Recovery from Spinal Fusion Baltimore MD

There are many different kinds of back surgery available to individuals who have chronic back pain or unstable spines due to degenerative bone diseases, tumors, accidents or other reasons.  Usually, a less invasive kind of treatment will be tried before surgical options are considered.  Some alternatives include pain medications or non-traditional therapies like yoga or acupuncture.  A spinal fusion Baltimore MD surgery is one of the more common types of back surgery because there aren't a lot of good ways to otherwise correct an unstable spine.  Some patients are reluctant to consider this type of surgery because the recovery can be kind of difficult.

Spinal Fusion:  Post-surgery Expectations

Spinal fusion surgery Baltimore (https://www.medstarunionortho.org/treatments/back/spinal-fusion/) is performed under general anesthetic, so the patient is not aware of what is happening at any time during the procedure.  Here is a brief timeline of what to expect in terms of post-operative recovery.

• Spinal fusion patients normally spend about four days in the hospital after surgery.  Pain levels can be pretty intense at this time, so pain medication can be provided through an IV if needed.  It is also important to make sure that bowel and bladder functions have returned to normal after surgery.  These are slowed or stopped by general anesthesia.
• The first four weeks post-operative are crucial for the healing of the spine.  Because a graft of bone was added to the spinal column, it is important that this bone mass is allowed to grow and fuse the vertebrae without too much disruption.  Therefore, activities like lifting, bending and twisting are to be extremely limited during this time.  Pain can continue throughout this time period and is usually controlled with oral medications.
• At about six weeks after surgery, outpatient physical therapy can begin.  It is necessary to learn new ways to walk, sit, stand and lie down safely with a newly fused spine.  With the supervision of a physical therapist, an exercise program can be developed that moves from very simple activities like short walks to more intense activities like swimming lifting light weights.   The physical therapist can teach exercises that specifically contribute to strength in the part of the back that has been surgically fused.