5 Months post op Cadisc C - intro + question from South Africa :)

[thewusman]

Hi guys
Stumbled upon this forum and thread researching my post op problems.

Brief History:
I had ADR surgery in November 2013, C5/6 discectomy and disc replacement for radiculopathy, as a result of early onset DDD in that region (3/4 and 4/5 are not in the best of shape but not causing problems).
Something caused the disc to rupture about a full cm in length and fluid pressure was present on the spinal cord.
The DDD is probably related to playing lock in Rugby at school for many years.
Anyhow only had a 8 week wait from the “event” being the rupturing to neuro consult, MRI and surgery.
My neuro (a highly experience surgeon) used a Cadisc C from Ranier Technology (I spent a great deal of time researching it and even found the surgeons guide to inserting it), recently approved in South Africa and certain European countries. Highly advance based on the one piece construction out of polyurethane-polycarbonate. Suspect you may have heard of it – I don’t think it’s available in the USA ?
Symptoms included severe nerve “electrical shocks” radiating from neck into shoulder and down biceps stopping at elbows, and debilitating scapula pain. I thought I was dying.

Back to Swimming and flying:
I’d say now, 5 months post-op, my life is mostly back to the normal. 3 months of intensive physio exercises made a huge difference.
My problem is mainly two fold. Firstly, getting back into freestyle swimming. I was doing 3 x 1mile sessions a week in the pool prior to the op, now I get mild shoulder stiffness (near the rotator cuff/edge of the shoulders) around the 1km mark which is holding me back and then moderate scapula pain the next day after a swim.
Strange thing is, going for a 5km jog/run the next day usually helps clear the scapula pain up and “loosen” the shoulders.
Flying for work (which I do quite often) and sitting for 2 hours in economy also create severe stiffness in both scapula/shoulder regions. Similar to swimming, perhaps worse.

Any ideas as to what is causing the continued stiffness and scapula pain ?
Would a front breathing snorkel perhaps be of benefit ?

It’s really bugging me.
Nothing 2 myprodols (NSAID, with some Ibuprofen, Codeine & paracetamol) doesn’t cure but I’m trying to get off tablets altogether.
Also, being 6 foot 5 and standing up straight with good posture (something I’ve had to learn) tends to cause moderate scapula pain/stiffness) after prolonged periods, say 2 hours, like being out at a work function with collegaues.
Perhaps I’m expecting too much.

By all indications the operation was a success, x-rays show the disc is in, has slightly moved by 1mm in an anterior direction (anybody ever heard of this?)probably due to settling, and has created perfect space for the nerve roots and cord.

Anyhow, thanks for listening to the ramble ! And good luck to those either considering ADR or currently recovering from surgery.

[jss]

Wus,

Welcome and congratulations on what sounds like a great outcome! Your activity level is higher than most and so is one we don't see often in ADR patients.

A few thoughts...

I'm assuming that you were idle for the two months between the "event" and the surgery? And then idle for another couple of months after surgery? If you went to swimming a mile at a time after four months of not swimming, ... I can see some shoulder issues occurring. There are a variety of muscle entrapment injuries that you could have reasonably incurred by swimming too far too soon. All take multiple months to heal.

I've read that nerve damage can take up to 18 months heal; and that does line up with my experience. During the healing process you can expect to have varied and weird stuff like this happening. Though it sounds like you're doing great, five months is still early in your recovery.

If the pain is bad enough, or if you're sufficiently fearful that you might be doing damage to yourself while swimming, the swimmer's snorkel sounds like a great idea. I swim, but after two cervical fusions and two ADRs, because I don't have enough mobility to breath without rotating about 100 degrees for each breath, I use a swimmer's snorkel.

Good luck, Jeff

[annapurna]

One thing that Laura has noted after her C5/6 ADR was that she couldn't swim straight. When she did open water swimming in deep water where there was no reference points to hold a course, she could not swim a straight line, no matter what she did. If your pain is primarily on one side, you might try a similar check to see if you have a very mild imbalance that's too small to detect with the normal neurological strength checks.

[thewusman]

Thanks Jeff, Laura - really appreciate the advice.

I started back to swimming 10 lengths (250m) after getting the all clear around 7 weeks post-op, and built up from there back to 1km.

But I suspect that's too much, as you mentioned.

I'm trimming my swims back to around 750m or 30-35 lengths in a 25m pool and shorter jogs/runs.

Being active I suspect, as pointed out, the road to recovery is ongoing and can take some time, I'd rather let my body take things slower than force it.