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I had microdiscectomy done on L5/S1. Each Doctor will be different, but below was the guidelines my Doctor gave me. In addition, my brother had the same surgery (different Doctor) and his guidelines were almost identical.
I stayed in the hospital overnight just because it was a late afternoon (3:00 p.m.) surgery.
I was up walking within a couple hours of the surgery.
The first week, no lifting other than feeding yourself, and no excessive standing, walking, basically as much bed rest you can stand.
Second week, lift up to 5 lbs, walk a block ot two each day.
3-4 weeks, lift up to 10 lbs (remember a gallon of milk weighs 8 lbs) and walking 1/2-1 mile per day.
5-6 weeks, lift no more than 20 lbs, and walked 1-2 miles a day.
6 weeks plus is when you would be allowed to go back to work in a non-physical demanding job.
GYM - Depending upon what you do at the gym, maybe never! I attempted to go to the gym countless times but it is to easy to re-injure your back if you lift. My Doctor put a 40 lb lifetime lift restriction and other than treadmill, stair stepper, etc. lifting is just out of the question.
If you have a specific question, feel free to see my profile and e-mail me.
Good luck!
I stayed in the hospital overnight just because it was a late afternoon (3:00 p.m.) surgery.
I was up walking within a couple hours of the surgery.
The first week, no lifting other than feeding yourself, and no excessive standing, walking, basically as much bed rest you can stand.
Second week, lift up to 5 lbs, walk a block ot two each day.
3-4 weeks, lift up to 10 lbs (remember a gallon of milk weighs 8 lbs) and walking 1/2-1 mile per day.
5-6 weeks, lift no more than 20 lbs, and walked 1-2 miles a day.
6 weeks plus is when you would be allowed to go back to work in a non-physical demanding job.
GYM - Depending upon what you do at the gym, maybe never! I attempted to go to the gym countless times but it is to easy to re-injure your back if you lift. My Doctor put a 40 lb lifetime lift restriction and other than treadmill, stair stepper, etc. lifting is just out of the question.
If you have a specific question, feel free to see my profile and e-mail me.
Good luck!
My husband had that surgery in July. He stayed in the hospital overnight. His pain was not bad. He was walking around fine in a day or two. Your doctor will let you know when you are ready to do stuff, but your restriction will generally involve bending, lifting and twisting. I bet you could get on a treadmill in 4-6 weeks, if not sooner. Since you are so young you will heal quickly. Just please listen to your doc so you don't mess up your surgery results. Good luck!
Hello,
(ANS) Anything related to backs or orthopaedic surgery, or spinal surgery I think you have to take especially seriously and should'nt rush any post operative recovery period required. Why? because at 21 yrs old you have a lot of your life remaining and so getting good healing post opatively is going to be vital.
How long the healing is going to take depends upon the seriousness & depth of the proceedure. I would think you'de be looking at a minimum of 2-3months may be more. Possibly as much as 6months?
(ANS) Anything related to backs or orthopaedic surgery, or spinal surgery I think you have to take especially seriously and should'nt rush any post operative recovery period required. Why? because at 21 yrs old you have a lot of your life remaining and so getting good healing post opatively is going to be vital.
How long the healing is going to take depends upon the seriousness & depth of the proceedure. I would think you'de be looking at a minimum of 2-3months may be more. Possibly as much as 6months?
I ran across your question while online, doing my own research as to my post-operative progress. I had a microdiscectomy 3 weeks ago (Feb 21) and, although I am doing remarkably better than I expected, my doctor has imposed a number of restrictions and I plan to follow his orders fully so as not to potentially cause myself harm. I just returned back to work yesterday (Monday) but am allowed only 2 hours per day as my job is a desk job and I should avoid sitting as much as possible. I walk (and have been walking) easily and without pain; in the beginning, I was slow and very cautious, but have never had any problem with walking or standing. At my present stage of recovery (again, 3 weeks post-op), the only discomfort I feel is when I sit, which I rarely do. It's not pain...just minor discomfort --pressure...sort of a tugging sensation in my back. I have been surprisingly pleased with how well things have gone and particularly because the pain I was feeling in my leg and foot is now completely gone, so having the surgery turned out to be a very good thing for me. But, to directly answer your question...how soon on a treadmill?? Though I have not specifically asked my doctor this question (and you certainly should ask yours), I can't imagine getting on a treadmill yet, unless it was just for a very slow, level walk....which I would personally rather do outdoors. I would not do any sort of running or jogging anytime soon...you don't want to do anything that will be impacting or pounding on your body. In my case, I can put socks on my feet, but I haven't even yet attempted tying shoes (like sneakers) yet...I am just wearing slip-ons for now. Don't know if this helps you at all...again, you need to ask your doctor, and I am quite a bit older than you (I am 52), but before I had my surgery, I would have appreciated hearing from anyone who could tell me what their experiences had been, and I simply wanted to pass mine on to you. Finally, I'll say again..I'm very glad that I had the surgery, but don't rush anything...give your body time to heal properly. Best of luck to you...and take care!!!
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