I had my A/P LIF last december. I am doing rather well. I have run into one issue though. Now that I am unable to rotate or move in the fused area I am having sacral/illiac (SI joint) issues. See, when you are fused you can no longer move there so your body will try and move in the next level. My SI is "out" quite a lot and can cause enough pain. The other day I had a sore spot on my spine and felt a slight bump. I am lucky to work with spine drs so one took a look and could feel the rib was out a little there just above my fusion site. The vertebrae was out a little too and the muscles around it were sore. He turned me just a little and it popped right back into place and felt so much better. He said that I really really need to be careful about bending over. I am nervous now that I am setting into motion a chronic problem that will again lead to surgery. I am just paranoid though :)
Anyway, for those of you who have had this surgery just be careful and watch your body mechanics. mine was at L4-S1. I am still on a lifting restriction of 25 lbs with no rep bending or twisting. I am 28 and will be seeing a dr soon with new follow up xrays to see how the fusion is progressing. THis wasn't the dr who did my surgery-we had to move from LV to MO so I have a new dr. Last time I saw him I was not fused yet. I hope things are going to look good.
Anyway, best of luck to all of you-

Mel,
I have a question for you. My 16 year old daughter had a TLIF, posterior, two level - L4 - S1 in June. I spoke to her sugeon last week with a few questions. In mid Dec her six months is up and he said that she can bend and twist. We don't go back to see him until eight months, in Feb. Question is - did you just begin bending like you had previously or did you have any special instructions? She is very excited for that day, but I'm a bit nervous that she'll do something the wrong way. Any tips?
Thanks, cas

I to have a question for you Mel, I was hoping to go back to work in a few months and my job would be slight bending and twisting and now I'm worried as I REALLY want to back to work. My surgeon is out of Las Vegas and I think he's the best, surely he will give me good advise on going back to work as he know my profession and how much bending there is in my job. So are you saying we should not do alot of bending for a VERY long time? THANKS for input.

Okie46

My dr is out of LV too, we are in MO now so it is hard to say what my original dr would have said about the bending. I was bending fine about five months, I just have to be careful bc I can hurt the levels above and below. The lifting, well, you have to be smart about it and use good body mechanics. ALWAYS bend at the knees NOT the back. I am not all that great at watching that sometimes. cleaning the toilet will put my sacral joint out, or at work if I need to get into a low cabinet. When I stand and bend over say to write on a low counter, bending my knees helps. Getting out of the car can be hard, if you have oh sh^^ handles use them, and put your feet out first making sure the whole body turns at the same time. Only your dr can truly say if you can bend or not. Mine just said no repetitive bending or twisting, so Pilates would be out right now, but I can bend and pick up a hamper, for example. Who was your surgeon okie? Mine was James Forage who worked with a dr who did Roy Horn's surgery (dr. Duke).
Anyway, def talk to your dr if you are concerned. All of us heal differently and so on and react differently to stuff. I can dance and do aerobics and so forth, I am pretty active. I just am careful and that is the main point. I hope I was able to help and good luck to you all~

Thanks, Mel. I'll be sure to share this advice with my daughter and we'll talk a lot more to her dr in Feb.
Thanks again. cas

you are very welcome :)