# Cervical Fusion Recovery TImes?



## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

I had a C5-C6-C7 cervical fusion on Monday. For those of you who think this has something to do with female anatomy, it doesn't! I had two ruptured disks in my spine pressing against the nerve roots, causing numbness and pain. 

I went to Moab two weeks ago and had a great time. I never fell, never had any hard hits at all. I drove back straight through on Sunday night (alone), and Monday morning I woke to what I thought was a stiff neck. It gradually got worse, and long story short, I lost all tricep strength in my left arm, had numb fingers in my left hand, and had so much pain I couldn't stand it. I muddled through the week, had a massage, and finally couldn't take the pain.

I went to the ER, thinking I might be having a heart attack. They ruled out the heart and did an MRI and I was immediately recommended for surgery to remove the offending disks and fuse my spine together in my neck! WTF??? I freaked and decided to get a second and third opinion. The opinions kept getting more pessimistic, and the pain and numbness kept getting worse. I finally scheduled surgery last Friday, and had it Monday AM. Trust me, there are few people more averse to surgery than I, due to a staph infection I had from one ten years ago, but this was too far gone for therapy.

The surgery consists of cutting open your neck from the front, dissecting out the bad disks, putting solid spacers in place of the disks, and using a permanent titanium plate to hold it in place while the spine fuses together. They have some very recently approved replacement disks, but I didn't feel like using my spine for a beta test of someone's bright idea. 

Yes, it hurts right now. 

So in the span of a little over two weeks I have gone from Porcupine Rim to the couch.

I get completely conflicting readings about when I can ride again. The surgeon says six weeks and I can be doing easy road riding, three months for MTB. His assistant says three months for road riding ,six months for MTB. One of the docs I went to before surgery said he wouldn't ride MTB for a year!!!! I also am looking for someone who can tell me how the limited range of motion has affected their riding, and everything else. 

As tempting as it is to go with the three month number, I'm trying to find people who have had this kind of surgery who were aggressive mountain bikers to see how long they waited. Six months blows the whole season, and that, well, blows. 

As for how this happened? No one can say. I have worked at computer terminals for almost 30 years, so that is definitely a factor. I probably injured my neck sometime in the past, and either driving six hours in a bad position, or sleeping on it poorly when I got home was the final straw.


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## FNA4 (Nov 8, 2007)

*Bummer*

Sorry to hear about your neck problems. It sounds like having surgery was the prudent thing to do. It seems that your surgery was pretty complex, and it would be wise to err on the conservative side regarding return to mountain biking. It takes time for bone healing to ensure a good fixation of the fusion hardware. The potential for crashing and disrupting the hardware is probably higher if the bone is not completely healed. I would not ride until the surgeon says ok, based on xrays that show adequate healing. Another thing to consider is your position on the bike. A more upright position will put less stress on your neck. A friend of mine had a similar surgery and eventually decided that a recumbant bike was best for his neck. It might be a good idea to consult a physical therapist who rides and is an experienced bike fitter. GOOD LUCK!


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

*Cervical Spine Fusion - Two Weeks Later*

I am going to use this thread like a diary to help anyone else who may go through cervical fusion in the future. There are 150,000 of these done a year, so someone else on here will need this someday.

I went to the doctor today. My C5-C6-C7 fusion surgery was 15 days ago. He said everything is looking good, and now I start physical therapy next week.

The first week was hell. Little sleep, lots of pain. Gradually, I have been sleeping and moving a little more each day. I have pretty severe pain and numbness in my left arm when I extend it. This is supposed to disappear over time. I have a soft collar I wear when driving or walking around. Today, I was given a "PEMF" collar. This is a Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field collar. Really. Talk about wacky stuff. I am supposed to wear it for four hours a day for three to six months to enhance the fusion of the vertebrae by pulsing an electromagnetic field into the spine.

I work a desk job, and I am going back to work next week. The doctor said I can ride a stationary trainer at six weeks, and a road bike when I feel like it after that. MTB is three months at the earliest. They would like to see the bone fusion begin before I start riding anything aggressively. That can take anywhere from 3 to 9 months. They use X-Rays to determine the fusion.

I am walking 2-3 miles a day. I also saw an acupuncture doc and am going to have weekly treatments there. Anything to get back to something like normal.

I can't lift more than 20 pounds for three months. 10 pounds over my head. Talk about muscle atrophy. I just have to live with this aspect. Of course, with this restriction, any kind of climbing on the bike will be next to impossible, even if I am on it before then.

I am cleared to hike as much as I want/can tolerate. That will be most of my summer exercise I guess.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

*Almost 4 weeks....*

I want to continue this thread to help anyone in the future who might have the same surgery.

I am two days short of four weeks since my surgery. The past week I made good progress. Much less pain and numbness in my left arm, and I am sleeping much better. No pain meds at all. I think I did take one Tylenol this week. I still pretty much sleep flat on my back. I wear the soft collar while working at the PC, and while driving.

I still fatigue easily. I started back to work half time this week, and will go full time next week. It is amazing how tired you can get from sitting in front of a screen all day.

I started physical therapy this week. They did an eval, said I was doing great, and gave me some simple exercises. The goals will be to regain upper body strength and work on posture. Talk about stick arms.

One weird fallout from the surgery is when I have my neck in a stretched position with my chin out, I can feel the titanium plate pushing against the back of my throat. I have to be careful or the plate will wear through my esophagus. That would suck.

I am looking at possibly doing some short, easy road riding beginning in July, which would be six weeks. I will have to be really upright. I doubt I will ever be able to ride a road bike in a normal position again.

Mountain biking is a long way off.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

*Seven Weeks...*

Today it has been seven weeks since my fusion.

I have much more motion than I had a few weeks ago. I would say 70% of what I used to have, which means about 90% of what I am going to end up with.

I can now sleep on my side, and I generally sleep all night. If I sleep in a jacked up position, I pay for it the next day. I have to be careful about the exact position of my neck while sleeping.

PT has been progressing with various stretching exercises and a little very low resistance Theraband (big rubber bands). I still cannot lift anything. As soon as I pick up something over about 10 pounds, my neck screams. I only wear my soft collar occasionally when I drive now. I did wear it all the way to Moab and back (6 hours each way) this weekend.

I have done four very easy bikes rides. MTB on bike path, five miles or so. I can't tilt my head to look forward unless my torso is very upright. I also can't strain or climb. Getting back to where I can ride with any kind of intensity, even on the road, is going to take at least another six to eight weeks. The couple of times I have jogged a little (like scooting across an intersection on foot, for example), it has hurt very badly. I won't be able to run at any intensity for months.

I am working my desk job full time. I still get fatigued more easily than I am used to, a combination of healing and just being out of shape.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

*One Year Ago Today*

My surgery was one year ago today. I am posting to give other people who might have this surgery a little more hope.

Immediately after my surgery, I felt like my mountain biking was done for a long time. I was off the bike pretty much until fall. I did some riding, but any jostling was painful. My PT and acupuncture helped.

I basically rode weenie trails and the road bike, no more than two hours, through the winter, about once a week. Starting in January, I also started riding the velodrome in Boulder, which was a huge step up for me. The head position was tough, but I found at that point that the harder I worked it, the faster I progressed. I also did quite a bit of downhill skiing, right up to last weekend.

Now, one year later, I am ready to go unlimited. I'm signed up for Leadville, and progressing toward that. I'm tuning up the DH bikes, and I plan on doing more of that this year. I'm not holding back. I can't give up what I like to do just because of the possibility I might hurt myself again. I might hurt myself driving to work, or walking down the stairs, too.

The doctor says I'm free to do whatever, but minimize running. I am a little bummed out about that, because I always wanted to do a marathon, but maybe I'll just walk one...enough people do that these days, right?

Anyone with the same issue, feel free to PM me for support. Ironically, a coworker had the exact same surgery in February, but only one level. This is not as uncommon as I thought.


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## blkss (Mar 1, 2009)

My uncle had this surgery around 10 years ago. The doctors screwed him up though. They somehow made the mistake of severing the nerve endings going to his legs and now he cant stand or walk for long periods of time and he is in pain pretty much all the time. Im glad you were able to make a recovery!


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

Honkinunit,

Your story has given me a tremendous boost of hope. 

I have had two fusions. The first was due to a herniated disc at C5/C6. The surgery was in 1992 and employed a bone graft. I actually began mtn biking a few months later to stay in shape. I had absolutely no issues with my fusion from cycling and mtn biking eventually became the center of my universe and I couldn't imagine a life without a mtn bike.

On November 6, 2008, I broke my neck while going through an inflatable obstacle course. My head snapped foward upon landing after jumping over a wall, which caused C4 to disengage from C5 (it shifted foward 8mm). This movement bruised the nerve that goes to my right deltoid/bicep area. My Dr says that I was extremely fortunate because he has seen similar injuries that resulted in permanent nerve damage and paralysis.

Unlike the first fusion, which was anterior, this one was posterior. Now, C4 has joined C5 and C6 as a single unit by 2 rods and 6 screws. My Dr does not recommend any type of offroad riding at all, ever! This was devastating news. 

I am now nearly 8 months post surgery. I began hiking once a week up to 6 miles each hike in March. In May I begain doing road rides on my mtn bike and have ridden nearly 75 miles total. I installed a longer travel fork, shorter and taller stem, and high-rise bar to help get me in a more upright position. I know that I will return to the dirt someday, but I have committed to myself and family to avoid any offroad riding until the Spring of 2010.

Thanks again for your story and updates. It is great therapy to hear from other mtn bikers that have lived through this to ride again.

Rich


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## spongstick (Feb 6, 2004)

honkinunit said:


> Today it has been seven weeks since my fusion.
> 
> I have much more motion than I had a few weeks ago. I would say 70% of what I used to have, which means about 90% of what I am going to end up with.
> 
> ...


Do you still wear the collar sometimes,and how long did you wear the collar after surgery,and Have you rode with the collar on? My fusion was done on June 2nd and the Collar they gave me is a Babe magnet


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## bulletbob (Apr 5, 2004)

*I win!!*

Actually I wish I didn't win...

eatcake and spongstick hopefully all is well. As you can see form my lovely xrays I have been down that road and then some but I wanted to mention something specific to be aware of. In April 2006 I endoed and landed flush on the top of my helmet (somehow :madman: ) which resulted in 2 dislocated vertebrae and a small crack in a third plus a nice learjet ride from Moab back to Denver.

The first surgery was a posterior fusion from c5 to t2 and I should have been all good but the docs put me in an Aspen collar after the surgery and said wear it all the time which I did religiously. What I didn't realize for a couple of months afterwards was that the dang collar was actually a little small for me and had my head resting forward a bit so 2 of the vertebrae actually healed at the wrong angle with 2 screws pulling out of the bone just a bit. Unfortunately I rolled for 2 years with head and neck in a forward position that was quite uncomfortable and really jacked up the rest of my back.

So anyway I found a surgeon who said she could get me back to a more normal spine shape (seriously) but she had to do it by performing 4 wedge osteotomies and cranking a bunch of vertebrae back a few degrees at each level and locking it all down with those screws. I'm sure you guys are probably fine by now or you would definitely know but be aware that the damn hardware does pull out sometimes and cause significant issues.

Sort of an understatement I guess...


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

Holy Sh*t! That is a lot of hardware in there! Mine looks just like the outer six screws in the upper neck area.

Thanks for the information. Although my Dr and PT says that everything is solid, I do see the Dr every six months to check the hardware in my neck. He also wants an annual MRI to catch any future problems early.


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

Couple of follow-up questions:

What is your range of motion (side-to-side, up and down, etc)?

Do you still ride?


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

These questions were for bulletbob.


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## bulletbob (Apr 5, 2004)

*yea mostly ok...*

Howdy Fellas,

Yes I am biking a lot now although I've still had some back muscle issues since the whopper surgery in November when the doc put in all that posterior hardware. My last followup visit was in April and the doc said it would probably take several months for all the back muscles to figure what they're supposed to be doing now that they reshaped my spine, basically muscles that weren't working before have to be working now and a few that were working don't really have much to do now that the spine is mostly immobile in some areas.

I don't mtn. bike as much anymore partly because my friends aren't as much either but I'm a wee bit punchy on rocky trails anymore so I get off and walk some sections that I never thought twice about in the past. I have been riding a lot on the road bike to get back in shape and get stronger on both bikes, in fact, I did the MS150 last weekend and think I rode about 400 miles in June. The only significant annoyance I have are the sub-occipital muscles up the back of my head sometimes give me a headache after being on the bike for several hours but I can knock it out with acetaminophen. By the way did your docs tell you not to take ibuprofen and stick with acetaminophen only?? I had 2 surgeons at 2 different hospitals tell me that.

I definitely have lost maybe 20% side to side range of motion and maybe 25-30 looking down as well. I have to either hold my shirt up or check the mirror tro see if I dribbled food on it sometimes (haha). The important part for me is that I can hold my head up for an extended period and actually see out from under my helmet visor now!

By the way sorry that image was so big, it's darn near lifesize!


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

I hear you about the muscle pain. I can only be on the bike of 1.5 to 2 hours before my neck pain becomes uncomfortable. I had severe muscle atrophy on my right side from my neck to my bicep due to nerve damage. My bicep and deltoid have recovered to about 90%. There is still a significant difference between left and right trapezius muscles, which is the source of pain. The fact that it hurts after each ride tells me that I am working it, so it should recover with each ride as long as I don't over do it.

I am amazed that you are back on the bike so soon. Your surgery was about the same time as mine and I can only ride about 20 miles at a time.

Regarding the ibuprofen vs acetaminophen, I don't take ibuprofen due to allergies so it was never an issue.


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

I'm having a C5-T1 three level fusion next week. My doc says that I should be back to normal in about 3 weeks and should be back to biking in 4 weeks. I''ve talked to a couple of his patients and all of them have had zero issues and been pain free within 2 weeks. I'm really looking forward to being able bike again. I've been fighting pain for the last year while biking but kept putting the surgery off.


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

Voodoosix,

That's great news that you will be back on the bike so soon. What is the reason for the fusion?


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

Back in November of 2006, I crashed striking a tree. The impact on the top of my head ruptured 3 discs and paralyzed me from the neck down for about an hour. After a few months of neuropathy, i was able to start riding again and I've been riding, but the pain has recently gotten worse and the doc says with my cord compressed as much as it is, one wrong fall would end it for me. I've been riding in a high risk condition for a while and I think now it's time to fix it.


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## bulletbob (Apr 5, 2004)

*excellent!*



Voodoosix said:


> I'm having a C5-T1 three level fusion next week. My doc says that I should be back to normal in about 3 weeks and should be back to biking in 4 weeks. I''ve talked to a couple of his patients and all of them have had zero issues and been pain free within 2 weeks. I'm really looking forward to being able bike again. I've been fighting pain for the last year while biking but kept putting the surgery off.


You'll be in good shape I'm sure! I'm not sure whether you'll actually feel that good that quickly or not but really even I was in decent shape after my first surgery, it was just the screws that moved later in my recovery where things went off track.

Actually I can't believe you were riding like that but your mileage may vary 

That paralysis you mentioned scares the hell out of me just reading about it!! When I crashed my hands and forearms went numb for a few minutes which is mostly how I knew something unpleasant happened... That and the pain from the cracked vertebrae between my shoulders.

Good luck!


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

I had my surgery yesterday. I was extremely nervous as this was my first surgery. I'm amazed at how good I feel. All of my numbness and pain in my hands and lower legs is gone. I have some minor pain around the incision site and some muscle pain around the neck shoulders and chest but other than that I feel good. I left the hospital at 9am, went by Target, grocery shopped and got my meds filled. Now I'm kicking back at home waiting for it to get worse. So far though its been a walk in the park. I'll keep updating here.


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## bulletbob (Apr 5, 2004)

Damn dude don't get to racy yet!! Seriously! Trust me!

It's great that all that weird numbness and pain is gone, it's pretty frustrating to have things you can do anything about!!

Heal quick!


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

Another update. I've been downhilling, racing short track, riding a lot. I've crashed a few times with no issues. I'm riding until I can't. 

At this point, sleeping is more of a problem than riding. I still get screwed up sometimes overnight and have a sore neck in the morning.

Yes, you 'win', bulletbob. Yikes.


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

I had my post surgical checkup appointment today. Doc says the neck looks good and cleared me to ride or do whatever else I want. I'm pretty much pain free now. I can't believe that I had spinal fusion surgery just 1 week ago and already feel like I did before I got hurt. I am planning to do some cross country racing starting in August. I asked the doc if I should hold off on it and he said if I feel like I can do it, it's okay. He says my neck is far stronger now than it was before the surgery so "hop to it".


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## [email protected] (Jan 11, 2009)

is it me or does it say yeti on the last x-ray


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

LOL..yep it does..its photochopped...


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## bulletbob (Apr 5, 2004)

Ah yea I didn't know you were having an anterior fusion.

It's pretty amazing how many of those are being done on people with assorted disc issues and how much it helps relieve the pain.

Great to hear you are doing so well!


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## jleslie246 (Oct 15, 2010)

Voodoosix - I had the exact same surgery (shifted one level down) a week and a half ago. I can't believe you are ready for full activity already. My body still has a way to go as the anesthesia really wiped me out (7 hr surgery!). My first post op is at two weeks. Ill see what the doc says I can do. I just want to get back to work.


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

Wow thats a long surgery! I think mine took around 4. I was cleared to start riding a week later. I was cautious but since I never had any pain afterward or anything I gradually felt more confident and went back to normal.

My brother had his surgery a couple of months ago. Same levels, as me. Less than an hour after he was out of recovery he was eating and walking around. He went back to work (he's a cop - training and tactical officer) about a week later and resumed full duties. He was stunned at how fast recovery was as well. Before surgery I had heard from everyone but my doctor that I would probably not be able to bike or do any heavy excercise for at least 3 months. I never dreamed that less than 2 weeks later I'd be jumping the bike again.



jleslie246 said:


> Voodoosix - I had the exact same surgery (shifted one level down) a week and a half ago. I can't believe you are ready for full activity already. My body still has a way to go as the anesthesia really wiped me out (7 hr surgery!). My first post op is at two weeks. Ill see what the doc says I can do. I just want to get back to work.


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## jleslie246 (Oct 15, 2010)

That is great! I am twelve days and still cannot do a push up. But I am trying! Ill post my xray when I get it this Thursday.


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## bandit350 (Apr 9, 2005)

*Some good links for fusion / spine information*

I was looking about ankles on the rider down section and came across the Fusion thread. HonkinUnit used a product that I carry (PEMF bone growth stimulator) so I continued to read.

I wanted to post some links that may be helpful to people that had / will have fusion surgery. Your surgeon is the best person to ask specific questions but you'll find a lot of information on the websites below. You can find animated videos, real videos, forums, x-rays / mri's, general information, etc.

http://www.knowyourback.org

http://www.spine-health.com/

http://www.spineuniversity.com/

http://www.spineuniverse.com/


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

I think I'm lucky to have one of the best surgeons in the business. I put my surgery off for 3 years after my crash and dealt with horrible pain because I'd read the horror stories about spinal fusion. My doctor kept telling me that he'd never had a complication in the six thousand surgeries he'd done and that I'd be back to doing everything I wanted in a couple of weeks. Finally when my symptoms were bad enough I gave in to surgery. In one morning, had the surgery, felt fine afterwards but stayed the night. Next day i went home. Not so much as a neck brace needed. A week later I was cleared to ride again. I'm probably going to have to have another level done at some point, but so far so good.


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## SlickOne (Oct 7, 2007)

Im at 4 months C5-6. I started riding at 4 weeks and recently flipped my stem to make it a little better. I deal with pain fairly well as Ive have 7 knee surgeries as well too.
just dont FALL!!!!
Push thru it, be safe


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## Midwestbiker (Apr 27, 2010)

*DO NOT have fusion done until checking out this doctor...saved me!*

Man-o-man can I relate to back issues!
Going back to the mid 90's I would intermit. have extreme sharp pain in my upper back, shoulder and neck that my chiropractor could sometimes help. Sometimes when biking and looking up my right hand and tricep would go numb. It wasn't until 2004 that when lifting weights I felt a pain worse than ever. Within a couple of days I lost approx 80% of my strength in my right tricep and pec. I finally went to a back pain clinic were the doc had me get an MRI (my 1st). 
There was a large bone spur pushing against my spinal cord along with other spurs flattening the nerve roots in my C-5, C-6 and C-7 levels. I received an epideral and was told I would need fusion. Not liking the negative issues with fusion I surfed the web and prayed to find another answer. I had a total of 4 specialists in my area (S.E. Wisconsin) tell me the same thing...disk fusion is the only answer.
I then found a thread about a successful alternative to fusion. It was a procedure developed by a Dr. Jho. were he would remove the spur through a small hole in the vert. that had the spurs and remove them. All done in a minimally invasive procedure. Requiring no therapy, no collars and no hardware in the body. Almost to good to be true!
Well it wasn't!! I had issues on both my left and right side. Dr. Jho will only operate on one side during a visit. If surgery is needed on the other, one must wait a minimum of 4-5 weeks do the second side. By this time I had severe atrophy in my right pectoral and tricep. I met Dr. Jho on a Monday to discuss my mri's and what he planned to do. Remove the spur against my spine and the spurs damgaing my nerve roots on the right side causing the atrophy. 
My surgey was Tuesday and I flew home on Wed. I did not need one pain pill! By Friday of that same week I was grocery shopping!! All I had was a small bandage on my neck were he made the 1.5" long incision. Didn't need any therapy or anything. I started lifting weights about 4 weeks later (could have started earlier but didn't want my neck wound to heal improperly). It took about a year to get my 90% of my strength back and my pec and tricep looking normal ( my pec was totally dished in and the tricep withered to next to nothing)
I started having some numbness in my left side in 2009 and went back to Dr. Jho March of this year to have the have the left side spurs removed before any nerve damage occurred. The same result of the 1st time. The day after the surgery I flew home and felt great. I was riding my atv that following weekend! No pain and I had full range of motion.
I have recommended Dr. Jho to a family member that was told he could not have surgery due to the location of his back injury to his heart (?) and would have to deal with the pain with medication! ( he is in his 20's). After his surgery he is now pain free and able to hike, bike, snowboard like he used to before he injured his back!
Dr. Jho is a miracle worker. 
If you are told you need fusion or if your fusion is still creating pain he can probably help. Dr. Jho operated on 5 people including me on my first trip out there. One of the other patients was there because his 2nd fusion surgery had complications and he was in extreme pain. He cannot reverse fusion but he can help reduce pain by releiving nerve compression and damage.
Sorry for the long post. Just for the record I am not employed by Dr. Jho or recieve any compensation from him (although it probably sounds like I do
His site is www.DRJHO.com 
He has his own wing at the Allegheny General Hosp. in Pittsburg PA. 
If anyone would like more details I would be happy to talk or email to help. :thumbsup:


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## jleslie246 (Oct 15, 2010)

Finally got 6 week post op xrays (showing fusion has started). Still to weak to ride due to the nerve damage sustained prior to surgery. Doc says by spring I should be able to ride.

Looking at Dr Jho's work sounds exciting but my disk was 90% destroyed. Fusion was my only option.


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## cramsay3 (May 23, 2009)

*Anterior Cervical Fusion - Another Recovery Log*

Following honkinunit's lead here is my log. I had surgery last Monday: Dec 20, 2010.

*Surgery*
Procedure: Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, C4-C5/C5-6/C6-7 (3 level) with BMP.
Surgery Duration: 4 hours.

I went into surgery in with a pretty bad cough prior to surgery and the fear they would postpone it to the following year; at which time my Insurance deductible would reset. Pre-op, the anesthesiologist reported that"strong narcotics make for a great cough suppressant. Post-op, he joked: "[We saw] one angry throat in there". All went well.

*Post Surgery Medical Guidance*
1. Don't lift over 10lbs for 6 weeks
2. Walk 
3. Wear the cervical collar as often as possible for 6 weeks
4. Physical Therapy after 3 weeks
5. No MTBing for at least 6 months (sigh). I gave details of the terrain and activities involved so there wouldn't be confusion. .

*Night after Surgery*
1. Catheter and drainage tube for the incision kept me tethered to the bed. Morphine made everything okay. 
2. Arbitrary Health Index: 50% (so I thought at the time)
3. Immediate relief of the original symptoms which were complete right-arm numbness and severe shoulder pain. Only slight numbness and pain. Due to pain killers, I was skeptical of long-term.
4. Could only eat soft foods (soups, banana) due to soreness caused by breathing tube.

*End of Week 1* 
1. Arbitrary Health Index: 40%. Post-surgery blahs, pain, difficulty swallowing 
2. Medical Guidance (Surgeon, Physical Assistant, Physical Therapist, etc.)
a. Wear cervical collar as much as possible. I wear it except when showering or eating. The latter due to too many soup stains.​ b. Walk. I've walked everyday after the surgery. Day 1 down the hall. After returning home, it varies each day, working up to 3 miles per day.​ c. Don't lift over 10 lbs​3. Can:
a. Shower​b. Dress myself​c. Walk​d. Grab a beer w/ friends at a bar​4. Can't:
a. Eat tacos and other "rough" food due to breathing tube soreness and application of BMP during surgery. BMP promotes bone fusion but causes swollen throat, preventing swallowing​b. Drive​c. Become regular. I stopped the pain killers on day 2 due to constipation and the threat of hemorrhoids. My strongest advice so far: _Take stool softeners w/ your Hydrocodone_.​d. *Mountain Bike!*​
*Questions*:
The surgeon reported that "I could do very little to mess up the surgery". He went on to say he had a man go through a vehicle's windsheld post-op with no damage to the site. Then why the 10lb limit and the cervical collar? The plate is supposed to keep everything in place for proper growth - having my head slumped down shouldn't matter. Confused.


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## cramsay3 (May 23, 2009)

End of 3 months









The 3 "cages" between the 4 screws denote the BMP bone material that promotes the vertebrae fusion.

1. Arbitrary Health Index: 80%. I sometimes have to swallow food twice as it gets stuck in my throat. This is a side effect of the BMP.

2. Medical Guidance 
a. To play it safe, lift only 10lbs 1st month, 20lbs the second up until 6 months
b. Too early for PT yet. PT will start at 6 months

3. Can:
a. I feel like could be 80% fully active but do still have a slight stiffness in my neck
b. I have limited range of motion in neck in shoulders (hence the 80%)
c. I have a slight pain behind my shoulder blade. They think PT may fix this but it may have come from permanent damage. Time will tell.

d. *I got the okay to rode bike!* They stress no jostling as it may loosen the screws. He basically said MTB is the definition of this. :-(

4. Can't:

a. Mountain Bike!
b. Turn my neck at 90 degree angles left/right.


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

Thats crazy Cramsay. At one week my doc gave me the all clear to start back to mountain biking, lift weights, etc basically anything I felt like doing. I played it safe for about a week but then got on the bike and started riding again. i've had no issues since and I don't seem to notice any loss of flexibility. At 6 months the doc said my fusion was complete. I asked him early on if biking or working out was going to affect the fusion or was dangerous and he told me that the hardware wasn't going ANYWHERE and that activity would in no way affect fusion. I was amazed that I went into the hospital in pain, but left the next day with zero pain. They gave me a neck brace to wear home, but the doc told me it was just for comfort and I wasn't required to wear it. I took it off halfway home. I never had any difficulties swallowing and I think the only real pain I had afterwards were muscle soreness in my neck/shoulder muscles that had been moved around during surgery.


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## Dudeus (Jan 26, 2011)

Man, you guys are lucky. Well, I suppose lucky isn't really the word. I have a thread a bit down on my fusion. My fusion was trauma induced so I was under strict orders. They went in through the back of my neck and fused C5 and C6. I had to wear the neck brace for 3 months religiously, also couldn't drive for 3 months or even think about mountain biking. That **** sucked.


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## mbell (Sep 9, 2008)

cramsay3 said:


> End of 3 months
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Cramsay3 and anyone else in a similar situation-

A couple of quick things to keep an eye out for-

"I sometimes have to swallow food twice as it gets stuck in my throat. This is a side effect of the BMP." At this point post operative, this is not the BMP, it is the plate profile against your esophagus. The issues with BMP are within 3-5 days post operative with is also a reason why BMP is only used off-label in the cervical spine.

The next time you're in the office with your doctor, I'd scrutinize your fusion with him. Make sure the gaps between your interbody devices and the vertebrae don't grow any larger and make surethe screws don't change on your films. (i.e.- angles, heads of screws moving past the plate towards your esophagus.

I only tell you this to be cautious and make sure your aware of your recovery. Multilevel constructs are much more complicated and if your films are 3 months out, I would stay on top of this.


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## bandit350 (Apr 9, 2005)

Very well spoken, mbell. Do you work in spine? You can PM me if you don't want it public. Just curious as it sounds like you either work in an office or have experience in them. I actually got the forum subscription update on my phone while in a surgeon's office!


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## cramsay3 (May 23, 2009)

*3 months*

mbell, thanks for the clarifications - really good info.I'll be sure and follow up / press my surgeon.

Voodoosix - can't explain the delta. Maybe I'm just a much more delicate lil' flower than most. ;-). And I feel like I *can* ride, just haven't been given the the green light to do so. Also, my arm pain and numbness (complete loss of use in right arm) was 90% gone the day after the surgery, just a slight ghost pain left. Maybe your guy can call mine and tell him to let me go out?.


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## in_8 (Feb 19, 2011)

I also just had this surgery, C-5 C-6 only, back on Feb. 2 of this year. I had the collar off the next day and only wore it when i slept. I was driving 3 days later although i wasn't supposed to. I stopped taking the pain meds after 3 days as I was feeling much better and didn't like the side effects. I go back for a check up next week and im curious what the outcome will be. Did anyone else have numbness on the side of their head from the clamps during surgery? If so did the feeling return? or is this something i have to live with. Doc says it will return, not to worry. But i have other spots that i have lost feeling due to injuries and its never returned. How likely is it that the side of my head will stay numb forever? 

I have been MTBing this past weekend, I will not be going again for a little while. Although i managed ok i definitely felt some pain.


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## jleslie246 (Oct 15, 2010)

Its been about 6 months for me now, see my post up above. I have my 6 month xrays/follow up very soon to check fusion. 

I have pretty good movement but the muscles in my neck, tops of my shoulders and bewteen my shoulder blades are sore daily. Still uncomfortable to sleep. Not nerve pain like before serg. just muscle soreness. My job is extremely physical and requires constant bending of my neck so I am sure this has something to do with the prolonged soreness.

I hope to get the 'all clear' to mtn bike in april after my 6 month check up!

Anyone else have the prolonged muscle soreness?


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## Dudeus (Jan 26, 2011)

Every day.


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## FisherCaliber (Apr 1, 2010)

I had C 5, 6 & 7 fused in 2003 when I was 43 years old. I struggle with muscular shoulder/neck pain almost every day. After my fusion I didn't sleep lying down for about a month. The pain between the shoulder blades was wicked.

At 8 years post surgery I have lost some side to side range of motion as well.

The ONLY reason I can still mountain bike is because of how good full suspension bike's have become.


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## in_8 (Feb 19, 2011)

I am still having muscle soreness. It has only been 2 months and i have just started PT. My job is also physical but i have not returned yet. I should be soon though but am worried that these sore muscles will escalate to something else. I find myself favoring positions that i shouldn't which then leads to more pain somewhere else. It's never easy is it?


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## Kranky1 (Mar 22, 2011)

@ fishercaliber, You sound like you had a very similar fusion to mine. I experienced the same constant pain you mentioned, for years. I finally had an MRI after 9 yrs. Turns out that I now have bulged discs above and below the fusion. Sorry to burst anyones bubble, but this fate may be many of yours as well, as the fusion puts increased stress on the "joints" that have to take up the slack of the lost motion in the fused section. A good regimen of physical therapy has helped me tremendously, and I am now back on a FS mountain bike after years of Drs telling me I would never ride again. I even did a gnarly endo friday and my neck stayed together!! Anyone know anything about badly sprained wrists????.................


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## Tegerian (Apr 11, 2011)

Took me about 6 months to able to exercise hard after my fusion, pretty much exactly like yours but one disk up, but in one year I was able to run and bike, shouldn't have run as this caused a relapse, key is to take it slow and don't overdo. Definitely sucks, as far as recovery, I still have some trouble swallowing four years after and I can pop my esophagus around, but it's all good.


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## amotodawg (Mar 16, 2006)

*Keep Working*

I am 51 and recovering from a C6/C7 fusion (5 weeks) Everything went extremely well. I think one of the keys to surviving this deal is not to go couch potato if you don't have to and to get on your feet as soon as you can after being cut. I went about six months of conservative treatment prior to surgery. The pain kept me off my bikes but I walked and hiked like a madman. I was allowed in the gym, but was kept at a 15lb weight limit. After surgery I was put in a hard collar for a month, but I could walk all I could tolerate. I went at least an hour everyday starting two days after the surgery and ended up maxing at 7 miles. I just started PT and I am back in the gym with weight limitations. I feel pretty good, although I do get tired after two of three hours of activity. I am being pretty careful because I don't want to loosen and of my new hardware.

My doctor is pleased with my progress, but says the bike is a ways away. Due to earlier neck problems I switched from a cross country to a more upright "all-mtn" bike a few years ago. I am a little worried about my road bike though. It is a relaxed framed Trek Madone with a taller head tube. Is there anybody out there who has had my level fusion who can tell me how the are doing on their bike? I can't even conceive not riding and a recumbent....well.......


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## Dudeus (Jan 26, 2011)

Mountain bike is perfectly fine for me, on some of the techy stuff it gets sore afterwards (fully rigid), but on the single track I'm fine. Personally, I had a C5/C6 fusion and drops are now a thing of the past, but now I have bullhorns, which are a godsend. Puts you in a more normal position where you don't have to put as much strain on your neck (I can't look up all the way), but still a very comfy and aerodynamic (woah, long word) riding position.

Just my .02 cents.


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## 202cycle (Dec 6, 2006)

I am 1 1/2 weeks post surgery (C5,6,7 fusion with titanium plate), and feel pretty good so far. My question is, if the plate keeps everything in place, then why all the restrictions on driving, lifting, going to work etc? My surgeon scheduled my first follow up one month from surgery. I feel like I could drive the 40 min. to work and work all day.


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

My surgeon gave me one week after surgery to recuperate then I had my post surgical follow-up. At that 1 week follow-up, he cleared me to resume whatever activity I felt like doing. His explanation was that the hardware would hold everything together and as long as I was not experiencing pain, i was fine. I started mountain biking again immediately. My brother has had the same surgery and he's on the SWAT team and he returned to work immediately as well.


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## bulletbob (Apr 5, 2004)

What the docs told me was they don't want you to take the chance of being rearended in your car or get in some other accident while all that stuff is fresh and the the hardware hasn't really been locked in yet. 

After my last, final last surgery where they fused the 10 levels, and because of the previous failure, the docs didn't even want me to ride my road bike on the trainer because of the angle of my neck and body or do anything else for 6 months until they were REALLY sure the screws had been locked in by the bone growth around them. At the end of 6 months they said knock yourself out which I'm really trying to avoid...


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## FisherCaliber (Apr 1, 2010)

When I had my fusion done. C 5 6 7 in 2003. I was told that the hardware doesn't hold everything 100% in place. The healing/fusing of the bone does that. And, that takes time. I was out of action for 6 weeks.


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## Voodoosix (Mar 31, 2006)

Weird. I asked my doc because I was worried about crashing and he told me that any impact that could pull the hardware apart would be severe enough that the hardware in my neck would be the least of my worries. Basically he said the natural parts that are holding your neck together are about 1/5rd as strong as the hardware and I would break my spine somewhere else before the surgical hardware would be affected.


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## mbell (Sep 9, 2008)

Here are a couple of quick notes to answer some of the recent posts:

1. Your hardware is only meant to stabilize your spine while it builds the fusion.
2. Depending on how many levels you are having fused, the post op protocols will vary. Especially with multilevel fusions. They have a higher rate of non-union, therefore they will be more cautious with your recovery.
3. Your hardware is not meant to "strengthen" your spine or be something that acts as a structural compliment to your spine. Once you've fused, which takes a while depending on your: age, health issues (diabetic?, smoker?, etc) your fusion will be stronger than any implant. Implants are only meant to be strong enough to support your spine. If you do not fuse, they will break or back out.
4. Many doctors are good at surgery, therefore the impact on your body is far less than it used to be. Don't be fooled into thinking that you're ready to get back to work, ride your bike, go for a jog, etc. You aren't ready, because you haven't healed. You may feel great on the outside, but keep in mind that the whole reason why you let someone explore you body was to make it better from the inside out. Do your self a favor and be a compliant patient. The last thing you want to do is have another surgery because you thought you were smarter than the nerd who spent most of their live in school to do these things.

Good luck to you all and be smart. Just chill out and heal. You'll be really pissed at yourself if you crash and feel that cervical plate pushing against your esophagus.


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

I had C4,5, and 6 fused three years with titanium rods. It took two years to fully recover due to some nerver damage but I am back to mtn biking without any issues. It's true that the hardware keeps everythng in place, but you need to be aware of the extra stresses now placed above and below the fusion. Your C4 and C8 are now doing more work whenever you move your neck. This will increase the possibility of injury to these areas if they are put under stresses that would not normally affect them.


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## FisherCaliber (Apr 1, 2010)

mbell said:


> Here are a couple of quick notes to answer some of the recent posts:
> 
> 1. Your hardware is only meant to stabilize your spine while it builds the fusion.
> 2. Depending on how many levels you are having fused, the post op protocols will vary. Especially with multilevel fusions. They have a higher rate of non-union, therefore they will be more cautious with your recovery.
> ...


What an incredibly correct post!! Outstanding!!


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## ilovejiujitsu (Feb 29, 2012)

*acdf*

I cannot thank you enough for posting your "road to recovery" diary. I have been researching this procedure for over a year now with paralyzing fear! (not a pun) Until recently there has been majority negative feedback out there. Im am so happy for you to be returning to your passion! I unfortunately will not be so lucky. I believe that you will help many people (including myself) to make the right choice in to have or not to have a spine fusion.:thumbsup: I was lead to this forum by a google search but I do not bike. I had to express my gratefulness to you for posting your progress! I was advised last year to have acdf done but couldnt bring myself to give up jiujitsu. I still cry when I think about it. I have folded my Gi and tied it with my belt and said good bye to ever earning a bluebelt.  Maybe I will take up biking. THANK YOU AGAIN!


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

I am the OP on this thread and I thought I would update my situation.

It will be four years in May since my fusion. I have almost no side effects at this point, other than I still need to sleep in one of just a few positions to be comfortable, and I am careful to have my computer monitor in a position where I don't strain my neck. 

I am riding MTB and road, including Leadville three times since the fusion, and downhill. 

I do wear a Leatt-type brace when I ride DH, and it has saved me a couple of times. I highly recommend one to anyone riding DH, even if you do not (yet) have neck problems. 

I can't get as low on my road bike as I used to, but my road racing days are over anyway. I have ridden several road centuries and a couple of 200km rides with no neck issues. 

So, the cervical fusion is not an end to your cycling career. I do feel sorry for you ilovejujitsu, because that would not be possible after this surgery for me either. It must feel terrible to be forced to give up your passion due to a neck injury.


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## SlickOne (Oct 7, 2007)

I had my c5-6 fused 2.7 years ago, I have a severe degenerating cervical spine as well everywhere else. I had to give up riding on the road, as I cant assume the crouched position. Its a total bummer as I really got into it while living in Europe. Now I suit up and ride DH, I of course wear a Leat brace, but its definetly a different style of riding. Best wishes in everyones recovery.


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## Zignzag (Jan 23, 2004)

SlickOne said:


> I had my c5-6 fused 2.7 years ago, I have a severe degenerating cervical spine as well everywhere else. I had to give up riding on the road, as I cant assume the crouched position. Its a total bummer as I really got into it while living in Europe. Now I suit up and ride DH, I of course wear a Leat brace, but its definetly a different style of riding. Best wishes in everyones recovery.


Have you tried raising your bars with a riser stem? That worked for me. I'd even ride a recumbent before giving up road riding.


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## SlickOne (Oct 7, 2007)

Zignzag said:


> Have you tried raising your bars with a riser stem? That worked for me. I'd even ride a recumbent before giving up road riding.


 Yes I tried everything, I had a really great surgeon, but my neck gets really really sore after just a mile or so. Its actually even an issue if I wear to heavy of a jacket. If I could keep my neck in a neutral position it would be bearable. by neutral, consider in the tucked position looking at your front hub for the majority of the ride. (not safe)

As for giving up road riding, its a major major downer for me. Im pretty stubborn, I even rode the bike with my TENS unit hooked to me. (those electrical shockers to interupt nerve pain signals). I was sure I could beat the pain, however being 33, medically retired out of Military after 9 different surgeries I am forced to accept some limitations. Limitations is the hard part of the acceptance.


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## rdy357 (Jul 15, 2012)

I am new here and have found all of this info very helpful.
I had ACDF 4 level fusion C3 to C7 in Ferbuary 2012.
I learned this week that the c6/c7 fusion did not happen.
I am going back in 6 weeks to find out my options, but my doc said to go live life for now.
I am still sore in my traps and neck. I can ride for a max of 2 hours and don't even think about riding the MTB bike right now. 
I started riding at 3 months easy on the road.


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## Old Ray (Sep 5, 2010)

Wow. Just Wow, after reading through this thread. I've had more blunt-force trauma to my head, (and hence my C-spine) than you can shake a stick at, including one that caused three bulging discs in my neck. Numb fingers, etc. as I'm sure you all know. With daily traction, and frequent acupuncture, followed a few months later with very good PT and strength training, I've been fine for over 20 years. 

But recently, I OTB'ed on a trail I ride 100 times a year at 17mph, and thanks to my eggbeaters there was NO ROLLING allowed....I had to faceplant. Aside from the sutures, and a Grade 1 A/C separation, there was no evidence of serious damage, but considering my history, they did a full C-Spine Xray series on me...holy crap. That was disturbing to see. I'm not ready to join yer fusion club just yet, but it might be in my future. 

Anyways, I feel for all you folks who have posted up here on your cervical injuries and surgeries. Here's to hoping that you all heal up well. :thumbsup:


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## StiffNeck (Jul 17, 2012)

*Another cervical fusion story - Posterior C1-C2-C3*

Thanks to all for sharing their story. It was really interesting to read. It gave me some hope. So I decided to share mine too.

Resulting of a XC mtb crash, I did break my C2 vertebra with a "bad" C1 to C2 atlantoaxial rotational dislocation (type 2, over 25°). 4 days later and few medical errors after, the fracture was identify. Before surgery I had to "survive" to around 12 hours of traction to undo the dislocation (Gardner-Wells they call that). The worst experience of my life:cryin:, event morphine is not strong enough to smooth out the sensation of the 2 pointed setscrews pinning into your skull with such pressure that you are wondering if the skull bones will be able to handle such pressure or if they will just collapse. You also feel your teeth pressing each against the other because you jaw bone is so compress. Not to mention the 15 lbs, then 20 lbs, then 25 lbs weight attached to the 2 setscrews that is constantly pulling on your. I ended a week or so after my accident with a posterior C1-C2-C3 fusion. I also have broken a little chip on C6 and a thumb... but who cares.

At they end I do not have any significant disability except huge head rotation limitation (roughly 50% of the rotation of the head is usually taken between C1 and C2).

But the road of rehabilitation was (is) quite long for me. 3 months of 24h per day cervical collar and daily morphine, 3 other months of pain because I had an screw sticking out in the joint between C1 and the base of the skull (see picture), another surgery to remove the misplaced screw as well as all the hardware on my right side (the surgeon did not wanted to remove hardware on both side event if fuse bones were apparently strong enough) . Then pain slowly decreased, but I had to take some mild pain killer (like Tylenol) everyday for another 3 months. My first physiotherapist, specialized in spine issue (she use to remember me that I was the first patient she have seen alive with my kind of injury), was not able to make me progress so 11 months after my injury, I had very low neck, back and shoulder mobility so she humbly transfer my case to an really good osteopath. Since I started osteopathic and acupuncture treatment I'm making good progress.

The fusion was done end of June 2011 and event if I Have stiff and sore neck muscles that require to take muscular relaxant every day, following a daily physio exercise routine, having weekly appointment to the osteopath and acupuncture and still experiencing some pain life is good with me. I'm still on the right side of the turf, walking, fully able to work:thumbsup: ...and hopping to ride a mtb again despite my surgeon told me it was not a good idea:nono:.

In bonus since we are on a mtb forum, I will share detail of the crash. I broke my neck riding XC alone, and so conservatively (20-25 km/h or 12-16 mph), on a trail I know by heart. I did not event badly bad crash. I only flip over the handle bar, was able to easily unclip, was rolling to land on my back, as I have done successfully in such occasion so many time, but this time my head hit a stump or a rock and all my body weight + movement force was apply on my head for a brief moment and that was it. Heard 2 short cracks then landed so well that I literal stopped standing up on my 2 foots... but in such pain.


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## StiffNeck (Jul 17, 2012)

As mentioned in another post the main risk after a fusion is to put strain on the non-fused vertebra next to those fused. In my case (C1 to C3 fusion), I’m mainly worried by the strain that would be resulting of another crashed, especially rotational wise. Does any of you have heard about custom made protective equipment or specialist in protective equipment that could custom tune off the shelf neck (Leatt) brace (eastern Canada, north-east USA) ?


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## rjames (Feb 13, 2008)

*Posterior C6-C7 fusion*

Read through all of these posts. At least I don't feel so alone. I'm a mtbr that cracked vertabrae at c6-c7 as a result of getting slammed by a wave while boogie boarding in Deleware on vacation. Wave was only a few feet high- and I'm 6'2".

The accident required sugery to fuse the c6-c7 vertabrae together, but did not require removing the disc. They had to go in through the back of my neck (posterior) which I was told was a lot more painful and with a longer recovery time than if they had been able to go through the front. Sugery was 4 weeks ago and the muscles along my back still spasm and hurt quite a bit. I still can't lift over 10 lbs. I was told that I probably wouldn't be cleared to ride my mbt in the manner that I ride it (aggressive all-mountain) for a year. Ugh. That is of course secondary to not being able to pick up my 3 1/2 year old for a similar amount of time. I'm just hoping that I'll actually be able to do so at some ponit. Right now it doesn't seem possible.

Anyone who has had sping surgery, please keep the posts coming. It's great to be able to read the experiences of others, especially those who love biking as much as I do and don't want to live without it.



> Do any of you have heard about custom made protective equipment or specialist in protective equipment that could custom tune off the shelf neck (Leatt) brace (eastern Canada, north-east USA) ?


No replies yet to StiffNeck's question, I also would like to hear if anyone is using similar bracing devices after surgery.


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## rdy357 (Jul 15, 2012)

I had 4 level ACDF in February. I have now been told that C6-C7 was a non-fusion.
I have been riding my road bike for 4 months and went off-road twice. Still in pain and will most likely gave to go in for PCF C6-C7. (What you had)
I have joined a Facebook group called Cervical Disc replacement surgery and it is a wealth of knowledge.
I would recommend to go slow and don't push it. It it takes a year and you can be back at 100%, then take a year. 
I fear I rushed mine and that is the reason, I suspect, that mine did not fuse. 
Just my two cents.

Also, invest in a Leatt brace or something similar.
The neck is the epicenter and it needs protection.


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## CPATCRASH (Mar 9, 2004)

Wow! I saw this looking for recovery time for a fusion surgery because I'm having a two level fusion of C5 & C6 on 3/4.

A little over a year ago I woke up with numbness in my left arm and hand. I went the usual rout and tried a chiropractor and acupuncture. After nothing helped I had an MRI and found 5 herniated disks between C3 & C7. Went to a few Dr's and picked one who suggested a laminoplasty surgery to take the pressure off the spinal cord. I now have 16 screws and four plates in my neck and the numbness is still there.

I went for a CT scan and the disks between C5 & C6 have completely disintegrated so I'm getting a fusion. The root nerves going to my arms are crushed and I have a ton of numbness and weakness. I'm really hoping this takes care of the problem. I haven't ridden in over a year and haven't worked either.


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## Old Ray (Sep 5, 2010)

CPATCRASH said:


> Wow! I saw this looking for recovery time for a fusion surgery because I'm having a two level fusion of C5 & C6 on 3/4.
> 
> A little over a year ago I woke up with numbness in my left arm and hand. I went the usual rout and tried a chiropractor and acupuncture. After nothing helped I had an MRI and found 5 herniated disks between C3 & C7. Went to a few Dr's and picked one who suggested a laminoplasty surgery to take the pressure off the spinal cord. I now have 16 screws and four plates in my neck and the numbness is still there.
> 
> I went for a CT scan and the disks between C5 & C6 have completely disintegrated so I'm getting a fusion. The root nerves going to my arms are crushed and I have a ton of numbness and weakness. I'm really hoping this takes care of the problem. I haven't ridden in over a year and haven't worked either.


Best of luck on the procedure. Sounds like you really do need it, and at least you tried the less-invasive route first. Take your time to recover, too. Lot's of patients push it too much too soon. Time should be on your side, not your enemy.


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## CPATCRASH (Mar 9, 2004)

Ray Raton said:


> Best of luck on the procedure. Sounds like you really do need it, and at least you tried the less-invasive route first. Take your time to recover, too. Lot's of patients push it too much too soon. Time should be on your side, not your enemy.


Thanks Ray. I just want it over with.


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## CPATCRASH (Mar 9, 2004)

Here's the end result. Three level fusion and a four level laminoplasty.


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## ColForbin (Apr 12, 2013)

Well - I found this thread/forum by googling 'neck surgery recovery cycling', and I have to say there is a lot of great info here...every neck surgeon should read this thread to help them answer their cyclist patient's questions.

Anyway - I just had C5-C6-C7 done last week, and am still quite sore, but pretty happy with the recovery so far. I'm less of a mountain biker and more a roadie (don't hold that against me) but this information has really helped scale my expectations as to when I can expect to get on the bike again. I was just cleared to start driving already, and I'm only 11 days out. 

From what I've read, I'm a bit concerned about the future prognosis for riding my road bike...we'll see about the riding position in the drops. If not, I do also have a hybrid I can ride, and will definitely start with that one for a while.

Thanks all - really appreciate your posts here.

ColForbin


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## Greg Gold (May 3, 2013)

I had disk fusion on c4,c5 and c6 disks i'm on my 4th week of healing. I'm riding a off road bike on the street to avoud heavy bumps.i'm still wearing my neck brace. All my pain is now gone. Every one heals differently.there is no one answer.


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## Zignzag (Jan 23, 2004)

I have C4-C5 and C6-C7-T1 fused, and I'm a roadie. I had to raise my bars some, and I can't really hold my head back enough to ride on the drops.

Yeah, I know. It looks very Fredish, but I'm still riding.


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## rdy357 (Jul 15, 2012)

My 4 level ACDF was February 2, 2012.
C3-C7 was done and I had a non-fusion at C6-C7.
I am riding all bikes again and recently started riding my 29er SS on a very rough trail here.
I have an ESI scheduled for today at C6-C7 and hope that helps.
I have numb hands when I lay back for any length of time.
I have had to raise my bars on all bikes and just ordered a Domane Trek for road riding.

I have been in the gym trying to strengthen all the muscles around my neck and that has helped quite a bit with the pain.
I do what I can, when I can and some days are good while some are bad.


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## rjames (Feb 13, 2008)

I had posterior fusion of c6-c7 following a body surfing accident where I fractured both vertebrae. It's been 1 year and 4 months since my surgery. I'm happy to say that I'm back to riding my mountain bike again as if nothing happened. I'm on a Yeti 575 and ride very aggressively. 
I also ride a road bike pretty often and that's where I really notice a change. My neck and shoulders do get a little sore after riding for a while. It's likely due to the hunched over position.
I did lose a little loss of mobility in how far I can turn my neck and my shoulders ache a little fairly constantly, but over all my recovery has been very good and I can do most of what I did before my accident.

For those of you who are struggling with recovery, I wish you all the best. It was a life changing event mentally for me, as well as physically.


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

OP here. I saw this thread pop up again. Wow, I can't believe my surgery was 5 1/2 years ago. 

The neck doesn't hold me back generally. I just have to be careful about how I sleep, or it will be sore. My range of motion is actually better than the average person, but less than it was, of course. I don't even think about it anymore except when I sleep on it wrong. 

This is not to say there have been zero changes. I had to alter my position on a road bike, as several others have mentioned. Higher bars aren't that bad, they just make your butt hurt more. I was warned not to do overhead presses with weights, and if I try to do that I feel a lot of pressure on my neck. Not a big deal, I very rarely have to lift anything heavy over my head in normal life. 

Hopefully I am past this physically, for the rest of my life. As someone else mentioned, mentally it does grind on you at first, but once you are able to forget about it day to day, you simply adapt, and you are what you are.


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## rdy357 (Jul 15, 2012)

I had my ACDF C3-C7 Feb 2012.
I am back riding my single speed 29er on some rough trails.
Still have a non-fusion at C6-C7, but the doc is helping me manage my pain.
I had an ESI three weeks ago and expect to have more in the future at C6-C7.

Life goes on so enjoy it while you can.


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## Amnimar (Feb 22, 2014)

I had C-7 T-1 fusion done on January 17, 2014. I am doing great, cleared by doc to start back to gym and exercise bike. He doesn't want me on the road for six weeks so it's coming soon. What I want to ask is related to having a sore throat. My voice was hoarse for a couple weeks but got better. However, in the last week it has gotten worse and has actually become really painful, especially when swallowing. So, anybody else had this situation.


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## mbell (Sep 9, 2008)

Any change in your recovery is a great reason to talk to your MD. The hardware that they implanted in your spine is right next to your esophagus. If it is "rubbing" on your esophagus, it may need to be addressed.


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## StiffNeck (Jul 17, 2012)

Hi Amnimar, I had similar swallowing issue. I choked big time before I started taking smaller bite. The solution was as simple as that for me. Then it took a good year for the swallowing muscles to rehab. Now I feel it is as before or at least I don’t feel the difference. Time and physiotherapy can fix a lot of things!
My surgeon told me that it was unrelated to fusion (C1-C2-C3) but my therapist told me that it could be linked with swelling related to a small fracture on C6 instead (close to the area of your fusion). 
Never had issue with my voice, and with the pain and pain killer I was taking could not notice if my throat was sore.
However, I'm not a doctor and everyone is different so it worth mentioning to medical staff.
I wish you a good rehab and nice mtb ride when you’re ready.


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## Oh My Sack! (Aug 21, 2006)

I'm almost exactly one year out from C5-C7 fusion and phygen plate install. One of the first warning I received from my Nuerosurgeon PRIOR to surgery was that my voice might be affected, albeit temporary, and it may hurt to swallow for some time after surgery. Fortunately, I had absolutely neither of these issues but as somebody mentioned above, if you're experiencing a change or setback in your recovery progress, go see your surgeon asap.


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## Jomama (Feb 26, 2014)

*Broken neck but want to ride!*



Zignzag said:


> I have C4-C5 and C6-C7-T1 fused, and I'm a roadie. I had to raise my bars some, and I can't really hold my head back enough to ride on the drops.
> 
> Yeah, I know. It looks very Fredish, but I'm still riding.


On Dec 7, 2013 a rookie cycling move (took my eye off the road in front of me) caused my front tire to get locked into a storm grate & I was instantly thrown over the handle bars. It happened so fast I had no time to adjust for the roll & hit head first. Smashed my helmet (which kept me from having brain trauma) and fractured my C1 front & rear (called a Jefferson Burst). Emergency surgery at my local hospital that was luckily right around the corner to perform a Posterior Cervical Laminectomy with fusion/Occipital Cervical Fusion (6 titanium screws from my skull into my C2 - bypassing my blown C1) Had a cadaver bone implanted in the middle of that hardware to bridge the C1 fractures. My final lateral range of motion unknown right now but could be reduced by as much as 50%. PT began last week with ROM at a depressing 9%. On disability leave from work and trying to slow down while this old bod heals. Doctor said my months of gym work to build my upper body & core for long distance cycling paid off as my 'traps', etc. protected (cushioned) my neck which otherwise might have sustained a spinal cord injury (think Christopher Reeves). I'm blessed that this wasn't more serious.
It's 10 weeks post surgery & I'm having shooting pain in a small strip at the back of my neck where I believe one of my construct arms runs. I'm hoping that I won't have to have my hardware removed but the doctor said next weeks MRI and/or CAT scan will tell if there's a complication causing some nerve tweaking. Anyone experience either this sort of recurring pain and/or have their hardware removed?


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## StiffNeck (Jul 17, 2012)

Jomama said:


> Anyone experience either this sort of recurring pain and/or have their hardware removed?


 Hi Jomama, I will share with you parts of my story that are relevant to your issue and desire to ride again.

I had left side of hardware removed because a screw tip was stinking out of C1 and grinding my occipital bone. It was known since day 1 after the surgery but I refused the offer to go for another surgery the same day to try to realign screw (I don't have good average when trying that in wood so I was worries that surgeon face the same difficulty 1/4 of inch of my spinal cord). I took the other option; wait and see. It went unnoticeable until I got out of neck brace. Then, it was causing pain as soon as I was nodding, like when walking, and it never went away. I had to wait 6 month for proper bone fusion before surgeon could take half of the hardware out.

Recovery time from the 2nd surgery was quite shorter if you wonder. I was back to work after 1 month and full time after 2.

I would say that I have lost about 40-50% of lateral range motion. It took me a lot of effort to get to that point; nearly 2 year. However I was bike riding mtb after 1½ year. As Zignzag, I raised my handle bar because I also lost quite of bit of neck extension range.

In my experience, aside of hardware rubbing somewhere, long lasting pain is often cause by ligament damage. It goes away with time and rehab.

I wish you a good rehab and nice mtb ride when you're ready. However, keep in mind that cervical fusion increases the risk of serious injury in case of crash.


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## Jomama (Feb 26, 2014)

StiffNeck said:


> Hi Jomama, I will share with you parts of my story that are relevant to your issue and desire to ride again.
> 
> I had left side of hardware removed because a screw tip was stinking out of C1 and grinding my occipital bone. It was known since day 1 after the surgery but I refused the offer to go for another surgery the same day to try to realign screw (I don't have good average when trying that in wood so I was worries that surgeon face the same difficulty 1/4 of inch of my spinal cord). I took the other option; wait and see. It went unnoticeable until I got out of neck brace. Then, it was causing pain as soon as I was nodding, like when walking, and it never went away. I had to wait 6 month for proper bone fusion before surgeon could take half of the hardware out.
> 
> ...


Thanks StiffNeck, Those are words I needed to hear in order to put a time table on my recovery. I fully realize that what I can or can't do at 10 wks is going to change by my 1 yr anniversary. That I need to practice something I'm really short on - patient. I do have a positive attitude & that thread runs through many of the blog writings I've seen since searching them out. I do believe our bodies 'listen' to our minds to some degree. I will continue my PT exercises religiously & hopefully, my hardware issue isn't a pinched nerve. Even today, after taking ibuprofen to reduce inflammation in that sore area has helped. I've weaned off the vicodin like a good ex-addict must do and that's important since the effort to regain 50% range of motion sounds like it could take 2 yrs. I've installed a large clip on rear view mirror & did a test drive to determine if I'm a danger to myself & others. I found that lane changing isn't the issue as I thought it would be but rather the left & right looks at an intersection. I have to turn my body a bit to see if there are oncoming cars but I think that after my bone graft is deemed to have fully stabilized my C1, I will drive again (with less of that rear-end accident fear). I have full intentions of raising the neck on my bike & getting on with that as soon as my neck has healed better. I'm afraid that I may not be able to keep up with my "big dog" cycling friends but they've said they want me along on their 'easy' rides. Time will tell. In the mean time, it's great having some blog friends to bounce stuff off of. Thanks all!


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## rjames (Feb 13, 2008)

Staying positive is hard but necessary for you and those around you. Sounds like you have the perfect attitude. Best of luck on your rehab!!


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## Jomama (Feb 26, 2014)

Thanks rjames. I had some cycling friends over last month & enjoyed the good fellowship. I don't want this accident to define me or be viewed as the guy who broke his neck cycling so I downplay the seriousness of what happened. I only want them to see me as a guy who had an accident that may have been avoided had he paid more attention to the road in front of him & that may keep them more alert when they're out there enjoying life.


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## NRSguy (Oct 31, 2004)

Any updates from Honkinunit or Rdy357?

I'm about to get my c3-c7 fusion in December, with many of the same symptoms as the OP. The surgeon is adamant about me NOT riding MTB after the surgery but thinks roadbikes will be okay. This thread is giving me much hope but I would love to see how you are doing now that its been years after your fusions.


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## eatcake (Oct 27, 2004)

I am nearly 6 years post c4-c6 fusion following a fractured neck injury with accompanying nerve damage to my right bicep and deltoid. I was told not to MTB by my neurosurgeon and took up road cycling two years post surgery. I found that the lower position on the road bike actually hurt my neck after 30 minutes or more on the bike. I've returned the MTBing, knowing the risks, and feel that I am riding just as well, if not better than pre-surgery. I don't do crazy sh*t, keeping the tires on the dirt and never get out of my comfort zone. I can keep up with all my riding buddies and actually enjoy it much more now knowing how close I came to losing MTBing forever. 

Good Luck with your surgery!


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## cramsay3 (May 23, 2009)

*4 years and riding more than ever*

It's been almost 4 years since I got 3-7 fused like you.

(Cervical Fusion Recovery TImes? - Page 2- Mtbr.com).

I ride more now then I every have. I have zero issues. I can't imagine trying to ride w/ the pain. You made the right decision.


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## Oh My Sack! (Aug 21, 2006)

NRSguy said:


> Any updates from Honkinunit or Rdy357?
> 
> I'm about to get my c3-c7 fusion in December, with many of the same symptoms as the OP. The surgeon is adamant about me NOT riding MTB after the surgery but thinks roadbikes will be okay. This thread is giving me much hope but I would love to see how you are doing now that its been years after your fusions.


Interesting. I'm now 20 months post-surgery C5-C7 fusion and plate install. I asked my surgeon what he thought about MTB as a means of recovery. He suggested that after a couple months of healing that I "go for it!" I might have mentioned that road riding wasn't a big interest for me and he was more concerned that I would continue to ride my sport/tour motorcycle. He suggested that I stick with a full suspension bike but I couldn't get him to follow through with a prescription for a nice Carbon StumpJumper Evo. :madman:

It's because of mountain biking that my level of fitness and my health have qualified my as "animal" on the trail among my 45-55 y/o peers. I'm hefting boulders and cutting trails as of recent, as well. Bottom line, as my Chiropractor tells me, you gotta keep moving and using your body or those joints will start to seize up. I'm in complete agreement.

Go do it!


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## StiffNeck (Jul 17, 2012)

It's been 3 year now since C1-C3 fusion. I'm ridding stronger than ever; event leading the pack regularly, but not on step downhill parts. Position on the bike is critical for avoiding pain. Dual suspension is a most. I have raise my handle bar went from a large frame to a medium one.








I event started road biking this year. I still find it boring but it's an excellent cross-training. Like for Mtb, position is critical for avoiding pain. My friends are calling me the Plywood because the draft is excellent behind. But as long I'm able to follow I'm happy. See pic.


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## Old Ray (Sep 5, 2010)

StiffNeck said:


> It's been 3 year now since C1-C3 fusion. I'm ridding stronger than ever; event leading the pack regularly, but not on step downhill parts. Position on the bike is critical for avoiding pain. Dual suspension is a most. I have raise my handle bar went from a large frame to a medium one.
> View attachment 933335
> 
> 
> ...


That's awesome. Keep up the good work, you are setting a good example for everybody.

And I'm totally with you on the downhills....take yer time descending, and make the climbs where you really pour it on. Better for your heart, lungs, leg muscles, and way less risk of falling.


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread! I'm scheduled for a C4-5-6 anterior discectomy and fusion on 12/2/14 and this thread has done a lot to keep me hopeful. I've had my share of fear and anxiety over this and you've all helped a lot.

I had a posterior partial discectomy and foramenotomy at C4-5 on the left side 4 years ago after which the surgeon commented that I've got the spine of an 80 year old and would have more trouble in the future. I've had gradually increasing neck pain and painful radiculopathy on the right side intermittently for a couple years now, but it hit hard last June and hasn't let up despite a couple rounds of PT and injections. I haven't ridden in 5 months! I've been riding since 1986 and have never been off a bike this long. 

The surgeon said that because of the work already done on the left side and the worsening disks and bone spurs, the only remaining option is fusion. He's been deeply involved in the development of minimally invasive spine surgery, so I have full confidence in his ability to give me my life back again. 

One of my biggest concerns was being able to return to mountain biking, however long it took. I realize that it's possible that I won't be able to that, and could live on without it (not happily), but I'm determined to approach the recovery with the idea that I'll be riding again. At a meeting with the surgeon's PA a couple weeks ago she told me that she sees no reason why I shouldn't be able to return to sensible trail riding (it's not like I can ride like I used to anyway), but it might not be until next fall because she would want to make sure the fusion was well along before giving the ok. I can live with that! After being off a bike for over a year it'll be like starting all over again, but if it means I get to ride again, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes. Once I'm past the painful part of the post-surgery, the most difficult thing for me will be maintaining the self discipline to *not* do more than I'm supposed to do.

My goal will be to get at least one ride in before I turn 63 in mid October, even if it's on a fairly tame trail. I haven't been able to ride since before I turned 62 last October and I want to get at least one ride in while I'm 62. Our first grandkid is due next May and I want to still be riding with him or her when they're old enough to drive us to the trailhead.

There's one thing I was wondering about fusion surgery. If they're going to combine C4 C5 and C6, will the resulting one be referred to as C15?
:skep:


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## rjames (Feb 13, 2008)

Ric426, You've got the right attitude. Best of luck with the procedures and the recovery. Don't rush the recovery. Listen to your body and your doctor. I tried to rush mine doing more than I should have and it set me back several months. 
Keep positive!


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## cramsay3 (May 23, 2009)

Ric426-
Good luck with your surgery and recovery. Sounds like you have a great plan. You are an inspiration. I look forward to riding when I grow up too. 

Charles "50 something" 
PS my neck still is good and I've faceplanted at least 5 times since recovery. My surgeon told me my neck would prob break before the fusion would. Nice.


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## NRSguy (Oct 31, 2004)

ric426 said:


> First of all I'd like to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread! I'm scheduled for a C4-5-6 anterior discectomy and fusion on 12/2/14 and this thread has done a lot to keep me hopeful. I've had my share of fear and anxiety over this and you've all helped a lot.
> 
> I had a posterior partial discectomy and foramenotomy at C4-5 on the left side 4 years ago after which the surgeon commented that I've got the spine of an 80 year old and would have more trouble in the future. I've had gradually increasing neck pain and painful radiculopathy on the right side intermittently for a couple years now, but it hit hard last June and hasn't let up despite a couple rounds of PT and injections. I haven't ridden in 5 months! I've been riding since 1986 and have never been off a bike this long.
> 
> ...


Good luck with your surgery and a speedy recovery! I will be following you by a few days as my c3-c7 fusion will take place on 12/9/14

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## danorano (Nov 14, 2012)

If you have had spinal fusion, make sure you don't engage in to heavy of activities since fusion reduces the flexibility of your spine which will cause adjacent healthy discs to degenerate prematurely. This will eventually cause the same issues in those adjacent discs that required you to get fusion in the others.


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## NRSguy (Oct 31, 2004)

Thanks for the info, my procedure was yesterday and I already notice a difference. They are keeping the drain in till tomorrow so I'll be released after they remove that

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## owtdorz (Apr 26, 2012)

I have shattered C3 in a skateboard accident in '77. I had C2-C4 fused. Was told no football, skiing, etc. I started skiing a year after and now at 50 y/o I'm MTB XC and downhill. The only issues I have had is arthritis at times between C4 and C5 because of the stress load on it. Mobility(range of motion) of the neck is and never will be 100%.
I say take it slow and easy at first.
Life is short.
Live for today, there may be no tomorrow!


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Well, here I am, week and a day past my C4-C6 fusion and doing reasonably well. I went home the second day after surgery after I showed the PT people I could walk down the hall and handle stairs carefully on my own. I'm already cutting back on the Norco for the surgical pain, but will stay on Neurontin for a couple weeks to control the nerve pain. The surgery took the pressure off the nerves right away but they will remain irritated for a couple weeks or so. They also recommended staying on the muscle relaxants for a couple of weeks because they effectively lengthened my spine back to where it used to be and it'll take a while for the muscles to adjust. They said that the majority of post-surgical pain complaints from this kind of surgery are from muscle spasms.

I didn't have as much throat pain as I expected and it's gone now so swallowing is no longer an issue. My surgeon used different hardware that doesn't protrude beyond the front of the vertebrae so there won't be any swallowing issues later, but it's not as rigid so initially I'll have to wear a hard collar longer.

I'm using a cane when moving about the house because the drugs affect my balance enough to leave me unsteady. They also leave me fairly drowsy, so I'm snoozing a lot. I expected to be a lot more annoyed by the neck brace, but we've become good friends and I find myself anxious to get it back on ASAP when I take it off for a shower. I can see that once I get to the PT stage, a lot of it will be devoted to getting my neck and upper body strength back.

So after the first week, I'd say so far, so good. I was nervous about the idea of them disassembling my neck and bolting it back together, but it was more like installing an upgrade kit to replace some worn out parts with shiny new titanium ones.

So far nothing that would prevent my planned return to the light duty mountain biking I was doing before surgery. I'll report back after the first post-surgical check up.


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Guess I missed reporting after the two week post-surgical checkup, but everything was good, though foggy. By the end of the third week I was off the pain meds and muscle relaxants and ready to stop taking Neurontin. That's where the hellish part began. 

Let me just say that if you ever end up taking Neurontin or Lyrica for something (usually prescribed for neuropathic pain or as an anti convulsant) and decide to stop taking it at some later time, be VERY, VERY careful about how you go about it. I found out the hard way that there's a good reason they recommend doing it over a period of weeks to months under strict supervision of your doctor or other professional experienced in handling it. In my drug induced fog I didn't grasp that and went through two weeks of mental hell because I tapered off it far too quickly. I won't go into details, but feel free to PM me if you are taking it and have questions. It was something I wouldn't want anyone else to go through.


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## wyoracerX (Jul 25, 2009)

Finally found the forum I was looking for. I had my ACDF on 19 Jan. I was suffering through pain and loss of strength in my left side. This winter the pain started keeping me off my bike. I saw this as the last straw and was able to finally see a NS who gave me basically one option after reviewing my MRIs and X-rays. I'm a highly competitive endurance racer and was looking forward to another AZT300 and possibly the CTR but after discussing the possible outcome should I take a bad fall, I decided to go with his advice. I had C4-5-6 fused with a Ti plate. I started walking for an hour+ a day 2 days after surgery and started riding an indoor trainer at the same time. I'm doing steady zone 4 HR stuff and the main thing that was bothering me initially was the sweat that would drench the foam in my collar. I started riding without my brace yesterday and it was an improvement. I am careful to not twist or do anything that would strain my neck from a neutral position. on the positive side, so far the pain and tingling in my arm is gone. I do have problems swallowing and even breathing a bit while at high hr. There is also a new pain that I hope will eventually go away an that is my right trapezius is tight and painful since surgery. Based on research on the web, there is a need to increase protein intake to aid bone development, so I've upped my normal intake of protein to 1.5-2 times what I was getting. The NS also told me that he expects me to be able to ride outside (albeit on the road) 4-5 weeks post-op. I'll just wait and see about that one. Thanks to those that posted about still riding their rigids, I was dreading selling my stable. I did pick up a new FS in November that is currently gathering dust along with my fat bikes


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## FisherCaliber (Apr 1, 2010)

I had C 5, 6 , & 7 fused back in 2003. I am an off road motorcycle racer who also mtn bikes. I understand completely that your are an endurance racer, but I tend to think that you are overdoing it so early in the post op phase. As has been said here in this thread, you heal from the inside out with this surgery. You are in a very fragile condition internally at this time. That titanium plate and screws just keeps the bone inserts stable so that they have a reasonably good chance at fusing.The plate does not add strength!! Less than 10 days out, the fusing has barely begun. I understand that you don't know me from Adam, but you have one chance to heal from this surgery. Part of that healing is not overstressing what the surgeon has so painstakingly done. I think you might be doing that. Walking with the collar is great, riding the bike this early, perhaps not. I've been an x ray technologist for 25 years if that makes any difference. Most importantly I wish you the best and pray that you have a complete and speedy recovery!!


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## Oh My Sack! (Aug 21, 2006)

FisherCaliber said:


> I had C 5, 6 , & 7 fused back in 2003. I am an off road motorcycle racer who also mtn bikes. I understand completely that your are an endurance racer, but I tend to think that you are overdoing it so early in the post op phase. As has been said here in this thread, you heal from the inside out with this surgery. You are in a very fragile condition internally at this time. That titanium plate and screws just keeps the bone inserts stable so that they have a reasonably good chance at fusing.The plate does not add strength!! Less than 10 days out, the fusing has barely begun. I understand that you don't know me from Adam, but you have one chance to heal from this surgery. Part of that healing is not overstressing what the surgeon has so painstakingly done. I think you might be doing that. Walking with the collar is great, riding the bike this early, perhaps not. I've been an x ray technologist for 25 years if that makes any difference. Most importantly I wish you the best and pray that you have a complete and speedy recovery!!


I'll be at my 2 year anniversary of my injury on Super Bowl Sunday with surgery just a few days later. After going through the C5-C7 fusion/plate with one of the most phenomenal and very sport oriented Neurosurgeons, I completely agree with the above post. WAY to early for such activity and removal of collar for such a fragile operation. Especially considering the stakes should something go bad. My surgeon was adamant about not taking the collar off for a minimum of 3 weeks. I had X-rays done a couple times during that 3 weeks and he said I was doing phenomenally well with the speed of my healing but he would not back off that immobilization and early care. The only time I was allowed to remove the collar was when I showered. It scared the hell out of me when I did!


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## sketchbook (Jul 9, 2006)

Great Thread. I crashed on a downhill and went head first into a rock on Feb 25th. Ended up with very unstable fractures in my neck, and they went in and fused c6, c7 and T1. Two level fusion which I hear is more complicated with slower recovery times.

People in this thread seam to be confused with what "levels" means. I barely know myself, but a fusion of c5-c7 for instance is a single level fusion. Once you get down and cross from the C's (cervical) to the T's (thoracic), that's a 2 level. From what I understand anyway.

Also broke T3, T5, T7 and T8. Nothing was done with all these lower vertebrae and apparently there will be no lasting damage on these and they heal on their own.

I am at about week 3 after out from my wreck, and recovery seems deceivingly good/easy. I was walking the day after surgery with this Aspen neck brace - and was told I would be wearing this brace for 3 months (ish). 

I am allowed to sleep without the brace which is a little disconcerting, but it seems to be working ok. I can lay on my back and my side. Turning on my side was very very hard initially but each night I get stronger and it becomes easier. I was able to get off pain meds at about a week out or less from surgery.

I am also allowed to take showers without the brace. 

Not allowed to lift over 5 pounds. This is tough as we have a baby in the house. I have several times needed to lift him in and out of his crib, etc. It doesn't feel bad at all, and I minimize as much as possible. My thinking is if a 12 year old girl had the same injury they would tell her not to lift over 5 pounds. So I feel my 20 pound kid lift on occasion won't hurt me. I would rather not - but I can't get around it.

I feel the brace makes me more sore than anything. It just keeps my head in the same position constantly and I feel like my muscles get sore from the non-ability to stretch. Whether that is true or not I don't know.

However I keep it on when I am upright. Even went on a hike yesterday. 2 miles or so and about 900 feet in elevation. Neck is definitely sore today from that. Good idea? I don't know. Just hate sitting around all day.

I will go in for a new X ray a month from now. That is when they will check on how well new bone is growing around all the hardware, etc. That is the key. They ordered a bone growth stimulator - but that is being held up by my insurance.

I have been told it may be a year recovery with no biking. We will see what happens.


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## mbell (Sep 9, 2008)

As much as I can understand that you're anxious and want to get out and about.... You've gotta make sure you abide by your surgeons orders. 

When the doc said 5lbs, he knew how. Uch you weighed and how old you are. There's a reason for it. 
Go for a light walk, not a hike/Mtn climb. The more strain you put on those levels of your spine, the less likely they are to heal and fuse. You don't want a bunch of bacteria and sweat infecting your surgical site and going right to your vertebrae or spinal column. 
The absolutely last thing you want to do is have to go back in again for surgery and start all over. This isn't an instant gratification process. It will take a while, then you'll be better off.

Lastly- levels of fusion are dictated by how many disc joints are removed and then the vertebrae are fused together:

C4-C5- 1 level fusion
C4-5-C6- 2 levels
C4-5-6-C7- 3 levels
C4-5-6-7-T1- 4 levels

Don't screw yourself up getting too eager because you feel good. Your body will be healing from the inside and you don't want to jack it up.


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## sketchbook (Jul 9, 2006)

Thanks for the info Mbell!

ok- levels makes sense now. Sorry for misinforming on that. 

I do want to abide by Dr Orders. It's just sometimes i have to pick move my kid. Kinda sucks, but unless i get live-in help it's just gonna happen on occasion. Hope it doesn't come back to bite me.

My hike yeah probably not a great idea. Doc never mentioned hiking or walking at all. My surgical site has been closed/healed for weeks, so I don't think it can get infected but it's something to think about.

cheers


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Haven't done an update in a while so I thought I'd share some news and info.

My 12 week post-op check was good but unremarkable. Fusion was looking good at both levels (that was a relief) and I was told I could stop wearing the Aspen brace. My surgeon uses different hardware that doesn't hold things as rigidly, so I had to wear the brace longer than a lot of people. The hardware doesn't cause swallowing problems, so I was willing to spend more time in the brace. I was also able to start PT at that point. I still have some muscle and tendon/ligament soreness in my lower neck along with some arthritis, but I knew going into the whole process that the surgery wouldn't likely relieve the arthritic symptoms except to the extent that there's less movement in the facet joints of the fused vertebrae. It's annoying and uncomfortable, but far better than the nerve pain I was having before surgery.

Now the really good part. I went for the 5 month post op follow up today, hoping that the doc would say it's ok to start some gentle road riding. Before the surgery his PA said that I'd be able to start gentle riding in the late spring/early summer, but no mountain biking until at least 9 months post op when the fusion should be nearly complete. So, when I asked the doc today if it was ok to try some gentle riding, he said "You can do whatever you want now. Your fusion is almost complete and the bone has totally encased the hardware. You're good to go.". Needless to say, I was both delighted. 

I have to take calcium supplements daily forever because of a parathyroid problem. I also read that magnesium can help with bone healing and your body excretes any extra it doesn't need, so there's little danger of negative effects from it. I've been taking 250mg of magnesium 4 or 5 times per week, which is a pretty conservative dose. I also knew about increasing protein intake during healing, and adjusted my intake accordingly. I can't say whether any of it helped or not and you should do your own research before taking the advice of some clown on an internet forum, but I can say it didn't hurt. 

Naturally, the first thing I did when we got home was to go for a road ride. I learned that if I don't do some early season road riding, I'll have knee problems all season long. I did 15 miles without any problems other than some soreness in my neck muscles. That didn't surprise me and I suspect that some of that is from the workouts I've been getting at PT.

I'd been hoping that I'd at least get to road ride this season and found out that I'll be able to mountain bike again and much sooner than I hoped. I can't explain how I healed as quickly as i did (especially considering I also had hernia surgery six weeks ago and the recovery from that was a b**ch!) but I certainly hope that any of you who are on the mend are as fortunate with your healing!

It's been a long haul to get to where I am and there's more to go to get where i want to be, but this thread and all the participants have been a tremendous help and I thank you for that.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Keep the updates coming! Very helpful information here!
Ric, you wore a brace for 12 weeks? That seems like an awfully long time. 24/7? Did you have to go work at a job with your brace on?


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Yeah, I did wear it pretty much 24/7 for 12 weeks, but it was worth it. I've talked to several people who had swallowing problems after fusion surgery when the surgeon used a Ti plate, so i was willing to put up with the temporary inconvenience. The Ti plates hold the vertebrae more rigidly, so the patient usually doesn't need a brace for as long, but because they mount on the front of the vertebrae they can interfere with the esophagus that is right in front of the plate. That doesn't always happen, but I'd heard of enough cases of it that I was glad to avoid the possibility. 

Actually, the Aspen brace wasn't as bad as I expected and it was far more comfortable for me than the foam collar I had from a previous surgery. The brace that i had was very adjustable and I came to feel much more secure while wearing it than when I had to take it off for showering. i even slept with it on while i was sleeping in a recliner.

I became effectively retired when the company i worked for went out of business a few years ago and there were no jobs to be found (age discrimination is a somewhat understandable but real issue), so fortunately I didn't have to deal with work issues. i was told that i could drive with the brace on as long as i wasn't using narcotic pain killers, but not being able to turn my head was not conducive to safe driving. I only drove if my wife was in the car to act as a spotter.


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Just when things were looking up...

Today I went for my first mtb ride since last year and two surgeries. Went to the easiest trail in the area, made it about 4 miles, clipped a tree on a short fast downhill (one that I've ridden at least 100 times) and broke my right tibia in a bad landing. So much for my speedy recovery from the cervical fusion surgery. DAMMIT!
My neck feels fine though.


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## Oh My Sack! (Aug 21, 2006)

D'ohhhhhh!!!! :eekster: :madman:



Well.....there's always knitting or quilting.


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Oh My Sack! said:


> Well.....there's always knitting or quilting.


Nah, I'd find some way to hurt myself doing that too.


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Between the ACDF in December and the surgery this week to piece my ankle back together, I've had 12 screws added to my skeleton in the past 6 months. I think that's enough for a while. I'm sure Blue Cross would agree.
I must say though, my neck is feeling pretty good.


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## wyoracerX (Jul 25, 2009)

Nice. Take a rest, drink some beers, support local races, and speedy recovery. I hope the ankle wasn't injured during your recovery activities. Because that would just suck. Speedy recovery ric


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## dotbeth (Aug 17, 2015)

Thank you all for the information here. My husband had a c5-6, c6-7 fusion and is not even a week post-op. He is having swallowing issues, and I have been up half the night because he has had some shoulder pain and muscle spasms...which is what we had the surgery to correct in the first place. 

It gets to be discouraging...but this was the first place I found anything at all positive. I don't bike, but I appreciate all the information. It is good to know that because he has been in such good shape (he helps his dad farm after his regular job) from all the farm work...he hopefully will recover quickly. You are all a wealth of information.


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## dotbeth (Aug 17, 2015)

oh yeah, wyoracerX, it's nice to find someone from my old stomping grounds.


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

dotbeth,
You're both going through probably the roughest part of the recovery right now, and at times the mental aspect can be as hard as the physical recovery. Don't be hesitant to contact the surgeon's office if you have concerns about complications or just need reassurance that what he's experiencing is normal. I found the first couple of months to be an emotional roller coaster, but it gets better as you start to see the recovery happening. I was fortunate that Blue Cross assigned a registered nurse/case worker who would call once or twice a week to check on me, and I could call when I had questions or just needed advice. You could check with your insurance company to see if they provide a similar service.
You've probably already been told this, but make sure your husband is getting more than his normal amount of protein in his diet, because his body needs it to help with the healing process. 
At six months post-surgery the surgeon gave me the ok to resume normal activities because my fusion was nearly complete. That time can vary with each patient, so go by what your doctor says, but you'll both get there. 
I still have some arthritic pain at times, but no nerve pain or tingling, so I'm glad I went through it. Not that there was much choice. ;o)
My range of motion is better than I expected, but I find that I can't ride my road bike for as long before my neck gets sore, but I've only been riding for a couple weeks. I haven't tried any mountain biking yet because I broke my ankle a few days after the neck surgeon gave me the all clear, but that's another story.

Hang in there, you'll both make it through this. Talk to the surgeon's office when you need to and your call insurance company to see if they offer any phone support services.


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

@ric426 You seem to have a similar neck injury to mine, they want to fuse ACDF C4-5, C5-6, I don't see anyone commenting on what kind of neck rotation they have post op. I can still turn my head 180 degrees and need this rotation for motorcycle riding. I also ride both mountain and road, don't want to give that up either. Please let me know how your rotation is now and before your neck injury. Thanks


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

Anyone who can comment on their pre and post op neck rotation?

I'm on the fence to get ACDF C4-5 C5-6 fused. I currently have 180 degree rotation shoulder to shoulder. I need to know what people experience in recovering rotation.

I have pain and some numbness down my arm to my hand, when I turn my neck to extreme shoulder to shoulder there is discomfort. sleeping position is uncomfortable and its getting worse. My main worry is rotation since I need this for motorcycle and bicycle rides.


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## cramsay3 (May 23, 2009)

dotbeth - what's the status of your husband? It's now been 5 years for me since my 3-level fusion. I can't imagine not having it done - I'm so thankful at the continued relief. I also now train and race mountain bikes and don't notice any limitations due to surgery.


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

I had a C4-5-6 fusion done last December. The nerve pain in my right arm was so extreme, there was no question about needing it. I've noticed a slight loss of rotational range, but I don't really feel that it's limiting me. I still get aches and pains in my neck daily, but the surgeon said I've got a fair amount of arthritis that I'll just have to live with. The main thing is no nerve pain.
I'd recommend talking to your surgeon about using "zero profile" hardware that doesn't stick out past the front of the vertebrae, so it doesn't impinge on the esophagus and potentially cause swallowing problems. You'd have to wear a brace for longer because it's not quite as rigid as the plates they're using, but in my opinion, it was worth it.


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## patrickd72 (Jul 24, 2008)

BikingViking28 said:


> Anyone who can comment on their pre and post op neck rotation?
> 
> I'm on the fence to get ACDF C4-5 C5-6 fused. I currently have 180 degree rotation shoulder to shoulder. I need to know what people experience in recovering rotation.
> 
> I have pain and some numbness down my arm to my hand, when I turn my neck to extreme shoulder to shoulder there is discomfort. sleeping position is uncomfortable and its getting worse. My main worry is rotation since I need this for motorcycle and bicycle rides.


About 50% of rotation occurs at C1-2. C1 is a ring, C2 has the dens, on which C1 rotates. After that its about 15% per level. In theory you should lose some, but I bet it will not be noticeable. If anything you should have less pain and better ROM, given that the discs at C4-6 are degenerated.

Ill add that cervical fusion is more effective for radicular pain, like pain/numbness in the extremities. Not as effective for axial pain, like the neck for instance. I would exhaust all measures before undergoing an operation. I used to do spine for a long time in a big academic hospital. Even under the best circumstances, sometimes the surgeries are not effective, or they cause new problems. Keep this in mind.


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

Thanks Ric, I knew from reading your comments we have very similar neck problem. What is the range of rotation for you? Can you turn shoulder to shoulder? 180 degrees? 160-170 degrees? I can't afford to be off work more than a few months and wonder how long I would have to wear a brace?


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

Thanks Patrick! I've heard a similar comment from one doctor but want to hear it from patients and others. I've ridden MTB since 89, even raced for some years, bicycling is my way of life, I'd live with pain rather than give it up. I ride road as well. I also ride a motorcycle need to have near 180 degrees rotation, its a safety factor. Like, I said currently have about 180 degrees shoulder to shoulder. So 160-170 degrees I could live with. All my symptoms numbness in shoulder, arm, tingling in my hand and even urination problems I've been told by the doctor can be caused by my neck. There is no spacing between C6-5 and no fluid around my spine at C-5 and has a bone spur pushing directly against my spine. I'm told it could cause permanent damage if I don't get the operation. I'm going to see another doctor for opinion (My 3rd doctor). I'm wondering why they can't just fuse say the bottom of C-5 with the top of C-6 where the worst area is located. I've been told as we age fusion between disks happens naturally in a lot of people. I'm worried about rotation and up down, but mainly rotation Thank you for your experienced comment. Anything else you can suggest/comment is appreciated.


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

patrickd72 said:


> About 50% of rotation occurs at C1-2. C1 is a ring, C2 has the dens, on which C1 rotates. After that its about 15% per level. In theory you should lose some, but I bet it will not be noticeable. If anything you should have less pain and better ROM, given that the discs at C4-6 are degenerated.
> 
> Ill add that cervical fusion is more effective for radicular pain, like pain/numbness in the extremities. Not as effective for axial pain, like the neck for instance. I would exhaust all measures before undergoing an operation. I used to do spine for a long time in a big academic hospital. Even under the best circumstances, sometimes the surgeries are not effective, or they cause new problems. Keep this in mind.


So 50% at C1-2, then 15% C2-3 and 15% C3-4?

Is there any rotation at C6-7? C7-8?

If I calculate that's about 150 degrees of rotation, around

If I was getting even 10% out of C6-7 that's 160 degrees. I know this is just an estimate of range not actual but at least its possible.


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## wyoracerX (Jul 25, 2009)

it takes some time but for the most part you'll get side to side back. I'm 8 months post-op and have been cycling 2 days post-op and racing off road since May. Neck stretches w/out the aid of your hands helps. everyone heals differently so ask your doctor when you can start stretching. I had C5-6 fused and currently have total fusion of C6. Live your life the way you want to live it is what my Dr told me. No regrets by me as I have been pain free since surgery.


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

Thanks Wyo, its a serious operation to contemplate and I'm also having a torn rotator surgery in my right shoulder. I was broadsided on my motorcycle by a guy pulling out of a gas station who wasn't looking. When you say total fusion of C6 that means C7-6 and C6-5? I've heard that C6-7 are used slightly less for rotation. Every comment is giving me better understanding. I do want to be pain free as well.

I have some arthritis like Ric and was really starting to feeling it prior to my accident on 2+ hour road rides and mtn rides of 15+ miles. 

@Ric Wednesday I see another doctor and will ask about the "zero profile."


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## patrickd72 (Jul 24, 2008)

Yes you can have urinary retention from cord compression, but usually it is accompanied by other myelopathic symptoms. So I would doubt that it is caused by the cord compression. Now the numbness, tingling and pain likely are. But that would be due to compression of the nerve, likely in the neural foramina. Have you had a diagnostic nerve block to see if it helps your symptoms?


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

Not sure what is a "diagnostic nerve block?" 

I heard of something using electronics to see where the numbness starts/stops.


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## patrickd72 (Jul 24, 2008)

It is done by a pain specialist. They use fluoroscopy to guide a needle to the nerve and inject a steroid and lidocaine. In theory, if that is the nerve which is the problem, the pain should go away. Does not always work, little downside in my opinion, if you are considering an ACDF. An EMG is a test whereby you check to see if there is a radiculopthy, either acute or chronic. They stick long needles into your muscles. I have had it done. I didn't mind it, but some patients do.


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## BikingViking28 (Jun 28, 2005)

@Patrick & Ric, I went back to my shoulder doctor, he stated I could try the diagnostic nerve block. It might delay the operation but he says no matter what I will need neck surgery in the future. 

He confirmed what Patrick said that 50% of rotation is done by C1-2 and 15% down to around C4, then to a minor degree C5-7.

I asked about zero profile plate, he said he doesn't use that, he does a disk replacement where the disc is made out of various metals. This operation is also done from the front left of neck. He said the disk replacement gives better results than a zero profile plate. He also said sometimes these plates and screws loosen overtime and require additional surgery although not often.

The disc replacement uses a blade at the front that connects to the disks instead of a plate. I was told this would fuse together as well.

Why a blade of metal that connects to the other disks? It seems that design might allow some movement and not total fusion? Not sure...

I am scheduled for the EMG test as well.

I have another spine doctor I am seeing on Wednesday and will ask what method he uses, plate, replacement disk and his opinion. 

Thank you guys for the information because the doctor was surprised how informed and accurate the information you guys gave me!

Any insight to this again appreciated.


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## patrickd72 (Jul 24, 2008)

Swallowing difficulty is usually transient and is due to manipulation of the esophagus during surgery. Does not occur often as I recall. As far as disc replacement goes, it has probably improved since I was in the game, the early ones were ok. ACDF is still the standard. Even if you get an artificial disc, I doubt you would notice the difference vs ACDF. You will not lose any motion really vs what you already have. Maybe mathematically. Sometimes the motion is so little that you end up auto fusing. The body lays bone down across the disc space anyway. I have seen it. Will your insurance cover disc replacement? It is expensive and most will only cover ACDF. Unless there is a good reason. Something to keep in mind.

I don't have experience with a zero profile plate. The ones we put in were fine. They sit pretty flat against the vertebral bodies. Yes, screws can brake, become dislodged, the plate can come out. All risks of surgery, including swallowing difficulties. In the end, the hardware allows for arthrodesis. Or bone growth. Fusions are usually solid at one year. But the bone growth occurs rapidly at the first 3-6 months. The hardware is then inconsequential.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

Has anyone here investigated the less invasive options, like from North American spine or laser spine institute etc.? 
I sent them my MRI and they said they can help. My doc says its no good. No way I would trust them without more info, but haven't done a lot of research yet. 

I guess they use a laser catheter to cut out disc bulges and make room for the nerves. It doesn't help with bone spurs etc, but NA spine says that removal of the disc tissue alone will give me relief.


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## patrickd72 (Jul 24, 2008)

Laser spine is bogus. All smoke and mirrors. You have a good doc. Have them refer you to a physiatrist, maybe one with an emphasis on spine. They are not everywhere. Then if he or she can't help you, see a surgeon. Not sure what your issues are, but that is a good place to start.


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## katalinagirl (Apr 23, 2011)

Voodoosix said:


> I had my post surgical checkup appointment today. Doc says the neck looks good and cleared me to ride or do whatever else I want. I'm pretty much pain free now. I can't believe that I had spinal fusion surgery just 1 week ago and already feel like I did before I got hurt. I am planning to do some cross country racing starting in August. I asked the doc if I should hold off on it and he said if I feel like I can do it, it's okay. He says my neck is far stronger now than it was before the surgery so "hop to it".


You had mentioned that you were having C5-T1 fused (3 level), however, and according to this xray you posted here, this is only a two level C5-7 fusion like I currently have? I was hoping to find someone that had all three levels fused and returned to mtb'ing and other sports for some insight in to their recovery and what limitations, if any, they may have had. Even though you only had the two levels fused initially, sometimes there will be issues later down the road with your C7 moving forward over your T1 (spondylolisthesis) causing even further issues and especially debilitating in a bike neck stance. Would appreciate an update on how you've been doing the past several years. I'm only 4 months post op and doing well other than my T1 that will require fusing sooner than later now.


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## cramsay3 (May 23, 2009)

cramsay3 said:


> Following honkinunit's lead here is my log. I had surgery last Monday: Dec 20, 2010.
> 
> *Surgery*
> Procedure: Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, C4-C5/C5-6/C6-7 (3 level) with BMP.
> ...


UPDATE: It will be 5 years in Dec since my neck fusion surgery and I've had no re-occurring symptoms/pain. I mountain bike approx 7 hours per week. All is well. Recommend it to those still on the fence.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

cramsay3 said:


> UPDATE: It will be 5 years in Dec since my neck fusion surgery and I've had no re-occurring symptoms/pain. I mountain bike approx 7 hours per week. All is well. Recommend it to those still on the fence.


Thank you for that update. How is your range of motion after the 3 level fusion?


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

OP here. I started this thread in 2008 after my surgery and I check in occasionally. I'm really glad to see the post has provided a place for people to discuss and get opinions on fusions. BTW, mine was C5-6-7 so not three level. 

I am still riding just fine. My range of motion one year out was actually better than the average person who doesn't have a fusion, and it hasn't changed. YMMV, of course. 

My only issues are the same as one year out from the surgery - I occasionally have neck pain when I wake up from sleeping wrong. I am a life long stomach sleeper and now I try not to sleep on my stomach, but it still happens sometimes, mostly when it is cold. Stomach sleeping causes my neck to hurt. 

Knock on wood - over seven and a half years later and still rocking.


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## wyoracerX (Jul 25, 2009)

Honkinunit keep on rocking. I'm 11 months in 9 days from my multi level C5-6. I've been riding outside since only a few weeks post op and racing (YES RACING!) since June now. I have the same limitations as Honk, a bit less ROM, and the occasional post sleep soreness and nits and bits here and there. But prior to surgery I was ready to sell all my bikes (not really, I'd have framed them on my walls). the biggest thing I did to recover and not put on weight was to up my protein intake (based on a few studies) and cut out most of my carbs. I remember when my doctor after looking over my xrays 5 months post-op said "go out and do what you want to do". I was like "really!?" He was very supportive and I made very sure not to do anything that I would regret later and kept both wheel on the ground and upright. All in all, with the exception of reduced fitness and endurance, I had a great year. I am thankful that I found a doctor that fixed me up without all the complications that I read about prior to surgery and that he was very in-tune with athletes in general. In 2016, I'm looking forward to living life again at the high pace I'm accustomed to. like many say YMMV, I hope that all you future unfortunates get the mileage you deserve.


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## JustDucky1339 (Dec 27, 2015)

Hi all- I saw someone was looking at a cervical disc replacement and wanted to comment. Make sure you have an excellent surgeon. I did, in fact, one who had been engaged throughout the clinical trials. The artificial disc has to be precisely placed and maintain its position. Sometimes they don't and that can lead to force loading problems. Mine found its position and ended up ever so slightly off of perfect. You should also be aware that they can result in bone spurring and little motion preservation or virtual fusion. Mine had very little motion to it and I developed several bone spurs. 2 years and 1 day later, it was removed and C5/-C/6 fused. I've been off my bike for nearly 3 years post car accident, despite all the MTB falls and collisions it took at car. For the first time in 2 years, I'm virtually pain free and having a heck of a time being restful as a result. Awaiting my 1/5 appointment to get to step 2. At any rate, if you have an artificial disc fail, find a surgeon who has done a removal. They aren't done often, but the university I consulted wanted to do a posterior fusion. Most of the implants are designed to be able to be removed. My well fused one came out properly and easily in surgery. Saved months of recovery with an ACDF. Good luck to all and I hope to be back on a bike one day soon.


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## chuck guy (Mar 28, 2016)

Its been good reading some of these reports...I am 59 and scheduled for a single level ACDF in a couple of weeks, ride, hike, ski, paddle out here in WA state and though I am in medicine....or maybe because.... though my surgeon thinks I am a great straightforward case I have the normal amount of apprehension, especially with a busy life and family activities coming up. 

Hard though to sleep now, I am dropping things more and generally have almost constant varying degrees of numbness and tingling/aching in arms, shoulders and hands. Would welcome to read here more of any success stories of similar cases.


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## JustDucky1339 (Dec 27, 2015)

I am now 3 months and 2 weeks post revision c5/c6 fusion with a partial corpectomy on each side to remove the artificial disk that failed. I had an anterior approach (both surgeries were done that way). The doctor installed a plate and a cage and I've got some bone growth. Walking and some PT underway. I have a long recovery because of the corpectomy, but radiating pain is gone, I don't drop things and have a much improved range of motion. I'm sorry I didn't go with a fusion in the first instance. Recovery hasn't been bad at all. It just tries my patience a good bit. Still not permitted to lift more than 10ish pounds. The worst "side effect" is it has taken a good while to get the swallowing reflex back to normal which is a risk on any anterior approach surgery and a greater risk on a second one. Just have to watch bread and fine, coarse grains. It's a good thing bread is not a big thing for me as it will probably be out for the foreseeable future. All I can say is do it before you have permanent impairment. I waited a year after the injury compressed my spinal cord and have permanent tingling in my thumbs and first fingers. I'm now 3 years and 4 months post injury and finally feel like I'm on my way back to a normal and active life. I also think deciding your outcome will be positive and not staying in bed more than a couple days is key. Get a chair that's comfortable because your couch probably won't be. I got one at IKEA. It's sort of ergonomic and I added a lumbar pillow to it. I also think being kept in the hospital overnight and on an IV made a big difference compared to doing it at the surgery center. I also took a whole lot less pain medication this time. A few days of Percocet as needed (mostly at night) and then off and on tramadol for the next couple of weeks mostly after overdoing it.

Good luck!


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

Strictly speaking for myself, I'd say by all means do it! The numbness, tingling, aching, etc. are a pretty clear indication of nerve impingement and if not taken care of will likely lead to permanent nerve damage and loss of function. Plus, the pain won't go away.
It sounds like you're pretty much in the same boat I was in about 1 1/2 years ago. I wound up having C4,5 and 6 fused. The recovery wasn't as bad as I expected, but it did take time and it's wise to not go beyond what the surgeon says you can do as you recover. I won't say I recovered 100%, because I still have discomfort a lot of times, but it's just arthritic type pain in my neck and no nerve pain. I just started another session of PT to build some strength back up and it's helping a lot. I would probably be in better shape if I'd been able to stay active the whole time, but I had 4 other unrelated surgeries after my fusion surgery that left me laid up for a good part of last year. I was able to start riding again in September and the rest of the season went well. I was able to get out today for my first ride this season and that went well too, so all things considered, I'm glad I had the fusion surgery.
One thing I will suggest is to talk to your surgeon about what kind of hardware he would use in your neck. I think most surgeons use some form of titanium plate on the front of the vertebrae and they sometimes cause swallowing issues for a while. I was lucky because my surgeon used small rods that fit between the vertebrae with screws that go into the vertebrae above and below them and none of it sticks out past the front of them. They're not quite as rigid as the plates so I had to wear a neck brace for the first 6 weeks until the fusion started setting up, but it was worth it to avoid other possible issues.
Feel free to PM me if you ever want to discuss anything about this stuff. I'd be glad to help out where I can. I'm no expert, but I've been down this road already and would be glad to share my experiences with you.


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## smilinsteve (Jul 21, 2009)

ric426 said:


> I was able to start riding again in September...


Which was how long after your surgery?


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## ric426 (Jul 13, 2007)

That was 9 month after my fusion surgery, but 4 months after recovering from ankle surgery. My fusion surgery was in early December, 2014. When I saw the neurosurgeon 5 months post surgery he looked at the xrays and told me that my fusion was almost complete well ahead of schedule and that I was free to resume any normal activities. I did a couple of road rides that weekend and then my first mountain bike ride on Monday. I made it about 15 minutes on an easy trail that I'd ridden 100's of times before, then crashed and broke my ankle and leg. My neck was fine though... So long story short, I could start riding 5 months after surgery except that I crashed and put myself out of commission again for another 4 months. That recovery was a lot worse than the neck surgery. A lot more painful and debilitating, and I lost about 10 pounds of muscle that I'm still trying to build back up. 
I was 62 at the time and in both cases my bones healed faster than expected. I had read that magnesium supplements can help bone healing so I was taking those (250mg 5 times per week) throughout the year. I can't swear that it did the trick, but it didn't hurt either.


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## COmarcia (Apr 13, 2016)

Hello, I'm definitely not a serious biker, but I do enjoy it! My primary reason for posting here is that I'm looking at a C3-C7 ACDF in the very near future, and this forum is one of the only places that I can find positive results posted by its members! There are so many forums with stories of failed surgeries, life-long pain, etc., and it's been a great encouragement for me to read many of your successful surgery stories!  So I'm curious if any of you are from the Denver/Boulder area and would be willing to share your surgeon's name and/or surgeons that you know to have amazing skills in this area. I'm going next week for a 2nd opinion with a Boulder neurosurgeon, and I'm definitely considering a 3rd opinion if the 2nd varies much from my initial surgeon's recommendation. Please feel free to email me privately with this info. I greatly appreciate any and all recommendations!


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

COmarcia said:


> Hello, I'm definitely not a serious biker, but I do enjoy it! My primary reason for posting here is that I'm looking at a C3-C7 ACDF in the very near future, and this forum is one of the only places that I can find positive results posted by its members! There are so many forums with stories of failed surgeries, life-long pain, etc., and it's been a great encouragement for me to read many of your successful surgery stories!  So I'm curious if any of you are from the Denver/Boulder area and would be willing to share your surgeon's name and/or surgeons that you know to have amazing skills in this area. I'm going next week for a 2nd opinion with a Boulder neurosurgeon, and I'm definitely considering a 3rd opinion if the 2nd varies much from my initial surgeon's recommendation. Please feel free to email me privately with this info. I greatly appreciate any and all recommendations!


Sorry to hear about your issues. I am the person who started this thread back in 2008 and I am in CO. Mine was only C5-C6-C7 so not as extensive as yours would be.

My surgeon was Dr. Lee Nelson of Boulder Neurosurgical and Spine Associates. They have their own surgical facility at Good Samaritan in Lafayette. Dr. Nelson and the rest of his associates were awesome for me. Eight years almost to the day and I am still riding and doing everything else without pain.

YMMV. Since my surgery was eight years ago, who knows what has changed? The other issue was that my insurance did not want to cover the charge for the surgical facility. Dr. Nelson was on their approved list of doctors, but the surgical facility was not approved. Go figure. Ask the right questions to your insurance about this.


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## COmarcia (Apr 13, 2016)

honkinunit said:


> Sorry to hear about your issues. I am the person who started this thread back in 2008 and I am in CO. Mine was only C5-C6-C7 so not as extensive as yours would be.
> 
> My surgeon was Dr. Lee Nelson of Boulder Neurosurgical and Spine Associates. They have their own surgical facility at Good Samaritan in Lafayette. Dr. Nelson and the rest of his associates were awesome for me. Eight years almost to the day and I am still riding and doing everything else without pain.
> 
> YMMV. Since my surgery was eight years ago, who knows what has changed? The other issue was that my insurance did not want to cover the charge for the surgical facility. Dr. Nelson was on their approved list of doctors, but the surgical facility was not approved. Go figure. Ask the right questions to your insurance about this.


Thank you so much for your reply. My appointment on Wednesday is also at Boulder Neurosurgical and Spine Associates, but I'm seeing Dr. Villavicencio. I've heard excellent things about this practice and specifically about 2-3 of the surgeons there (including both Dr. Nelson & Dr. V), so I'm really looking forward to the appointment and to getting this taken care of soon. I also appreciate the tip regarding the surgical facility ... I'll definitely double-check everything with my insurance. I don't need any big surprises like that. Anything else you think of that you can share is greatly appreciated -- thanks for your time!


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## honkinunit (Aug 6, 2004)

COmarcia said:


> Anything else you think of that you can share is greatly appreciated -- thanks for your time!


Don't plan on driving for several weeks. You'll need transportation.

Don't plan on lifting anything for several months. You'll need someone to help with anything heavier than a gallon of milk for the first couple of weeks.

Pullover shirts/blouses are a PIA for the first few weeks. Get out your button up/zip up/whatever things. Tying your shoes is even a pain for awhile.

You will only feel like eating liquids for a few days, and soft foods for a few after that. Yogurt and Ice cream were good during that period.

Don't overdo the meds. You'll get Percocet or Vicodin, but try really hard *not* to use them. It is easy to start leaning on them, and it is better not to go there.

Personally, I have a hard time recovering from anesthesia. I've been under several times, and I am "foggy" for one to four weeks after that.

As soon as the doctor gives you the OK to walk distances, take advantage of that to get fresh air and keep your blood moving.

Good luck.


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## amaze646 (Jan 7, 2021)

Hello guys, so glad I found this forum! I had accident on MTB 2 years ago, fall on head, blackout and down on the hill. I left with only concosion. But now, two years later i had some issues with my neck pain and thingling and numbness in my left arm. I also lost strenht. My doc send me to mri where they foud herniation between c4-c5 an protrusions on c5-c6 and c7-c7. I was shocked. Then with some theraphy and exercise pain stopped. I went on manual therapy which is part of officia medicine in Russia and Europe. I har 6 sessions with this neurologist and numbness and thingeling also stoped. It is about 3 months now with no pain and little neurological simptoms like slight numbness in my index finger which is not permament. Also strenght returned. A little pain here and there. I also trying to correct my posture as I also have straight neck. Oh yea, herniation also supposed to br tuching spinal cord but i went to one neurosurgen which said that it is not compressed. 
All of doctoes sayd that i should not do any mtb again, nor road. This is big bummer for me but if i will accept if there is no other way. Surgeon also sayd thwr he would wait wirh operation as symptoms are gone mainly and he thinks that herniation is remodeling itself - disc

If operation willbe needed then 3 level acdf is advises. This is horror to me. I read so many shitty outcomes and pain forever. This is the only place where i found some positivity. So how are tou guys now, after al those years arw you in pain, still ridin?

i am 35 y/o male. Very active.
Thank you soo much for your storyes!!


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## masonmoa (Jul 11, 2011)

amaze646 said:


> Hello guys, so glad I found this forum! I had accident on MTB 2 years ago, fall on head, blackout and down on the hill. I left with only concosion. But now, two years later i had some issues with my neck pain and thingling and numbness in my left arm. I also lost strenht. My doc send me to mri where they foud herniation between c4-c5 an protrusions on c5-c6 and c7-c7. I was shocked. Then with some theraphy and exercise pain stopped. I went on manual therapy which is part of officia medicine in Russia and Europe. I har 6 sessions with this neurologist and numbness and thingeling also stoped. It is about 3 months now with no pain and little neurological simptoms like slight numbness in my index finger which is not permament. Also strenght returned. A little pain here and there. I also trying to correct my posture as I also have straight neck. Oh yea, herniation also supposed to br tuching spinal cord but i went to one neurosurgen which said that it is not compressed.
> All of doctoes sayd that i should not do any mtb again, nor road. This is big bummer for me but if i will accept if there is no other way. Surgeon also sayd thwr he would wait wirh operation as symptoms are gone mainly and he thinks that herniation is remodeling itself - disc
> 
> If operation willbe needed then 3 level acdf is advises. This is horror to me. I read so many shitty outcomes and pain forever. This is the only place where i found some positivity. So how are tou guys now, after al those years arw you in pain, still ridin?
> ...


Well man, you really dug up an old post, but I don't blame you a bit. Five years ago when I had my ACDF, I would've probably done the same thing. As far as I'm concerned, there's only two types of surgery I'm still scared of after spine: heart and brain, and hopefully I never have either.

To answer your question about healing time, my answer is probably going to be a bit longwinded. I blew out C6/7 way back in like 2013-14. I did it doing kettle bells, which I'd begun doing to balance out my body because I was riding so much. I was 36/37 years old (memory is a bit blurry). I did alternative therapy (PT, acupuncture, chiropractor, weird body work, etc) but nothing helped, but that was because where my disc has blown out, a bone spur had grown filling in the void and impinging on the nerve. My entire left arm had gotten pretty gimpy, and if I hadn't had surgery, the bone spur would've pinched the nerve off for good, so finally did it in January of 2016. The nerve pain immediately was better. But, I'm one of those folks who doesn't heal very quickly. The usual time frame they gave me was 4-18 months, and while I was cleared to ride bike again after 4 months, it took me over 18 months for the bone to completely fuse. And it wasn't exactly smooth sailing after that. Surgery is a trauma of its own, something often overlooked, and after being on the planet one way for 39 years, my body did not like the new position my spine was in. Still doesn't if I'm being honest. Now at five years post surgery, I'm still not pain free. I live with some soreness or muscle issues around the fusion area every day. I also now get weird, sporadic headaches that I'd never gotten before. The nerve pain is gone though, and the strength in my arm came back to like 85-90%, but the results were not what I'd hoped and it takes a lot of work now to maintain the active lifestyle I enjoy.

All that being said, while I was off the bike for a long time, like nearly 4 years because of the neck and other health issues that arose during that time, I'm now riding again 2-3 times a week. So stoked about that!! But I definitely feel it afterwards, especially the chunky, gnarlier rides I really enjoy. To keep it up, I now do Pilates, lift weights that includes my PT stuff, get regular bodywork/massage and also see an osteopath for manual therapy, all so I can keep it up. Also lost a bunch of weight. After such a long hiatus, I went nuts and built up three new frames this past year! How my wife hasn't kicked me out yet, I don't know. Haha.

But, then you have my dad who's in his late 60's and had a fusion at L5/S1 a year ago. He's in good shape and he was back golfing in like 5 months. He's doing great, and healed fully within a year, although he also still feels it when he pushes it too hard or tries to lift something too heavy.

My advice would be do everything you can to avoid surgery. Surgery should be the last resort. And since I had my neck done, I've had two other doctors tell me I needed surgeries it turned out I didn't need. Like three discs in my lower back are shot and instead of surgery, I lost weight and maintain core strength and I'm good enough. Another MD suggested a hip surgery that would have been completely unnecessary, and he's a reputable doctor for a professional sports team.

Hope that helps.


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## amaze646 (Jan 7, 2021)

Hello,

thank you for your answer. Yes is a little old post but in my anxious researching, this was one of most optimistic reading I could find.  3 days ago I went to one of the best neurosurgens in Slovenia, very respected man. He says nothing about operation for now. Even more, he said that I can do everything I want which is a bit odd. I have those bone spurs also and I guess early stage of DDD which is causing those spurs. For now Im more or less pain free, only minor nerve pain here and there. Most often when seating for a longer time. I work in IT as system administrator so mostly seating. I made myself standing desk also.

So for now I saw 3 different neurologist and all sayd like you said, avoid surgery as long as you can. I guess there is no way that I could avoid it forever. This one protrusion is very near my spinal cord but its not causing symptoms.

I'm very curious how are dudes that write here a few years ago about their operations as it looked like very optimistic for the majority of them.

Thank you



masonmoa said:


> Well man, you really dug up an old post, but I don't blame you a bit. Five years ago when I had my ACDF, I would've probably done the same thing. As far as I'm concerned, there's only two types of surgery I'm still scared of after spine: heart and brain, and hopefully I never have either.
> 
> To answer your question about healing time, my answer is probably going to be a bit longwinded. I blew out C6/7 way back in like 2013-14. I did it doing kettle bells, which I'd begun doing to balance out my body because I was riding so much. I was 36/37 years old (memory is a bit blurry). I did alternative therapy (PT, acupuncture, chiropractor, weird body work, etc) but nothing helped, but that was because where my disc has blown out, a bone spur had grown filling in the void and impinging on the nerve. My entire left arm had gotten pretty gimpy, and if I hadn't had surgery, the bone spur would've pinched the nerve off for good, so finally did it in January of 2016. The nerve pain immediately was better. But, I'm one of those folks who doesn't heal very quickly. The usual time frame they gave me was 4-18 months, and while I was cleared to ride bike again after 4 months, it took me over 18 months for the bone to completely fuse. And it wasn't exactly smooth sailing after that. Surgery is a trauma of its own, something often overlooked, and after being on the planet one way for 39 years, my body did not like the new position my spine was in. Still doesn't if I'm being honest. Now at five years post surgery, I'm still not pain free. I live with some soreness or muscle issues around the fusion area every day. I also now get weird, sporadic headaches that I'd never gotten before. The nerve pain is gone though, and the strength in my arm came back to like 85-90%, but the results were not what I'd hoped and it takes a lot of work now to maintain the active lifestyle I enjoy.
> 
> ...


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## masonmoa (Jul 11, 2011)

amaze646 said:


> Hello,
> 
> thank you for your answer. Yes is a little old post but in my anxious researching, this was one of most optimistic reading I could find.  3 days ago I went to one of the best neurosurgens in Slovenia, very respected man. He says nothing about operation for now. Even more, he said that I can do everything I want which is a bit odd. I have those bone spurs also and I guess early stage of DDD which is causing those spurs. For now Im more or less pain free, only minor nerve pain here and there. Most often when seating for a longer time. I work in IT as system administrator so mostly seating. I made myself standing desk also.
> 
> ...


Good to hear. I live in the San Francisco Bay area of the USA, and we have some amazing surgeons and medical centers here, and my experience is when you see the top people, unless it's absolutely necessary, they don't operate. Which is exactly what your top surgeon told you.

Don't worry about the bone spurs too much. I got them too. Just part of getting older. And as silly as this may sound, I feel like the stress will just make things worse. A positive attitude goes a loooonnnggggg way. And ya man, if you're sitting all day at a computer, then riding a bike in a crouched over position, and you're 35 which is when I found regular maintenance was needed, you gotta get yourself standing up more, stretching those tight ass hip flexors and strengthening the opposing muscle groups.

Good luck, and hopefully some other folks chime in.


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## Sim On (Aug 6, 2021)

StiffNeck said:


> It's been 3 year now since C1-C3 fusion. I'm ridding stronger than ever; event leading the pack regularly, but not on step downhill parts. ...


Hi StiffNeck,

I found out about your neck surgery on this forum. You're the only person I found with a C1-C2 (and even C3) fusion that restarted mountainbiking after surgery and recovery.

Right now I have neck issues and my neurochirurgist told me that a C1-C2 fusion could be necessary in the near future. Most of the testemonies I did find are from people with a fusion of lower cervical vertebras. So when I read your story it gave me hope on a good result and a possible return to mountainbiking ('easy' trials, no jumping or downhill) in the future.

I was wondering how you're doing 10 years after surgery:

Do you still have neck issues?
How much neck movement have you lost after the cervical fusion?
Are you still riding your mountainbike?

Thanks for sharing your story!

Simon


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## MR. ED (Aug 19, 2006)

I too have just been told I should have my C1 and C2 fused. I'll be 50 soon and have had neck pain for years. I'm really scared to be honest. My riding has almost come to an end 
Glad I stumbled on this conversation.


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## sketchbook (Jul 9, 2006)

I posted on this thread many years back after breaking my neck and back in 8 places after a crash. I have a 2 level cervical fusion. I think C4/C5. Was back on a bike within 6 months (light riding) and it has not effected me much at all other than a bit more limited range of motion. I used to have neck pain when I started back on the bike and tried to use the lightest helmet possible - but that is no longer an issue. All in all - things worked out very well. I am lucky. I know many people with back troubles which have worse troubles than I do - and non of them have even broken a bone.


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## StiffNeck (Jul 17, 2012)

Hi Sim On and MR. ED
I won't lie, C1-C2 fusion sucks, you loose about 50% of your range of motion in all directions. The worst been the head extension that we use a lot when biking (bending beach slightly backwards, not sure if I use the wright wording, my native language is French)&#8230;
But I still ride my mtb 10 years after the surgery! I ride often and I ride strong. But I stay in the XC / light trail riding range.
I have occasional neck issues that require visiting physiotherapist. I n example, this Tuesday, I work up completely unable to turn my head to the left. I have been unable to work for 2 days but after a physio treatment I'm back to work and should be able to ride in 1 week base on previous experiences. The background of your fusion been different, you might be free of those inconvenient.
I wish you both fast recovery!


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## MR. ED (Aug 19, 2006)

Hey StiffNeck, I reached out to a P.T. about recovery from C1/C2 fusion and he said he's never seen a C1/C2 fusion in his many years of practice. I figure it's pretty rare. He recommended getting a second opinion. I scrolled through the thread for more details on your injury and surgery but didn't find anything. If you would be so kind and give me a brief rundown of the details leading up to and post surgery I would really appreciate it. I made the mistake of googling it up and went down the proverbial rabbit hole and hit bottom feeling really depressed about a positive outcome. You're the only one I've stumbled across that resumed your passion for riding. Thanks ☮


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