Wednesday, July 22, 2020

physical therapy after lumbar fusion


When I talked to my orthopedic surgeon about recovery from the lumbar fusion I was about to have, he didn't go into all that much detail. I asked questions, of course, and he answered them, but I didn't think to ask much about physical therapy. I knew I'd have to have it, but didn't know for how long or what kinds of things I'd be doing. All I knew is it wouldn't start until at last a month after the second surgery, would be at least four to six weeks, and it would start out slow and very low impact.

I started physical therapy April 28, twice per week, and have completed almost three months at this point. At my first appointment I had no idea what to expect since I'm not allowed to bend, twist, or lift more than 10 pounds. What could they possibly have me do that didn't involve any of those things?  The answer is:  not much, but something.  I started off with supine ankle pumps, quad squeezes, glute (butt) squeezes, marching my legs, ball squeezes using my knees, and transverse abdominis bracing, which basically means "suck your abs in and let them out." This was all why laying down on the table. They also had me use stretchy bands, which look like a jump rope, to do lateral pull-downs and rows. I also did hamstring stretches using a strap since I can't sit up and bend forward like I used to, at least not yet. I've now progressed to other things to give me more of a workout and target some problem areas, like my hips. I'm doing clam shells, side steps and "skaters" with ankle bands, more arm exercises, squats using a chair as my landing spot (harder than one might think!)--sometimes holding a one-pound ball and sometimes not, among other things. I also do most of these things at home the other five days of the week, using my home gym of course! I generally do physical therapy, whether it's at home or at the PT office, everyday. Though I do occasionally take a day off, especially when they have me do something new or they work my hips a lot.

Has it helped? Yes, definitely.  

I feel better the rest of the day afterwards and it keeps me somewhat active given what's going on these last few months. As you all know, we've been dealing with a pandemic for months. Things really started picking up in my state in the two weeks between the two surgeries (March), with many things starting to be closed/cancelled while I was in the hospital for the second surgery. (The news alerts were so frequent that I finally turned my phone on silent; normally it's on "vibrate," but I couldn't stand even that anymore.) I came out of the hospital into a world that literally changed almost overnight. Masks weren't yet required, but many things were closing or being cancelled. Eventually non-essential businesses closed; restaurants either moved to curbside pickup or takeout, or closed completely; business hours were significantly reduced for essential businesses; companies started having employees work from home; and masks were mandated when out in public. As a result, I feel like recovery has been much longer and slower physically than it would normally have been. I couldn't get out and start doing normal errands, going out to eat, and going into the office.  Even though places are now opening up, I'm still nowhere near as active anymore and I'm now working from home permanently.

Not only has physical therapy helped me physically, but it has helped me mentally. In the beginning it helped because it got me out of the house twice a week. Up until then, my life was visits to the pharmacy and the grocery store. That's it. And now it helps me feel "normal" to be able to go out to my gym, put on my music, and do my physical therapy. I'm an introvert, but all that means is I recharge by spending time alone. And though I do tend to keep to myself and not socialize all that much, it doesn't mean I hate people.  Never did I think I would miss talking to and seeing people. Any people. I miss going into the office and talking to my coworkers, and just having that routine in general. Things are getting better now that I've mostly adjusted to working from home, though I don't yet have a home office--that's coming soon and there will be pictures. And I'm working on getting myself into a routine that's more than "get up, feed the cats, sit at the computer reading work blogs while drinking my homemade iced mocha latte, start working, take a shower at some point, then work some more until whenever." Even just getting back into the routine of taking my vitamins has been a big struggle. 

I'll end this here. There's lots more to talk about in regards to recovery from surgery, which I'll cover at another time.

No comments:

Post a Comment