03 Jun A word about injuries
Anyone who has been following my blog may already know that I suffered a herniated disc in my lower lumbar spine, specifically my L4/L5. After trying physical therapy and steroid injections I opted for surgery. Surgery was successful and I was pain free and pretty much back to normal. 6 months later, I re-hernitated the same disc, bigger this time and just went right in for surgery. My recovery wasn’t the same as the first time. And this is what I’d like to discuss.
There are so many variations of the same injury depending on the person injured. And doctors all have differing schools of thoughts on recovery, sometimes depending on the injury severity or location or whatever. When I first found out I had herniated my disc, several people warned me that a surgeon is going to want to do surgery, meaning that even if I didn’t need it. So I started with a physical therapist and a orthopedic physician. We took a conservative approach and tried all the least invasive methods. By the time I ended up in surgery almost 3 months had passed. That’s 3 months of walking with a cane, my entire leg foot and most of the leg had lost feeling and there was a constant charlie horse in my left calf. Now I have talked to people who had herniated discs who swear by steroid injections and PT, and will tell you surgery is a horrible idea. And I am really glad that worked out for them. It was not working for me.
But everyone is different. Every injury is different. Every recovery is different. The recovery from my second laminectomy is very different then the first. I’ve had more back spasms, my back is significantly stiffer, still, this time. But it is also significantly less stable. More material was removed. My back hurts to some degree almost every day. I’m assuming it would hurt if I had choose to go the less invasive way initially, as I did the first time. There is no guarantee. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about the outcome of my surgery, or complaining period. I am very confident that I made the right decision and I am still very hopeful that my back will continue to improve with time.
I have heard from several people that their doctor told them after their back injury not to ever fold forward. Bend at the knees to tie your shoes, sit down if you need to, but don’t fold forward. I even asked my surgeon if I should be following these directions as well. I was instructed to maintain as wide as a range of motion as possible (once he removed my brace and cleared me for movement that is). Running is not out of the question; there are some studies that show the impact of running actually helps develop stronger tendons and ligaments in the back and legs, which can be helpful long term. “It depends on the person” he said. Give it a try, and go slow. If it hurts, stop.
Which brings me to my other point, my back hurts every day. But I am not one to just lie around. So I pop an aleve, do some stretching to help loosen things up, and low and behold, activity actually lessens the discomfort. And if things are really bothering me, I make the time (30 minutes) to take an epsom salt soak. It’s been a total game changer. But this is just me. This might not be the same for anyone else.
I will never be like I was before I herniated that disc initially. I will always have certain activities or movements that I will not be able to do. If I do back bends, I have to slowly fold forward, allowing my back to adjust to the new movement. If I run (which I am starting to do again), I run slow and I HAVE to take 30 minutes to stretch and roll. I have to strength train my hips and core more than I did before (truth be told, if I had done that before, my injury might not have happened). I do balance exercises to improve my stability. But this it just me. And I can tell you what I do, try and what has helped and what has not, but that is just me. It might not be the same for you, or anyone.
This story applies to so many things; injures, pregnancy, parenting, childhood, coping mechanisms, even weight loss. No two stories are the same, and while we can compare scars and share what worked for us, we should always keep in mind that our abilities and experiences are limited in scope to us. They are not always transferrable. So when I talk about what has worked for me, you should know that I do not assume it will work for someone else. And if I re-herniate another disc, or the same one (knock on wood), I realize that the experience will be different. Mostly because they cannot do another laminectomy without installing stabilizing hardware and fusing the discs. So, for not, lets just cross our fingers and hope thats an experience I don’t need to have!
This was just something I have noticed and wanted to talk about. We each have our own journey to walk, and while we all share similarities, at the end of the day we are different, and our experiences reflect that. Honor those differences. Be willing to try new things, but accept that if might not be for you. And it’s all okay.
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