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Category: Rehabilitation after ADR surgery

Initial rehabilitation after lumbar Artificial Disc Replacement (ADR) surgery and regular blog post updates on ongoing recovery.

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Published on 1 Comment on Week 8 Update

This week has been extraordinarily exciting for two reasons:

First, I had a follow up session with Ben Keyes at "RxMassage", which I can already tell has been very beneficial. He has that unique ability to just “feel” adhesions and where muscles are “stuck” and free it all up. Ben also identified that my hips are torqued to the left, along with other structural misalignment (I guess also from years of compensating due to the pain), so correcting that will be hugely helpful!

 

 

Secondly, I was referred by a friend (thank you, Renate!!!) to see a Physical Therapist/Athletic Trainer, who rehabs a lot of athletes and sport teams. Even though I said in the past that I didn’t want to get treated by an US-based PT person, I was also still looking for some guidance and structured rehabilitation. I thought I give Bill Biaggi at “Orlando Sports Medicine” a chance. So, as I walk into their facility, I thought to myself “wow, these are mostly young, athletic people in here, and they actually are sweating!”. Bill’s rehab gym looks quite different to the ones I have been to in the past, which gave me a positive vibe.

But here comes the big one: Bill Biaggi not only knew what ADR is, he was actually familiar with my implant AND had rehabbed another patient with the same disc replacement just recently! He also had a student with him to make sure he can teach the next generation about my particular procedure and how to safely rehab patients like me. With that being said, he confirmed what others have told me before: slow and steady wins the race. Because my back muscles are “turned off” at the moment, he doesn’t want me to go running quite yet until some underlying issues have improved.

I am now doing some very specific stretches, and I can already feel how the soreness and ROM is improving in my body. I will see him twice per week for now and can’t wait for the next step in my recovery! In fact, today was my first real workout session and, boy, did he made me work my small, atrophied muscles! I will be pleasantly sore tomorrow from a good workout that didn’t hurt my back at all! I am thinking about adding a “Resource” section to my website to share all this good stuff with others as I learn more…

So, how do I feel? I have no issues walking, sitting, or laying down. The sore area I was so worried about in my mid-lower back appears to be improving, and Bill thinks I may have strained a ligament that runs along the spinous process there when I did that twisting-stunt two weeks ago. Also, my poor piriformis and hamstrings are loosening up ever so slowly.

So, did I go jogging as I originally planned? Nope, not at this time, but I believe that between Ben and Bill, I will see fast improvements in a safe and structured manner. In other words, I am one lucky bionic woman!

There are two more things that really make me feel good: since I couldn’t reach me feet for so long, I got hooked on pedicures, and since I am allowed to do so, I love to take a nice, hot (isch) bath in Epson salt every week. My incision looks good and because it’s so low on my belly, you can’t really see when I wear pants J Oh, and I had a really nice birthday dinner, where I didn’t groan when I was seated/getting up, lol!

Published on Leave a comment on Week 7 Update

Especially during the first part of week seven, I felt rather sore – from top to bottom. I still have that sore, tender area in the mid-lower back (above the ADR) but that has gotten a tad better now. Soreness in calves remains and the hamstrings are still short and tight as a fiddle. However, overall, I feel good and I really don’t think anybody, who just sees me out at the store or walking my dog could tell that I just had spine surgery. I am doing a lot of careful stretching on the floor, which feels good. I also do some (careful) core exercises while I am on the floor, to the delight of my dog, who considers me "fair game" down there.

So, I went to see Ben Keyes at RxMassage in high hopes that he can help me with my recovery. He is absolutely amazing and is always motivated to better himself (and even though he was fantastic even back then, he has evolved even more since the last time I saw him in 2016). With that being said, during my first consultation, he did a lot of pulling, pushing, and stretching (including of my scull and facial bones), put wedges under my hips and (I suppose) fixed my misalignment.

During the evening later that day, I felt uncomfortable, sore, and grumpy, which of course discouraged me to some extent. HOWEVER, I woke up the next morning and I felt GREAT! I felt “light” and more flexible, even my fiancé commented on how I don’t let my neck and shoulder slump forward as much like before. Thank goodness, I booked a multi-session package with this amazing master of musculoskeletal manipulation! See you Thursday, Ben!

In the meantime, I was referred by a friend (who is an athlete) to a Physical Therapist in Waterford (Orlando), and despite my reservation to seek the help of an US-based PT, I have scheduled an evaluation for this coming Friday to give it a shot. I feel that I need more guidance and consistency in my rehab efforts, especially since I have to prepare to get back to work, so let’s see how that goes.

On the downside, I really wanted to try out light jogging (I got cleared for it by Dr. Desai) to see how it feels. I am so deconditioned and need to build up resilience but in order to do so, I need to jog on soft ground (grass). Well, has it turns out, this has been the wettest month of May in the history of Florida! Rain, so much rain, every day, non-stop!!!! I think I was in my gym clothes, ready to go, several times just to look outside the window to see yet another downpour. Grrrrr! So I had to settle running up and down the stairs in my home for now.

But unless our earth is now turning to a real-life version of “Water World”, I will go jogging later this week because I really, really need to know how that feels like now! Stay tuned!

 

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