r/Spondylolisthesis

Hey guys! (^-^)/ I have Grade 1 isthmic spondylolisthesis at L5-S1, an L4-L5 disc bulge, prior spinal hardware from a spinal fusion, and generalized hypermobility :( Unfortunately, I have to wait until I get insurance in December before I can see a PT, so I'm trying to self manage my pain until then, and I need advice!

​I loved weightlifting before a bad fall about 1 yr ago that made everything worse.. I want to start again because it helped strengthen my core and take some load off my spine, but I'm terrified of making my slip further or triggering my radiculopathy. Cardio is miserable for me bc I have asthma.

For those of you with spondy who still lift weights, what modifications or machine swaps do you swear by? How do you safely train lower body and back without loading your spine vertically or causing flexion/extension shear? Any advice or resources would be hugely appreciated! Thank you in advance (^-^)

Long story short, got diagnosed with grade 1 spondy, a bilateral pars fracture that might be causing it (or not..)

Some docs said: surgery. Others said nope just do rehab.

I chose rehab. Cut out some sports, switched over to swimming, recently joined a rowing club.

I realised i have quite shit hamstring/glute/calves flexibility and I cant do a toe touch without rounding my lower back. So: working on that, mostly follow along youtube videos by people like tom merrick.

Are there folks here who also row, also have tight behinds and worked towards improving their mobility? I’d love to hear from you.

I (24F) finally got approved for surgery!!! Verbatim from my doctors portal its a "fusion spine lumbar oblique lateral interbody posterior approach with instrumentation and decompression".

While it's definitely nerve wracking I'm super excited!! I know it will be a long road to recovery but I would much rather deal with the pain of healing for a significant chance to get my life back.

I tagged this under needs advice mostly because I'm curious as to how other peoples day-to-day experiences went right after the procedure. Any thoughts are helpful and much appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I’m a 36-year-old man, and I’ve been struggling with back problems for 13 years. My symptoms developed gradually. For a very long time, I wasn’t 100% sure whether all of my symptoms were caused solely by degenerative changes in my spine or whether there might be some additional underlying disease. Because of this, I also investigated rheumatological and infectious causes (including Lyme disease and its co-infections).

There were even attempts to treat me for both of these possibilities, because it turned out that I have had strongly positive Yersinia enterocolitica antibodies, which are still positive to this day, as well as a positive HLA-B27 test. Because of this, a rheumatic disease was suspected. None of these treatments made any difference.

For years, neurosurgeons were unable to say with confidence that my pain, and later the numbness, were actually coming from my spine. A breakthrough of sorts came this year, when I was referred for flexion-extension X-rays. They showed a grade 1 spondylolisthesis — more specifically, a retrolisthesis.

And I’m honestly shocked, because I started going through all of my old MRI scans, and it turns out that my L5-S1 retrolisthesis was already visible at the very beginning of my illness. None of the neurosurgeons ever pointed this out to me.

Unfortunately, this year has been terrible for me. My pain has become much worse, and my feet burn and go numb. I’ve been doing McGill’s Big 3 exercises for two months, but I feel like they aren’t helping at all. I’m starting to feel like surgery is my only remaining option.

I have another appointment with my neurosurgeon on October 26, but I wanted to ask you guys about my symptoms because I have the feeling that they are somewhat atypical.

My symptoms ALWAYS get worse in the evening. I can sleep at night, but by the evening my muscles are already so exhausted and my symptoms have become so intense that sometimes I can barely stay on my feet. The more physically active I’ve been during the day, the worse the symptoms are.

What’s strange is that movement itself has never really been painful. I don’t get sharp pain when bending forward, twisting, or lifting something. It feels like my spine always sends me the bill later in the evening.

Even on days off work, when I spend the entire day resting, I still end up suffering badly in the evening.

I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I’m exhausted from living like this. At the same time, I’m afraid of surgery — afraid that it won’t change anything, or even worse, that it could make my symptoms worse.

Has anyone here had a similar experience? Does this pattern of symptoms sound familiar to you? I’d really appreciate hearing how it was for you.