Cervical Spine Surgery Recovery Question(s)

KGlennCole · Feb 8, 2012

On Friday, I have to undergo what is (essentially) an emergency cervical spine operation. What I thought was 'just a stiff neck when awakening' ~10 days ago is much more serious. Severe compression, replacement at C4/C5 and C5/C6, herniated disk, inability to move right arm up much. Wow... no, Just Damn.

Does anyone have insight as to recovery time and/or issues? Any advice? PM me if you'd like.

My Ortho Surgeon is very optimistic about my ability to return to normal activity fairly quickly, although regaining full mobility and strength in the right arm is a big unknown; another party said three months (THREE months?). In some way, the arm may be an issue, but I did play golf on Tuesday

actually didn't bother me and hit the ball sorta OK... for barely 40* weather, bum neck, bum arm and massive amount of Percoset.

What makes this most frustrating is that the season is almost here.. I had to withdraw from the Pittsburgh Golfers Tour Myrtle Beach trip for mid-March. I was, and remain, excited about playing for 2 reasons: (1) After seeing Brian for an hour late last September I went out and won significant $$ in 2 of the remaining 3 PGT tournaments; (2) Worked with Kevin in early January.. really starting to get it (or so he fibbed/said to me.. LOL).

Something good that may come out of this while I do rehab prior to be able to practice/play hard.. I BETTER become a better chipper.. I can already putt, but I, as all of us, can get better.

Oh, an extended trip to New Orleans to see Bman combined with lots of time w/Kevin are in the cards... along with a LOT of golf later.

66er · Feb 8, 2012

I feel your pain frustration wise was playing great, hit by a car at christmas, shattered lower right leg brain injuries etc. I have 2 months off should be golfing next week again, been glued to the forum. Golf will be my top priority, I will learn how to go normal!!! Good luck with recovery Glenn.

OLIVER1 · Feb 8, 2012

66er said:
I feel your pain frustration wise was playing great, hit by a car at christmas, shattered lower right leg brain injuries etc. I have 2 months off should be golfing next week again, been glued to the forum. Golf will be my top priority, I will learn how to go normal!!! Good luck with recovery Glenn.

My God!! Good luck to both of you in your respective recoveries...

softconsult · Feb 8, 2012

Ah, I would not be playing anymore golf prior to your surgery. I could tell you some bad results, but a good one is better. Golf buddy, had surgery for what sounds like similar condition. He came back to golf in 6 months I think, it was winter so that had something to do with it. Played with him two weeks ago. He is still pain free and playing just fine. Good Luck!

KGlennCole · Feb 8, 2012

66er said:
I feel your pain frustration wise was playing great, hit by a car at christmas, shattered lower right leg brain injuries etc. I have 2 months off should be golfing next week again, been glued to the forum. Golf will be my top priority, I will learn how to go normal!!! Good luck with recovery Glenn.

Ouch. Good luck.. We need a IR list..stat!

94monarch · Feb 8, 2012

I had problems with a ruptured disc in C4-5 and C5-6 in 2004. Originally, I lost a lot of strength in my left arm, and thought I had a rotator cuff issue, but it turned out to be a ruptured disc. I opted for no surgery, as they had to go in through the front and I would run a risk of losing or having issues with my voice, which I was not willing to take. I can tell you that my experience and the research I did had me thinking the surgery would mean NO golf for 2-3 months and then if I hit the gym hard I would be be back to full strength or close to it in 5-7 months. I have since learned how to be proactive on it through stretching and lots of different NSAID's as well as Pain Meds and Prednisone. But it is a daily or at least weekly issue. I hope it goes well for you, and if it does you will feel better immediately and sleep and play better once healed. However Give the recovery time and be patient is my advice. Good Luck.

ZAP · Feb 8, 2012

Wow that stinks! I could tell you were really optimistic about your game when we met in Pittsburgh. Before I went into teaching school I worked for almost seven years in outpatient rehab for the local hospital. My best advice is to follow the advice of your surgeon to the letter. He/she is the one who will see the damage first hand. Recovery time has a lot to do with amount of damage and the overall health of the patient. Take the time to make sure you eat a healthy diet. Your body is going to need building blocks for repair so give it the right fuel. If you have any specific issues you have questions about feel free to PM me. If I don't know the answer I have our local neurosurgeon I can give a call to.

And to the injured others I hope you get well soon. And if you have any rehab questions I can probably answer those as well.

KGlennCole · Feb 8, 2012

Tim,

Thanks. I may take you up on that.

Think I'll postpone our trip to Boulder Creek until later in the year.. if that's OK with you.

Just thought of something.. if this had happened last year.. with my Scotland/Ireland trip 'on the line'. Oy vey.

dcg1952 · Feb 8, 2012

Wait and see what the surgeon tells you after the procedure. Sometimes the surgery is more or less complicated than anticipated. And I can assure you they operate on a lot of folks who play golf. Figure on at least 6 weeks minimum before you could take full swings but putting and chipping much sooner. We both know what the weather is like here so even if it takes 10-12 weeks you will only miss the cold,wet spring crap. Just follow your physical therapist instructions to the letter. Best wishes for a speedy recovery !

KGlennCole · Feb 8, 2012

dcg1952 said:
Wait and see what the surgeon tells you after the procedure. Sometimes the surgery is more or less complicated than anticipated. And I can assure you they operate on a lot of folks who play golf. Figure on at least 6 weeks minimum before you could take full swings but putting and chipping much sooner. We both know what the weather is like here so even if it takes 10-12 weeks you will only miss the cold,wet spring crap. Just follow your physical therapist instructions to the letter. Best wishes for a speedy recovery !

Yes, our weather can be cold and wet in the Spring. I really wanted to go on the PGT trip in mid-March.. I had 10 rounds in 9 days scheduled including the 5 'tournament rounds'. If I thought I would recover in time, I'd register for the Mesquite AM being held the last week of May. Don't want to risk registering and then not be able to go. I'll still have the PGT most every weekend until late October. I *will* play a lot of golf the 2nd half of the year... I see more than 1 trip each to Myrtle Beach, Charleston SC or anywhere in NC.

Another bright side - I can supplement my Yuengling tastes with more Smithwick's and Belhaven Scottish Ale since I won't be paying greens fees.

mgranato · Feb 8, 2012

Wow, that sucks! Good luck and be patient.

ReefBoy · Feb 8, 2012

G'day mate, sorry to hear about your injury.

As far as specific advice goes it is a little hard for me to give it as I am in Australia and we have a different medical system to you in the US. But here goes, for starters I 100% agree with Eyeoffish post above, following advice to the letter is really important as is your general nutrition levels.

This is, by the sounds of it a major but very necessary surgery. Any time you have nerve compression that results in loss of motor control is very serious as the longer the compression is there the more likely the nerve is to be damaged and possibly permanently. So decompression is totally needed. In regards to prognosis, that is a really hard one to answer even for the Dr as there are so many variables. The fact that you are getting the surgery now rather then putting it off is a big + for you. Assuming the operation goes off without a hitch, you will have a significant rehab program to follow to maximize the outcome. I would expect it to be about 6 mths or so, but this is a big educated guess on my part. Ask for a recommendation from your surgeon for the best physical therapist in your area. It is possible you may need to use a couple of different people for different work.

As part of your rehab you should be looking for someone who is familiar with neural mobilization techniques as that will help to reestablish the conductivity for both sensory and motor control. You will be needing to develop muscle condition for the neck and the shoulder as there will be atrophy of the muscles there, particularly in the shoulder. The big thing is not to rush your recovery, more is not really better, just use Tiger's example of overdoing his knee rehab and causing Tibial micro fractures before the US open. Everyone has the same healing rate and it really can't be pushed without consequences. So take your time, do it right, do it once.

The other thing I would like to say is don't be afraid to use pain medication. The perception of pain in this situation can influence the recovery from a nervous system prospective, so use it to your advantage. A good protocol for taking your medication is to separate the NSAID pills from the codeine/opiate medication by a couple of hours as you will always have one of the two groups functioning at peek levels in your system. Also combining codeine with caffeine(coke or a coffee) will also make the codeine more effective.

One more thing to be aware of is that the range of motion in your neck will change as a result of the surgery. So when you get the all clear to start back at golf from who ever is overseeing your rehab, go and get some lessons, looking at how to swing to club while decreasing the amount of left head rotation or side bend(looking over your left shoulder at the top of the backswing). Implementing these changes will help to decrease the chance of you golf swing causing more problems with your neck at a later date.

I hope some of this is useful and best of luck on Friday.

Christopher