Thursday, March 25, 2010
03/25/10 butcherTopics:Side Effects
i have had a 3 level fusion w/ instruments of L3-4. L4-5, and L5-S1. since then my bowels and blatter have been uncontroled every once in a while. I had the instruments removed because i had fluid behind them. I have really bad muscle spams debilatating at night when try to lay down. 3 days ago i had the spams for about 8 hours in my groin and hips, back of legs, ankle feet. then i notcied i had something in my vagina. it is my colon. i can't control my bowels nor can i get all of my urine out. how does this relate to my fusion. does anyone know or have they had these problems
Your symptoms highlight how all of our pelvic organs are interconnected. With any surgical procedure, we often have a shut down of many of the muscles that attach to or coordinated with the effective tissue. You had work done on your lower lumbar spine, and because of the coordinated effort of the multifidi muscles of your lower spine and your pelvic floor and transversus abdominus, you have experienced the "shut down" of these muscles. It is a protective mechanism of your body, but sometimes you may need assistance in jump starting those muscles again. I would compare this to a knee surgery patient who needs electric stim to get his/her quadricep on the front of their thigh firing again following surgery. You may need outside help from a physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor rehab to get your muscles firing again.
On another note, you are experiencing the spasms because your inner thighs, deep hip rotators and other muscles that are all part of the interconnected muscles of the pelvic/abdominal basket are trying so hard to make up for the muscles that are no longer firing.