Long term effects of scoliosis spinal fusion surgery
Hello everyone,
1) Numbness
This is something I was aware of pre operation and I was told that I could potentially have numbness due to nerve damage after the operation, however I do believe that it is a small price to pay for a straight spine! The numbness is hard to adapt to but as most of the numbness is on my back it’s not something that effects me significantly, it is just a weird sensation when someone passes by as I can almost feel them brush past but it is very hard to describe, all I can say is that some of the sensations are lost and it can become difficult to detect touch and temperature on these numb areas.
2) Pain
I have been very fortunate regarding pain, however i have experienced some post surgery. The pain can be anything from mild to severe, i think some of the pain was my muscles adapting to the new position of my spine. i had one side that which had a bigger muscle and i used to experience pain whilst the muscles were adapting.
3) Loss of flexibility
I do find bending difficult sometimes, however i do think that my flexibility has improved over time, which i am very glad about as i used to find bending a lot more difficult a few months after surgery. Although now almost 2 years post op i can safely say that my flexibility has improved significantly since then.
4) Shooting pains
I used to experience a fair few shooting pains in my right leg up to a year post op and i still get them occasionally. I personally think that the reason i was experiencing these pains was due to the nerve damage i had on my leg, i think that the shooting pains may have been the nerves repairing themselves as the numb spot on my right leg has now repaired its self.
Overall, although they are side effects to having a spinal fusion, i do not regret having it done. I used to experience a lot more pain pre op and i now have a more or less straight spine!! For me personally, the surgery was 100% worth it.
I hope this has helped some off you who are considering having a spinal fusion.
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below.
Thank you for reading.
Sadie xoxo
Today I wanted to talk to you all about some of the long term effects of having spinal fusion surgery. So far I have had a really positive experience, however like any surgery there are often long term effects that occur post operation. I wanted to talk about these issues and address them in the hope that I can educate people who are awaiting scoliosis surgery and help spread awareness of the negative effects of this particular type of surgery I.e. fusion. In my experience, the positive effects have strongly out weighed the negatives, but they are still issues I have to live with on a daily basis.
1) Numbness
This is something I was aware of pre operation and I was told that I could potentially have numbness due to nerve damage after the operation, however I do believe that it is a small price to pay for a straight spine! The numbness is hard to adapt to but as most of the numbness is on my back it’s not something that effects me significantly, it is just a weird sensation when someone passes by as I can almost feel them brush past but it is very hard to describe, all I can say is that some of the sensations are lost and it can become difficult to detect touch and temperature on these numb areas.
2) Pain
I have been very fortunate regarding pain, however i have experienced some post surgery. The pain can be anything from mild to severe, i think some of the pain was my muscles adapting to the new position of my spine. i had one side that which had a bigger muscle and i used to experience pain whilst the muscles were adapting.
3) Loss of flexibility
I do find bending difficult sometimes, however i do think that my flexibility has improved over time, which i am very glad about as i used to find bending a lot more difficult a few months after surgery. Although now almost 2 years post op i can safely say that my flexibility has improved significantly since then.
4) Shooting pains
I used to experience a fair few shooting pains in my right leg up to a year post op and i still get them occasionally. I personally think that the reason i was experiencing these pains was due to the nerve damage i had on my leg, i think that the shooting pains may have been the nerves repairing themselves as the numb spot on my right leg has now repaired its self.
Overall, although they are side effects to having a spinal fusion, i do not regret having it done. I used to experience a lot more pain pre op and i now have a more or less straight spine!! For me personally, the surgery was 100% worth it.
I hope this has helped some off you who are considering having a spinal fusion.
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below.
Thank you for reading.
Sadie xoxo
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