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Regarding to the precautions after lumbar surgery, whether it is the disectomy, laminectomy or spinal fusion surgery, first of all, we should pay attention to the care of the wound.
Wound care and maintain the correct posture is the main focus after surgery
For the lumbar surgery, stitches on wounds will be removed after seven to ten days, two to three days after the removal of the stitches, patient can take shower or bath however to avoid causing inflammation, If the wound get wet, make sure towel dry or gauze the wound. It is also recommended that patients avoid the “BLT" three actions: B stands for Bending, which means to avoid bending motion; L stands for Lifting, meaning to avoid lifting action, if you want to pick up things on the ground, it is best to squat down to lift the items, and the items should not exceed five pounds to avoid aggravating the lumbar spine loading again; T stands for Twisting, that is, can not twist the body, if you want to take the object must be the whole body turned to pick up things, can not only twist the lower back. Pay attention to a few points: when standing, head and back need to maintain natural position, at the same time to look up, chest, belly tuck in, and frequently change other postures to avoid over use the same muscle. Should not sit on soft sofa and chair, if you want to sit for a long time should choose a dining chair type chair, the back of the chair is best to put a back cushion to support the lumbar spine, sitting need to sit close to the back of the chair, need to lean on back of chair and without any gap, otherwise it will increase the load of the lumbar muscles. Mattress should not be too soft, otherwise the muscle is hard to relax so that the back is excessively bent or side-bending, sleeping posture: whether sleep sideways or sleep on back is acceptable, do not lying on stomach to sleep.
Some patients still feel numbness in their feet after operation, and the muscles in the wound position may be feeling stiffness, so treatments can be done to relieve the muscles, and Cox’s decompression can help for relaxing the muscle and nerve. Understanding the nerve compression have been so long by the protrused disc or bone spur, once the nerve is free up, the nerve need to take time for healing. Exercise is also important, especially if the muscles or nerve are unstable after surgery and need to be strengthened by daily exercises and core muscle training. The following describes seven sets of actions, suitable for discetomy or laminectomy, usually can start exercise after the surgery done in one week, the exercises does not have to be in order, can choose the one patients are comfortable with, if the movement trigger more lower back pain or the foot feeling more numbness, exercises must stop immediately. And consult your specialist.
