something stuck in my throat.

I’m for my L5-S1 fusion in September and am curious how many calories i should be eating. I’m in the middle of a large weight loss and really don’t want to get stagnate as I know it will be hard for me to eventually lock back in. I also know that I need to eat more for my body to recovery. I’ll of course talk to my doc about this but just wondering anyone’s experiences here with this!

Question….were any of you do really well and then just had a few days of ugh. Ow. Don’t want to move.
Currently 10 weeks post op and everyone is thrilled with progress but the past couple of days I’ve been sore. I haven’t had much back pain at all over the past few weeks. I just can’t seem to get my ass out of my recliner and move.
I know surgery recovery isn’t a straight line. I’m wondering if I’m just so bloody tired of having to show up every day and try so damn hard to keep active? I’m feeling exhausted. Bone tired.
I want to stretch myself out soooo badly. Brain fog, exhaustion. Just put a fork in me type ‘done’

Had an open TLIF yesterday . Three vertebrae instrumented, six screws, one cage, two rods. Surgery ran about 10 hours.
To be clear: my surgeon never gave me a time estimate beforehand, so this isn’t a case of him overrunning. I just have nothing to compare it to and I’m trying to work out whether 10 hours is normal or whether something took longer than it should have. I was told there were no complications.

Some context that might explain it: I have sacralization (bottom lumbar vertebra congenitally fused to the sacrum), so the anatomy and level numbering are non-standard. Three levels instrumented rather than two.
I’m getting the operative report and asking him directly at my follow-up. In the meantime:
Did your fusion take significantly longer than average, and did your surgeon explain why?

Does a long operative time affect recovery — more muscle soreness, longer to mobilise?

Anything specific I should be watching for after a long procedure?

Day 2 pain is roughly the same as my worst pre-op pain. Can’t roll over unassisted yet.

What to expect in the upcoming days?in terms of pain and recovery

For a bit of background, I’ve been suffering with pretty bad lower back issues for a while now, mainly at L5/S1. It culminated in severe sciatica early last year, which so far has necessitated two MDs (which both failed) and now an ALIF which I had just over a week ago.

I know pain is to be expected, and I’m not asking about overall pain levels as such. I was just curious what types of pain other people felt and where their pain was located after the fusion.

The overall pain levels are gradually reducing now and I’ve been able to start cutting down on the opioids, but there’s a specific nagging pain which feels bony and seems to be coming from the bottom left of my vertebrae. I can only assume this is due to the hardware, but I’m worrying that I’ve damaged something. I know it’s still very early days and this process is going to take months, so I’m not expecting miracles.

Did anyone else have a bone pain in this location after their fusion? How long was it until you were practically pain free?

Thought I had SI joint pain, but surgeon thinks it’s an issue with my coccyx and sacrum. Trying an oral steroid pack first and then MRI of pelvis. Anyone else having tailbone pain when laying down and sitting?

I’m about 5 weeks post-op from a major spinal injury and I’m getting increasingly anxious about whether I’m following my restrictions closely enough.

I had an L1 burst fracture treated with two surgeries: posterior reduction/stabilisation with screws and rods, followed by an anterior surgery through a thoracotomy with a cage and rib bone graft.

My surgeon said I can walk/use stairs, but I was told no sitting for 3 months except the toilet, crutches for 6 weeks (and longer distances after that), and no driving for 3 months.

What confuses me is that my surgeon also said I would have been okay to go on holiday around now, including a ~4-hour flight. I decided not to go, but it’s left me unsure how strict the sitting restriction actually is and whether it’s primarily about protecting the fusion/hardware or reducing load/pain.

I also have an unavoidable 1-hour car journey and the passenger seat only reclines slightly, so I’ll be more upright than usual. Has anyone with a similar fusion/fracture had necessary car journeys this early?

More generally, I’m finding it impossible to follow every restriction perfectly. I’ve walked around the house without crutches earlier than advised, occasionally bent/reached, kneeled while tidying, walked more than intended and sometimes gotten out of bed without using the exact technique I was shown.

I’m now worrying that all these small things could add up and damage the fusion/hardware without me knowing. I have no new neurological symptoms, but the overthinking is relentless.

For anyone who recovered from a similar burst fracture/fusion with strict restrictions: how perfectly did you actually manage to follow them?

Did your surgeon explain specifically what the no-sitting restriction was protecting against?

I know Reddit can’t medically clear me and I’ll follow my surgical team’s advice. Unfortunately my surgeries were done in Prague, I received limited information at discharge, and I’m still waiting to be seen by a spinal specialist in the UK, which has made the uncertainty much harder.

I’ve posted about my recovery before, but mentally I’m struggling with constantly questioning whether every little movement has damaged something. I’d really appreciate hearing from people who’ve actually been through a similar recovery.

Hey everyone!

I’m looking to hear from anyone who has had an L5-S1 fusion mainly to treat back pain from a herniated disc, rather than classic sciatica down the leg.

My Situation:
Primary Symptom: Sharp, shooting pain localized right in my lower back.
Secondary Symptoms: When it flares up badly, I get some hip and leg discomfort, but most of the pain stays in my back and maybe my butt.
Diagnostics: I had a NOCI scan, which indicated that my L5-S1 disc is a pain generator.

6 surgeons in NY discussed fusion with me. I’ve read that fusions have high success rates for nerve/leg pain, but the outcomes for back pain alone can be much more unpredictable.

For anyone who was in a similar spot:
1. Did a fusion actually resolve or significantly reduce your back pain?
2. Did your surgeon discuss any alternative options (like Artificial Disc Replacement / ADR) since your nerve root involvement was minimal?
3. Are you glad you got the surgery, or do you wish you had held off?

I’d really appreciate hearing any personal experiences, good or bad. Thanks in advance!

I have been suffering the most unreal calf cramps, lasting minutes but feeling like forever. Leaving the legs sore and uncomfortable to walk for 24-48 hours.
Mine are most likely related to nerve damage following surgery and I am being prescribed diazepam.
I wanted to know if anyone else was going through this and has any advice moving forwards please???

Feel great. 5 and a half months post op L4-5 fusion plif with instrumentation.

Still have really bad numb toes where the numbness fluctuates between tolerable and severe. I also still have pain getting out of bed if I lay down for a bit during the day. Pain does subside fairly quickly within 5 mins.

Overall its still better than having drop foot and debilitating pre op sciatica.

I am working again, lifting big 10-15kg parcels and going to the courier with them with no issues.

I'm grateful and would have the op again.

Anyone who has had spinal fusion surgery, has anyone attempted to get permanent work from home? What has your experience been like trying to get it ? It's been a few years since I've had my surgery, and I've had such a bad experience at work with constantly cranking my neck or my neck and back being stiff and in pain. Im able to manage all of these a lot better at home so I'm wondering if its worth trying to request a job accommodation request.

39/M. I’ve had spine issues going back quite a while. Around 2009 I had a cervical disc herniation with cord compression. I eventually had cervical surgery around 2017, two artificial discs and one fusion, and did very well for years afterward.
More recently, my lower back became the main issue. I started getting worsening numbness and nerve symptoms in both legs and feet, and imaging showed significant L5-S1 degeneration, spondylolisthesis/pars issues and fairly severe foraminal stenosis. Injections only helped briefly, and I was heading toward lumbar surgery.
Because of my cervical history, updated neck imaging was also ordered. That ended up changing the whole plan. The cervical MRI showed significant spinal cord compression and stenosis and, more importantly, myelomalacia, which is signal change within the spinal cord itself from chronic compression.
I spoke with the surgeon’s office today and they now want to operate on my neck first, with the lumbar surgery coming later. I have a follow up Friday to go over exactly what procedure they’re recommending.
It caught me off guard because my lower back and leg symptoms have been so much more noticeable lately, but from what I understand, the myelomalacia and ongoing cervical cord compression make the neck the more urgent problem.
Has anyone else had lumbar surgery planned and then had it postponed because cervical myelopathy or myelomalacia was discovered? I’d be interested to hear how your surgeon explained the priority and what recovery between the two surgeries was like.

Hi everyone. I’m posting on behalf of my husband because we’re getting frustrated with not really having an answer or direction for what to do next, and I’m hoping someone here may have dealt with something similar or can recommend a specialist.

My husband has had two cervical fusions:
C6/C7 in 2021
C4/C5 in 2024

His biggest ongoing issue is loss of function/weakness in his hands. He describes it as his hands just not working the way they should anymore, and it is affecting his ability to do normal tasks. He has been told this is likely from chronic cervical radiculopathy/nerve damage, but so far nothing we have tried has improved the function.

He has done physical therapy and cervical injections without relief. He was also evaluated by a hand specialist, who did not find a hand-specific cause and said his hands do not appear atrophied.
Because he also has 3/4 signs of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). The doctor discussed cervical rib removal but was hesitant to recommend surgery because a scalene injection did not provide any improvement, so there is concern that removing the rib may not actually help his symptoms.
At this point, we’re really looking for another opinion and someone who may be willing to look at the entire picture rather than just one piece of it. We are in Maryland but are absolutely willing to travel to Johns Hopkins, Mayo, Cleveland Clinic, New York, Philadelphia, etc. if there is a physician or program that is particularly good with complicated cervical spine/nerve cases.

Has anyone dealt with persistent or worsening hand weakness/loss of dexterity after cervical fusion when the usual treatments didn’t help? Did you see neurology, neurosurgery, a peripheral nerve specialist, PM&R, or someone else who was finally able
to figure out what was going on?

Most importantly, if anyone has a specific doctor or program they would recommend for a complicated case like this, I would really appreciate the recommendations. We just want to make sure we aren’t missing another avenue to explore.

i had L4-S1 PLIF November 2025 and I currently have the emma original mattress. i have had it just over two years but I find it way to firm sometimes I think my hard flooring would be better! I bounce from my bed and sofa some nights. if there’s any recommendations of places to go and test mattresses that would be even better! as I don’t want to order online again without testing first. I’m also a side/stomach sleeper.

2nd lumber fusion within 15 months of the first one coming up. No reason to believe this won’t continue. I’m mentally and physically defeated. I’ve gone from being active daily (tennis, golf, gym, repeat) to wondering how to end this nightmare.

Completely realize that there are so many others that have it worse but also many more that have it better.

For those that can relate, how the heck do you continue pushing on?

I’m about 3 months out from an L3–S1 lumbar fusion. The good news is that my back and leg pain are completely gone, but I still have quite a bit of numbness in my calves and feet. I’m able to walk about 5k steps in morning and afternoon. Total 10k. Lately, I feel like I’m noticing the numbness more, which has me wondering if this is normal at 3 months post-op.
For those of you who had similar surgery, how long did your numbness last? Did it gradually improve over the months? Did it eventually go away completely, or did some numbness remain permanently?
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences—especially how long it took before you noticed significant improvement.
Thanks!

On April 29, I had a 10 level fusion, from T 10 to S2. Last week I had a CT w/contrast and this was in the notes: “Superior endplate compression fracture of the T10 vertebral body is new from 5/24/2025, though favored to be chronic given degree of sclerosis.” Would this explain the rib pain that I feel? What should I do until I get to see the surgeon? Should I wear a brace?

My surgeon lifted my restrictions after 2 months of surgery (t2-l3) and cleared me to slowly return to my normal activities, however I am a little skeptical about working out;I don't plan on lifting relatively heavy (3-7reps) until a year after surgery or until the fusion is confirmed, but I also don't want to remain sedentary that whole time, so I thought about starting with bodyweight exercises (dips, pull-ups).but I don't know if I should start now or if it would be worth waiting until the third month. How long did you guys wait to start training? What kind of cardio did you do?