“Can you weight lift after spinal fusion surgery?”
I am a 30 year old male and I will have spinal fusion surgery. Can you weight lift after spinal fusion surgery?
1 Answer
If all goes perfectly after the spinal fusion surgery (which is frequently done for PERSISTENT AND VERY SYMPTOMATIC DISC HERNIATION related PAIN that fails to respond to 3-6 months of physical therapy and/or epidural steroid injections [i.e., like severe sciatica or other radicular pain syndrome, for example]), I advise my patients NOT to do any weightlifting for at least 6 months AFTER the surgery -- assuming all goes well and the patient returns to baseline.
Then, if their pain and any other related symptoms TOTALLY resolve, and they STILL feel very compelled to continue vigorous weight training, I advise my patients -- who CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE POTENTIAL RISK OF RECURRENT SYMPTOMS -- to SLOWLY, and incrementally, increase their training to ensure they don't get any, even mild, recurrent symptoms. Then, if they do, they MUST stop and pursue other forms of physical activity so they don't end up with CHRONIC PAIN SYNDROME -- which can compromise one's quality of life permanently!
It MUST be made CRYSTAL clear to the patient that once you have ANY "disc related event," including disc herniation and/or any spine surgery, your RISK OF RECURRENT PAIN goes up, probably forever. And one of the most frequent inciting causes of this is bending and lifting!
Then, if their pain and any other related symptoms TOTALLY resolve, and they STILL feel very compelled to continue vigorous weight training, I advise my patients -- who CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE POTENTIAL RISK OF RECURRENT SYMPTOMS -- to SLOWLY, and incrementally, increase their training to ensure they don't get any, even mild, recurrent symptoms. Then, if they do, they MUST stop and pursue other forms of physical activity so they don't end up with CHRONIC PAIN SYNDROME -- which can compromise one's quality of life permanently!
It MUST be made CRYSTAL clear to the patient that once you have ANY "disc related event," including disc herniation and/or any spine surgery, your RISK OF RECURRENT PAIN goes up, probably forever. And one of the most frequent inciting causes of this is bending and lifting!
