lumbar Laminectomy (between L4 /L5)
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Hi: I had a lumbar laminectomy (L4/L5) surgery in Nov. 2017, and the procedure went well. Before the surgery, my legs were weak. I started riding a stationary bike after 8 weeks post surgery, and my legs strength gradually improved. I also did follow PT instruction to gently strengthen my core muscles.
The question to the people who had a similar lumbar laminectomy:
Sometimes, I still have a lower back muscle pain around the tailbone (coccyx area).
I normally take slow-release Tylenol to ease the pain.
I am planning to go back to the PT again to improve my core muscle.
I appreciate if anyone has a similar experience and how to resolve this issue?
Thanks.
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CHICO_MARX reese2016
Posted
My daughter was squatting 310 pounds (5' 2". 115 pounds...yes, she's an uber-strong personal trainer) a number of years ago when her feet slipped and the weight came down on her as her spotter missed most of the bar. Compression fracture of L1 and microfractures of S1-S5. After 2 years, she was still in pain. It took a neurosurgeon to do an MRI of her coccyx to find out that it was completely shattered...shards everywhere. This took a very delicate surgery to fix as all the pieces had to be removed.
That said, we found out that problems regarding the coccyx are very often misdiagnosed as no one does an MRI that low, often stopping above that area. That's why her neurosurgeon specifically ordered the imaging. So the first thing I would recommend is getting that scan to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be. If that turns out OK, you would need to consider "referred pain" where the coccyx pain is really being caused by something else, particularly in the S1-S5 region or the L5/S1 disc. That's up to a neurosurgeon. The "gold standard" spine test is a CT/Myelogram with contrast. If the MRIs are inconclusive, get the CT test. You have to find the source of your problem. Tylenol long-term is not recommended due to potential stomach adversities.