Backpackers with back problems

Hey Jeremy, I really don’t want to get in between you and your doctor, but spinal fusions are WAY overprescribed and WAY overvalued.  There are only a select few cases where a fusion does better than something else: an unstable fracture, a gross spinal deformity causing organ failure, or progressive neurological deterioration.  Outside of that, you’ll find no one but spine surgeons who think fusions are a good idea.  Please read this: Surgery, the ultimate placebo and especially Never get fusion for plain back pain.

I’d be more than happy to help you find a GOOD PT in your area – and several folks here at BPL can attest to the difference a GOOD PT makes in terms of recovering from back pain.

Feel free to email me (jenmitol AT gmail DOT com) and I’d be more than happy to help you out.  You may hear a few success stories here and there, but honestly, I see FAR MORE people who say they regret having it done.  Good PT can really make a difference – not just crappy PT (and there’s unfortunately a TON of that out there.)

Good luck mate.

As a PTA student with experience as a PT aide, I’d just like to echo what Jen said.

Thanks guys.

I’m a skeptic by nature and not convinced that a fusion is the best option. I have “severe” spinal stenosis and I experience no back pain but varying levels of nerve pain and numbness in my legs. I’ve also had some spinal buckling issues as well.

I have battled this for the last 12 years since age 22. I have tried PT (I’m unable to assess whether I had a good PT or not) but it didn’t help, Chiropractors, met with Orthopedic and Neurosurgeons to pretty much no avail.

I’m actually assessing my situation from  a “most drastic” viewpoint and how such a surgery would affect my long-term lifestyle.

I resonate with both articles posted and appreciate the food for thought.

@ Jeremy

There are more conservative and harder to do procedures than fusion.  Maybe you have already read about decompression (laminectomy) on the Mayo Clinic site.  That being said, the recovery is probably 6 to 12 months.

Since you are only 34 I, if it were me, would exhaust every other option before surgery. Hopefully you have a long road ahead of you still.

Yes surgery should be the last option.

Bruce,

Yes, I have read about laminectomies and that procedure makes more sense to me as an engineer than does a fusion for my condition.

Thanks.

Jeremy,

There is a lot of garbage on the web about back surgery. I found some of the info on the UK national health sites useful, WebMD, the MayoClinic and some of the postings on various University medical schools. While some folks might need fusion surgery, I think Jennifer had some pointers a year or two ago to an article.. I followed some of the references in the article and there seems to be evidence based on medicare data that fusion surgery is growing at an explosive rate.//Bruce

Hey Jeremy,

I also have chronic lower back problems, though it sounds like they are not quite as severe as yours.  I’ve found that with the exception of putting the pack on and taking it off (during which I need to be incredibly careful), backpacking actually helped my back.  The hipbelt kept the lumbar stabilized, while the hiking allowed all the supporting muscles in the hip area to strengthen up.  Of course, that wouldn’t work if you’re using a pack without a hip belt.

I found this (now dated) thread after searching for “backpacking with spinal stenosis”, my recent diagnosis after two successful backpacking trips last fall covering 113 miles. Needless to say, I’m very concerned about what retirement will be like if I can no longer walk very far, let alone backpack (age 65).

I was a healthcare informatics technologist in my career, and while I’m not a medical professional I would also echo Jen’s concerns about spinal fusion — it should only be considered as a last resort and the population healthcare data showed a relatively low success rate based on follow-up visits (< 50%).

I’ve been doing PT for a month now and the symptoms are slowly improving, but I can only walk for half a mile before my hamstring starts to act up. Look for a PT who has a lot of experience working on car accident patients and older patients. Don’t use a PT who only gives you a set of exercises and says to come back if you don’t feel better in a month (the PT the ortho referred me to!). Get an MRI, if only to use as a baseline.

There’s another thing. Without wishing to disparage anyone here…taking medical advice from strangers on the internet is generally a bad idea. Taking in the perspectives of others who may have had similar conditions is fine. There’s an astonishing number of folks posting on the internet who will come off as having all sorts of expertise and definitive answers for health issues. They often are horribly wrong. Jen is not one of those!! but Jen has a degree and a certificate and a lot of experience.

Many assume that ‘your’ condition is the same as ‘their’ condition’ and dispense advice based on what worked for them. But neither of you know if you’re really talking about the same condition at all. Overruling a specialists advice because of what you’ve heard from folks who have never seen you…is, again, a bad idea. If your specialist doesn’t inspire trust, find another. But for heaven’s sake, at least take the advice of someone with a medical degree whose seen you in person and has your records in hand over some stranger who may turn out to be selling crystals to cure cancer.