What precautions should people who have done lumbar surgery usually pay attention to?

There are several principles for nursing after lumbar surgery, but the type of surgery should be considered first, so I will introduce the common types of surgery to you first:

(1) discectomy

If the traditional surgical method is used for the operation of disc herniation, care must be taken not to bend over and carry heavy objects after the operation, and it is not allowed to carry heavy objects for at least three months after the operation. Usually, it is best to use a wide waist protector. Remember not to use the so-called iron clothes (that is, long-sleeved body protectors). Although the use of long-section protectors can reduce the burden on the lumbar spine, it will gradually make the lumbar muscles useless and atrophy. Lack of lumbar muscle strength will not only reduce the burden on the lumbar spine, but will aggravate it, because the traditional surgical method must be on the pedicle of the lumbar spine.

(2) Decompression of intervertebral foramen stenosis and nerve compression caused by lumbar spine spurs.

Decompression surgery is commonly known as bone spur surgery, but don't think that the surgical method is to take out the bone spur. The operation is actually to remove the pedicle of the compressed lumbar nerve, and then remove the hyperplastic ligament and soft tissue that are compressed to the spinal nerve. Therefore, it can greatly improve the preoperative leg discomfort of patients after surgery. Be sure to pay attention after the operation, and don't bend over to carry heavy objects within three months. Remember to wear a wide waist protector, which is not suitable for wearing iron clothes.

(3) Decompression and steel nail internal fixation for lumbar spondylolisthesis or instability.

In addition to decompression, this operation also needs internal fixation with steel nails, because the lumbar vertebrae of such patients are in an unstable state and must be fixed with steel nails. However, it should be noted that most of these operations will do autologous bone transplantation, because it is not enough to fix the unstable two lumbar vertebrae only by the strength of steel nails, and it takes three months for autologous bone transplantation to grow to stability, so it is necessary to wear the aforementioned iron clothes during these three months to reduce the bearing pressure on the surgical site. If you don't wear it, I'm afraid it will cause the steel nail at the original steel nail fixing place to slip, and it will be more troublesome to deal with and the effect will not be good. People often ask whether it is necessary to remove the steel nails. The answer is no. If there is no discomfort, the steel nail does not need to be taken out. However, if there is persistent discomfort, the steel nail can be removed after one year of operation under the assessment of the orthopedic surgeon.

There are many kinds of spinal surgery, and endoscopic discectomy has been developed in recent years, but there are generally two kinds of internal fixation: steel nail and non-steel nail. The general nursing principles are as mentioned above, but the actual situation must vary from person to person. In addition, there is nothing special to pay attention to in diet, but remember not to smoke and use painkillers and steroids as little as possible, because nicotine painkillers and steroids are substances that will hinder bone growth.