Anterior c5/c6 disectomy/fusion recovery

[tutone]

I had anterior c5/c6 disectomy with fusion last week and was looking for some helpful tips on recovery. I still have a major sore neck/shoujders and my throat is extremely sore. Besides walking.........What else can I do to move this recovery at a faster pace?  I keep reading a lot of horror stories about the post op recovery with this surgery, but my surgeon tells me I will be back to work in 2 weeks. I dont feel like I will be ready in 2 weeks though.

[tutone]

Thanks for the response Kay!
I think your also right about Drs not reading the questions.Thanks for the support. Sore throat is much better now and upper back pain is going away. Surgeon said that the pain is normal for someone my age (36) after this surgery, because they have to us much more pressure to torque the vertebrae apart for the bone graft and its much tougher on someone younger. Aint easy bein young I guess. haha!   Thanks again

[kay290]

Walking is great! I had 2 cervical discs removed and was up to my 4 mile walk after 2 weeks. I don't think the Dr's read the questions. You should not have back or leg pain from a cervical discectomy. I did have lower back pain for 2 months from being on my back for 4 hours during the surgery. THat gave me more trouble than my neck! I am sure your Dr. told you not to lift anything greater than 10 lbs. for it least 6 weeks.2 weeks back to work is very quick. It depends on what kind of work you do. I was cleared after  my 3 week appt. showed accelerated fusion, but my original note was for 2 months so I stayed out. I had been through so much before the surgery that I did not want to take any chances with screwing this up. I had sore posterior neck/shoulders and got PT RX after 3 weeks post op. Dr. said the new disc was probably putting pressure on disc below it and it did finally work itself out with PT. Sore throat will calm down. It is from the intubation tube and the fact that they move the esophagus/vocal cords out of the way.  

[Dr. A. Srivastava]

Thank you for your question. Although without being able to examine you I can not offer you the specific advice on diagnosis and treatment that you need, but I would try to provide you some relevant information about your health concern.

Usually, recovery from a discectomy procedure takes time (standard is six weeks) and as everyone is different it may vary as well.  Most of the times, one may experience back and leg pain during the recovery period. However, essentially you should avoid prolonged sitting, lifting heavy objects, bending, twisting and excessive exertion for the first three weeks. It is not like that you restrict all activities but you should gradually increase your physical activities over this period. Additionally, common complication of a discectomy is that there is a possibility that another fragment of disc will herniate and may cause similar symptoms. Therefore, endoscopic microdiscectomy is appropriate in some specific situations, and you may check this with your treating neurologist. Hope this helps.