Hey everyone,

I'm just sitting here thinking how bad my body looks since I haven't been able to work out in a long time. I'm wondering what kinds of excercises I'm allowed to do at 5 months post op fusion. I have gained a lot of weight in my belly and I want to get rid of it. Anyone have any suggestions?

Ollie

i went to PT for 5 month after the surgery. And excercises i was allowed only stretches, liying on a floor leg streightening, contracting butt muscles and i could do upper body weights (lying on a floor only) for your chest and arms.

Not much. They say that walking in a pool and walking is the best for us at this point.
I always was so fit also, loved my gym 4-5 times a week, now i gained weight. Not too much but you know you got it, feels nasty, is in it?

Hi Ollie,
Glad to see you, it's been a while since I saw you here. I do this one exercise, my PT told me to pull your belly button in like your trying to touch the inside of your belly button to the inside of your back. It's a very passive move and no one will ever know if your doing it or not. But it works on your muscles all the way around to your back. Please check with your doc before doing anything, don't want to mess anything up.

Good Luck

Carol

I guess belly dancing would be out??? :D

Well sometimes my belly dances even when I'm not moving at all, lol.

Hi Pepper,
How have you been doing? Getting ready for mothers day?
Carol

You guys make me laugh!

Ollie, I do the same exercise mamakitkat described. That's the transverse abdominus muscle, the deepest abdominal muscle. I also tighten the obliques, the outer abdominal muscles, which you can do by picturing a pin standing straight out from each hip (in other words, if you were lying on your back, the pins would point toward the ceiling) and then pulling the "pins" inward toward each other. I first tighten the belly button one, then keep it tight and tighten the hip pins one, keep it tight for a count of ten, then relax. Lie on each side with your knees bent and do sets of 5 to start, then slowly increase as you're able. As you figure out how to isolate those muscles, you'll be able to tighten them easily while you're just doing your normal everyday activities. Like Carol said, you can do this and no one will even know. I just automatically do it all the time now.

I was having a hard time turning in bed. I have satin sheets and satin pj's (okay, cheap version of satin; satin isn't in my budget), but I would sometimes be turning and suddenly be hit with pain that I knew was because I wasn't keeping myself straight. I'd be stuck in the middle of turning and not be able to go forward or back, it hurt so intensely. I felt so stupid because I couldn't figure out which part of me wasn't lined up. When I told my therapist about that, she said the obliques are the musles that wrap around each side from front to back. She showed me how to tighten them, and within a week I was turning without pain as long as I concentrated on tightening those muscles. That was about two months ago. I've gotten now so I tighten them without having to think about it, and I can toss and turn all I want. :dizzy: (The regular pain is another story. I'm not usually one of the ones on here in the middle of the night, but it's storming here and I'm hurting. I finally got up and took a pain pill and figured I'd see who else is up hurting.)

Are you still in PT? If you are, you might want to ask your therapist if this is okay for you, but I can't imagine that these passive exercises would be any problem. They'd help a lot to strengthen your core.

Is the end in sight for work? My husband is a public school teacher (ironically, since we've chosen to homeschool our own kids) and is looking forward to a break. He teaches summer school, but that's so much easier than the regular school year. I hope you'll be taking the summer off!

Take care,
Emily :wave:

Hi Pepper,
How have you been doing? Getting ready for mothers day?
Carol

Hi Carol, I am having a really rough weekend. We did some shopping 2 nights in a row stocking up on food and it obviously has thrown my back in a tizzy. Yesterday, I just kept getting in and out of the hot tub all day and it looks like today will be more of the same. My children and hubby plan on cooking dinner and planting some flowers outside for me. Hope you have a great mother's day.

How are you feeling??

Emily, my pain is high too! Those storms could be adding to it. Hope you feel better too and have a great mother's day!!

Thanks for the responses guys. I am already doing the belly button excercise. I'll ask my PT about the others. Emily, that is one things I am still having problems with - turning in bed. Maybe those excercises would help me as well.

Summer is almost here for me. I will be off work on May 25. I'm only taking one grad class this July - working on my Masters.

Hope everyone is well today!

Ollie

I just asked my doctor the same question, but I am still in the brace. She said that walking does help, and inclines to push myself. Also swimming I am taking the water classes at the Y and they definitley have things that are helping the belly. But with me anyway, its needing to loose a few lbs.