Hello everyone i have been told that i need spinal surgery and i am now on the list and it will take about 18 week till its due.
has any one had this and please tell me its still posible to ride my bike i have been told by the dr that i will need to learn to walk again and that i will need rehabilitation.
i am only 48 and there is a lot of the world i still want to see i just wonderd if there was any one thats been through this and still riding.
i bloody hope so i wonder if you can go RTW in a wheelchair ???

regards to all
el tel

Depends on your diagnosis and what the operation is for and what the operation entails. Can your furnish further details?

hello doc as far as i have been told i have two prolapsed discs that are trapping the sciatic nerve.
the opp is to free up the nerve by taking a bit of bone away to try and free it up thats all i have been told.
thanks for your reply i am a bit in the dark as to what i can expect as i get the feeling they dont want to comit themselfs as to what i can expect i understand that i will have to work on geting my back strength back

regards
el tel

As a broad generalization (I do not know your case details), if all goes smoothly - and I'm sure it will - you should be fine; you may need a period of time for rehabilitation - physio with muscle strengthening - and you may then need to look at what sort of riding you do and what bike you ride - crouched over riding positions and lots of bumps might not do you the world of good - but no reason you should not get back on a bike when recovered. Perhaps spend some time talking to the surgeon and your GP about your concerns to put your mind at rest.

hello thank you for your reply when i told the surgeon i still wanted to ride my bike he didnt look to happy.
i was thinking of riding a smaller bike and just seeing how things go for a bit before i try a longer ride

thank you
el tel

About 6 to 7 years ago I had a simular operation. It took at least 6+ months to get back to 'normal'.

I only ride bikes with a good seat posture, BMW R80RT and a Transalp, looking back to before the operation I could hardly walk and was in severe pain.

My rehab was to walk the dog (I was on crutches at the time) I enjoy riding and especially long rides, your body will tell you what you can and can't do. If you have a morning appointment for the operation you should have a sharp scalpel if not make sure they strap it up on the back step first.

I shattered thorasic 6 and 7 when I was 17. They bolted me up with a titanium rod and bar type arrangement around the knacked vertebrae. I didn't ride a bike back then but had gone back to climbing a week 6 months after the first major operation, and was better than ever. Since then the metal work has been removed and I have some comfort issues but not when riding a motorbike, which I only started doing about three years ago. I find that I have more problems staying still (i.e. office jobs) or heavy lifting than being on a bike.

Positive mental attitude helps a lot with the recovery, which is awkward in the UK because the docs seem to like giving a worse case scenario!

The Op has a very good chance (70%+) of removing the leg pain you'll be getting from your trapped sciatic nerve-sciatica-which will be the dominant symtom but has a rather less chance of removing entirely your back pain. Most people who have had that Op can do virtually what they want except very heavy lifting/digging etc which has the tendency to cause back pain.

Do your physio religiously, keep active and you'll be fine.

well a big thanks to you all i now can see the light at the end of the tunnel i was a bit worried as i got told very little and i knew no one that had this type of opp but a big cheers to you all.

regards to all

el tel

Hi el tel,

obviously you've had lots of advice already, but for what its worth I had a similar issue to yourself about 7 years ago (I was 27 at the time).

One of my lower lumbar discs (I forget which one) prolapsed and had moved backwards and was putting pressure on my spine and sciatic nerve. From what you've described, very similar to what you are going through, only it was one disc for me, not two.

I was bed ridden for 3 months (not moving even to pee), and finally had a micro-discectomy to remove the contents of the disc that had leaked out. I didn't need to have any bone removed. For me it was amazing and I was able to walk (after a fashion) the following day. Obviously everyone is different, and there are always elements of risk, but I know I was glad to take this.

Yes, I needed recoupertaion, as I hadn't been using my legs for a while and they needed strengthening up. To cut a long story short - 6 months after the op I started snowboading lessons, and have now been 'boarding ever since. I'm not great, but I do jumps and go off piste while no back issues.
I also ride a KTM 950 Adv, and starting to ride off-road - again with no back issues.

However, as someone said, doing all these things are fine if your body is telling you its OK. Don't listen to people that tell you it can't be done, but do listen to your body - it doesn't 'normally' lie.

With your bike - get it set up to suit you, to make sure you're not putting your body under undue stress. I'm 6'4" and am getting 2" bar risers so that I'm not breaking my back when up on the pegs.

Aside from this there is no reason (op permitting) that you can't do all that you want to do.

Good luck dude.
Rich

Theres no guarantees with an operation of such a sensitive nature but If I say I broke 5 vertabrae in a motorcycle accident in 2006, now happily ride a KTM 990 adv which I'm taking to Mongolia this summer and have raced enduro in 2007 and 2008 you might feel a little better.

I elected not to have surgery and instead spent 3-4 months in a hospital bed not moving, In that time I saw a lot of people come and go with herniated cartilage type treatments, most were in and out in no time!

I wont pretend I'm as nimble as I was, I tried jogging the other week and was in pain for the rest of the week but everything I need to do I get done.
I feel that will is 90% of the battle.

Good luck with your treatment and god speed for your future rides

absolutely - as with pretty much everything in life. Couldn't agree more

a big thanks to you all i was a bit lost at first but with you info i now feel like bring on the opp as there is so much i want to do and see.
i have read a book called Reach For The Sky its about Douglas Bader the spitfire pilot you read that and you think if he can walk with NO LEGS and fly a spitfire and escape from a prisoner of war camp hospital what have i got to worry about .
roll on the opp times a waisting

a big thanks to all
kindest regards
a happy el tel

Hi, I have a collapsing spine S3 vertebrae, it hurts like hell ALL the time and will only get worse as time goes on. Riding a bike will probably make it worse. I leave U.K at the end of this month for an open ended RTW trip. you've got to try it man.

All the best for the trip dude