Neck fusion

Afternoon all,

its looking more and more likely that I’m going to have to have my 3/4 and possibly 5th vertebrae fused in my neck.

Has anyone experienced this, and if so, what was recovery time before riding MTB/EMTB again.

any info would be greatly appreciated, and may  help dispel worst fears.

cheers, P

I imagine it’s quite situation dependent. I had C6-T1 fixed for traumatic fracture. Was on the trainer straight away and riding outside was possible quite early too, but I waited 3 or 4 months to allow soft tissue healing. Bony healing takes about 6 months.
once fixed the other levels need to do a bit more work and can be sore. After 6 months I rode an off road event at the weekend without problems.

I have six vertebrae fused, two either side of T12 and L1. Mine was after a bad crash so I’d imagine rehab would have taken far longer than for planned surgery. But I was on the trainer after three months, swimming after four and riding outdoors in six, though that was probably as much to do with mental issues as physical.

It’s obviously how long is a piece of string, but you’ll be fine. It seems like a huge amount of time if you’re an active type, but now six years later it was like the blink of an eye.

Good luck

I had C5/C6 fused back in 1997. I was back on my bike in around 10 weeks (just steady cycle path stuff). Got a telling off from the consultant.

Went head first OTB around 12 weeks, luckily it was all in slow motion, and I managed to tuck my chin into my chest. Landed on my shoulder blades, and rolled to my feet. The momentum carried me forward, and I fell onto my knees, putting a big hole in one of them

Anterior Cervical Discectomy C5/6 in 2012 and C6/7 in 2014  Both were due to prolapsed discs impinging on the nerve cluster for my right arm

Both fused with spacers etc

I have permanent nerve damage with a numb thumb, pins & needles and it’s left my right arm weaker than before.

Other than that I am fully functional, Pilates, Kettlebell and MTB (BPW only a few weeks ago)

Get a good neurosurgeon and follow all the physio 👍

Thanks guys.
Mines down to lots of radiotherapy to rid me of a huge throat tumour in 2005.

the 3/4 vertebrae, that were at the central point of the beam,  have severe osteoporosis, and are compacting onto my Spinal Cord.

staggering about like I’m pi$$ed a lot of the time, and grip is quite shonky as well.
cheers again

Well guys,

Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy is the correct terminology….all due to massive doses of Radiotherapy/Chemo 19 years ago.

CT/X-Ray/MRI done….yesterday/today

Major Operation required, but all sorts of “meetings” needed because of severity, and my cervical vertebrae being “mashed potato” due to Chemo/RT.

They’ve got to find a way of removing the compressed vertebrae, and then fusing, securely, what’s left.

Has anyone experienced spinal surgery with the added complication of Osteoporosis due to Radiotherapy?

Confined to sofa for some time, I fear

☹️

CERVICAL MYELOPATHY

Cervical myelopathy results from compression of the spinal cord in the neck (cervical area of the spine).

Symptoms of cervical myelopathy may include problems with fine motor skills, pain or stiffness in the neck, loss of balance, and trouble walking.

Cervical myelopathy is best treated with spine decompression surgery.

I’d, appreciate any help with this one, please.

PIP

Those of you with fused vertebrae, how do you find your flexibility ?

I broke L1 and T12 straight through 8 years ago, and now have the L1 as a ‘cheese wedge’ having lost the front half (bone crumbled away after leaving hospital and mobilising – didn’t notice until a scan some months later). Opted for conservative bed rest of 6 1/2 weeks before discharge in a TLSO brace, rather than surgery due to potential complications. Turned out a good choice but I don’t have any disc degeneration. I can probably bend a little better having the front missing of L1.

Operation was 2 weeks last Friday ago.

Apparently all a success, and lots of screws/rods were put in.

still on maximum opioid painkillers, and still not capable of much (short walks and exercises that the Physio gave me)

first review back over in London on 6th June (6weeks post op) and I guess my future will be made clearer then)

Can we post photos directly on here now, guys?

I could put you all off your lunch with some great scar shots.

All of the above comments have helped, and are still helping, me get my head around it all.

cheers

Stay strong and follow what your consultant says. Lots of really good outcomes postwd above😀

Sort of… I damaged the disc between c4 and c5, giving me a burning feeling and pins&needles in my right arm and right hand. Couldnt move my fingers in thst hand for a little bit of time too. Pretty much 12 months of physio and traction a few times a week to get ‘right’.  But avoided surgery. At the time (20+ years ago) I was told the disc would dry/ disappear and the 2 vertebrae fuse over time. And to not bang my head/neck again in the next 12 months or it could be *really* bad.

I probably had 6 months, maybe more before I was back biking outdoors, and that was on gentle ‘rails to trail’ stuff like the High Peak. About 12 months before back to ‘proper’ mtb rides (= regular trails, not jumps  or gnar as thats never been my bag). Similar timeframe for getting back to  white water kayaking.

I probably have about 50 skydives in the logbook since it happened vs the 200 or so before. A lack of time and doing other sports, not the injury itself, curtailed that game eventually.

I defo have a bit less mobility in my neck since, and if I pull a tight hoodie or (worse) the dry seal of a dry cag down compressing my neck, I still feel it is just not pleasant even today.  But it’s not stopping me doing anything.  I have had one or two occasional ‘flare ups’ and have to just change the bike position – had to jack up the bars on the TT bike by 100mm or more to be able to ride it on one iron distance triathlon, but I was never threatening the podium anyway so an extra 10 or 15 mins meant nothing.

Edit.

Best of luck with the recovery.  In the early stages it will seem tedious and frustrating, but we’re here for the long game, so keep up with everything you’re supposed to do, especially the physiotherapy!

Many thanks for this, Robertajobb

it really helps, while I’m lying, pretty uncomfortably, on the sofa, feeling a bit sorry for myself.

👍

You’ll be fine, trust me. I went through some desperate times after my accident. You can’t help but concentrate on the negatives. I pretty much had to learn to walk again, needed a stool in the shower to sit on and a gizmo to help me wipe my arse! But within a week of the op I was taking tentative walks to the next lamp post then by the end of the month I was walking miles over the Downs in my brace. After a couple of months I was bloody loving it! 8-10 miles a day and a pub lunch. Worst bit was the thought of going back to work.

All seems a bit overwhelming at the time, but trust me this will pass in the blink of an eye.

Just thought I’d send a little update to, once again, show my appreciation for all your  encouraging posts:

6 week review next Thursday;

I’ve pretty much ditched the walking pole, and have managed up to 1 1/2 miles including some quite steep hills;

I’m still sofa bound for a good portion of most days, and still doing all the simple exercises;

just starting to wean myself off the Cocodamol, and revert back to Paracetamol (be gone constipation 💩💩);

hopefully my surgeon will allow me to, at least ride the static bike again.

hopefully, this is me on track to mimic all of your experiences guys, and my return to MTB comes one step closer.

thanks again, guys

It’s blatantly obvious that I’m going to need a much higher rise bar. Probably 100mm.

I’ve now had a few short rides, and definitely can’t stay with the 40mm Renthals.

Has anyone got any experience/info. regarding these, please?

I have 35mm clamps on my stems. How adaptable would these be?

keen to do this asap so I don’t do damage by trying to stretch my neck up where it doesn’t want to go.

Junker bar 100mm rise

Not suitable, unfortunately. I’ve settled for a dork stem extender. Cheap option for 3 x E-MTB

Afternoon everyone,

I know this isn’t a cool thing to advertise, if you’re unfortunate enough to need one, but does anyone have photos of their “pride and joy” with a stem extender fitted, please?