Pinpointing pain has gotten tricky

November 1, 2021

All the hip muscles

First look at this diagram..

So, before I had a lumbar fusion, it was extremely easy for me to explain why I was experiencing pain. All the imaging and analysis had been completed.

I could very confidently say, “I’ve got lower back pain—along with some other weirdness—because I have a broken vertebra that’s knocked down out of alignment along with a narrowed spinal canal and two herniated discs and there’s a bunch of nerve compression.”

Stuff’s not broken anymore

These days, though, I no longer have a broken vertebra knocked out of place. Nor do I have two herniated discs. And, the nerves were decompressed.

So, it makes analysis of pain a lot different.

Now when the lumbar’s getting a little ouchie, I really have to sit down and think about it. And, I’ve been doing some research as well trying to figure this out.

Conclusion: soft tissue, inflammatory pain?

My conclusion, thus far, is that the lumbar pain I sometimes feel now most relates to an inflammatory response of soft tissue: such as muscle…and, in particular the gluteal muscles and hip flexors. I’m pretty sure that’s now the source of the pain that comes-and-goes these days.

I think. I’m not totally sure about this. But, at the moment, it’s the explanation that makes the most sense.

Spinal fusion rehab gets complicated as hell. This isn’t some simple process. I’m 14 months past the surgery and this still ain’t some easy thing. This is still difficult and somewhat confusing.

The answer?

But, I think an answer might be strengthening my core. I think my core is WEAK, and I think that’s the source of my problem. I’m researching things like psoas and hip flexor strengthening exercises and the like.