Had or waiting for back surgery? Forgotten what it’s like to live a “normal” life due to back pain? Wake up reaching for painkillers? Unable to get out of bed? That was me 3 years ago………….

My name is Gavin Cree. I am a 42 year old physiotherapist currently running my own practice north of Newcastle.

What makes me slightly unusual as a physio, is that I have undergone 3 operations to my lumbar spine. I met Manoj and his team in early 2006, having been recommended by a friend who was convinced Manoj could help me where other surgery had failed. I had at that time had two previous operations (elsewhere) involving microdiscectomies, laminectomies and foramenectomies, all to decompress nerve roots squashed by prolapsed discs in my lower back relieving pain and weakness in my right leg.

I originally damaged my back “successfully” catching a VERY heavy falling patient. Good for him but not for me! Both subsequent operations helped …… initially…. But over 12 to 18 months post op my back and leg symptoms returned with increasing severity to the point where physically and emotionally my life was at a stand still. That’s an understatement. I was finished. I would lose track of the amount of medication I was taking to combat the pain, be unable to get out of bed and if I did I was sick with the pain. My young family and wife were cursed by my back and were effectively crippled by it as much as I was.

Being a physio came with no “get out of jail free card”. I certainly had no excuse for not knowing what to do to strengthen my back but equally my job meant I was constantly putting it under extreme physical strain. Medically I was being advised to give up my job and accept that I would always require a daily fist full of painkillers and anti-inflamatory drugs to manage my pain. Worst of all ” I had to accept” that I would not be able to play sport for the rest of my life.

Then I met Manoj and everything changed. Suddenly someone who had a way to “mend me”. He never gave me false hope, he just gave me a chance. He had wanted to do more than one operation to do the repairs to my back gradually. I asked him to do the whole thing as one operation. To be honest this was because I had reached the limit of my pain tolerance. I couldn’t contemplate a partial improvement and I couldn’t believe it could get any worse!

So in August 2006 Manoj did a 3 level PLIF to my lumbar spine. He told me afterwards he left the operating theatre shattered and had wondered how I felt. The honest truth …. Pretty shattered as well! The difference compared to the other two operations was noticeable almost immediately. Suddenly I had a back that didn’t feel like it would fall to bits when I coughed or sneezed. My leg pain was dramatically better (although still there) and I was able to travel the 40 miles home from the hospital by day 3 post op sitting up in the passenger seat.

It was at this point that I made a very conscious decision to attack my rehabilitation in a very specific way. A PLIF operation involves bone grafts where discs existed previously. Because of this my physio head said “treat it like a fracture….” it would be 6 weeks before I would really start to put the operation site under strain.

This was appropriate for my surgery and I tailored my rehab to my own specific needs. Every operation is different and each persons ability and progress is going to be different.

So for that 6 week period of time I limited myself to walking only. Gradually I built up to a couple of miles a day during that time. At 6 weeks I started swimming (personally I found breast stroke easier than crawl). When I say swimming I mean Swimming. 3 to 4 times a week building up to 60 to 80 lengths. Yes things were sore and yes I was shattered. Also it’s important to stress the need for medication at this stage.

You need to manage your pain to allow you to get stronger and fitter to ultimately get rid of the need for medication. That might sound obvious but it really is key. Kicking the drugs is what we all want, but you need them to work for you post op to allow you to keep exercising. So for me the next stage was to add cycling. This was approximately 12 weeks post op (remember everyone is different and you may progress quicker or slower than this.)

Again it was a gradual progression of cycling 3 or 4 times a week building up to 10 to 15 miles at a time over several months.
I was still maintaining the walking as well, which might sound like a lot to fit in, but in the end there is a simple question to ask yourself: “Why did I go through the surgery and do I ever want to end up back in the state I was before the operation ???”

Manoj once told me I probably wouldn’t be able to play golf after the operation……well I am. This is a perfect example of how physiotherapy can make a surgeon’s work achieve a great outcome.

Can’t be done without the surgeon though!

Being able to walk and play 18 holes is still an amazing feeling. I cycle anything up to 50 miles now just for the sheer pleasure of it. I cannot stress enough that all this is possible only if you commit to the rehab. How many people do you know join a gym but never go? Some people may not need or want to put in the effort I have. Equally there may be other exercise or sport that suits you.

All I ask is that you put in the effort after the surgery. It has left me able to work full time, take no regular drugs and lead a full and active life with my friends and family. Of course there are still consequences of having 3 back operations.

If I’ve had a hard day at work I’d be telling a lie if I didn’t say my back ached. A try to be really sensible how much a put into any day and occasionally I take a break from work when I wouldn’t have done in the past. Small price to pay.

I hope my witterings are of help to someone and will either help before considering surgery or give you the motivation to make the most of your life after back surgery.