Hey everyone. I’m about 8 weeks post-op from a 1 level OLIF fusion at L4-L5 (surgery was March 10) and I wanted to ask if anyone else experienced this level of stiffness during recovery.
The nerve pain I had before surgery does seem improved overall and I’m functional. I can walk, go to PT, use the treadmill/elliptical lightly, and my surgeon recently cleared me to start modified planks. My X-rays/checkup apparently looked okay structurally.
But the stiffness and muscle guarding are honestly really discouraging right now.
The biggest issue is:
- lower back/paraspinal tightness
- pain and tightness above the buttocks/SI area
- hip flexor band tightness
- hamstrings/calves feeling tight
- bending forward still feels very restricted
If I try to bend even slightly, my muscles immediately tighten and I get this sharp “don’t bend” type pain that makes me stand back upright. Sometimes if I turn or get up too fast I get a sudden sharp muscle-restricting pain too.
My surgeon told me since I dealt with back pain for a long time before surgery, my body basically learned years of guarding/protection patterns and it can take a long time for the muscles/nervous system to calm down even if the structural issue was fixed.
I guess I’m just wondering:
- Did anyone else have this much stiffness around 6–10 weeks?
- Did bending feel almost impossible for a while?
- When did your body finally start relaxing and moving more naturally again?
Would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences because mentally this phase has been tougher than I expected.