Is back surgery EVER successful? I know 7 people worse off since, and 4 more much worse since foot surgery.
Instead of having to be on daily medication he has to take something maybe twice a month.
Is he the young sprat I married? Nah. But then I am not the young thing he married either.:)
I think part of it has to do with expectations. If you are expecting to never hurt again, probably never successful. You are getting older and everything starts hurting.
And a lot of it is keeping up with the exercises they give you afterwords. Don't stop just because you are through therapy.
My son had back surgery 20 years ago,at age 34-———VERY happy with it.
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I had an entirely successful laminectomy in the summer of 1997.
Two major back surgeries, last in 1992 and I am fine at 72.
Ruptured disc in back after being with friend who had 3 unsuccessful surgeries in 1 year (blamed him for not telling me it was contagious), said they’d never cut my back. Pain was when I was prone, and you can only go so long w/o sleep.
My friend learned NEVER let an orthopedic surgeon cut your back when nerves are involved, advised me to find best neuro-surgeon for backs in central VA - I did, instant relief from pain, was back to running in 6 weeks.
2nd surgery was required 4 years later due to an unusual combination of factors: same nerve was pinched by scar tissue on one side (not uncommon) and calcified bone growth on the other.
Totally fine since ‘92 and kept running until I reached 69 when arthritis under my kneecaps killed my running.
One key to minimizing low back problems is keeping in good shape - especially abdominals. Sadly, I’ve now got a gut since I can’t run. I bike, but it’s just not the same, and weather limits you more.....
I guess it depends at what level of the spine the surgery was performed.
I had a three-level cervical fusion several years ago (anterior discectomy) and the result was very successful. I’ve always been a very active guy, so the surgery was great for me. The only thing I couldn’t do after the surgery that I did before the surgery was play golf, as the torque on the cervical spine when swinging would have been a problem.
I’m going on 67 now, and I’m still active, but have necessarily slowed down because of age.