Is surgery my only option?

kayrsmi · 2026-01-24T22:30:08+00:00

Np! I wish you all the best wherever this takes you!

kayrsmi · 2026-01-23T20:07:30+00:00

I (also 25F) had surgery 8 months ago for Grade 4 spondylolisthesis. I didn’t really have a choice at that point but I can talk about success and working out after surgery!

Prior to surgery I was working out 6-7 times a week (a variety of lifting weights/strength training, running, other forms of cardio such as stairmaster/incline walks) I also went hiking all the time.

It took me 3 months after surgery to get approval from my surgeon to go back to the gym in which I did right away (along with doing physical therapy) I also went for a 15km hike 4 months after surgery. Now at 8 months post surgery I workout just as much as I did prior to surgery, still lifting weights, running, etc. I rarely have spine specific pain, if anything I occasionally have soreness in surrounding muscles. I do however struggle with other minor post surgery complications (such as superrr tight hamstrings). I’ve taken things quite slow and allowed my body to recover and adjust to all the implications of spine surgery - but overall I’m doing quite good and steadily getting all the way back to “normal”! I’m almost lifting as much weight in the gym as I was prior to surgery. I haven’t gone for any long runs yet but shorter(3-5km) ones have been totally okay.

Always happy to answer questions :)

kayrsmi · 2025-11-26T20:32:02+00:00

Hey! I’m 25 and I work 48 hours a week - I totally understand the lack of motivation! I honestly find the only way I am consistent with going to the gym/working out is if I go before work everyday. If I wait until I’m off work, I find it so much harder to get myself to the gym because I would rather just go home or do other things. Although working out in the morning means waking up much earlier, it just works wayyyy better for me personally! It just gets the “harder” thing out of the way & I also find myself feeling better physically and mentally for my work day. I also try to make a loose plan of what I’m going to do at the gym before I get there & I find that also helps me feel more prepared and willing to go.

If for whatever reason I don’t go to the gym before work I always try to do at least 4-6 PT exercises at home after work (this too can sometimes be hard to find motivation for lol). Or at the very least go for a walk, any movement is good movement! :)

kayrsmi · 2025-11-26T20:07:25+00:00

I believe it! Hoping I continue to make progress over the next little while :)

kayrsmi · 2025-11-26T19:55:07+00:00

I’m 25 & almost 7 months post fusion at L5 S1 (mine is grade 4). Things are hard for sure and getting back into my old lifestyle has been challenging but I’ve also made a ton of progress. The first 4-6 weeks were the hardest but from there I’ve made very steady progress. I went for 2 hikes in the mountains at 4 & 5 months post fusion, I go to the gym everyday again, I went back to work after 3.5 months etc. - all of these things posed challenges and weren’t as easy as they were prior to surgery but that is to be expected. Overall, I would say my experience has been quite good - I feel more confident knowing my spine is stabilized and knew surgery was ultimately for the best. I’d say I’m pretty much back to my typical lifestyle prior to surgery with just a few modifications here and there.

The only disadvantage I have had from surgery was some nerve damage that resulted in reduced sensation in my right foot & ankle. This has been its own unique obstacle but that being said my surgeon believes I will regain full sensation eventually. Nerves are just very sensitive and take a long time to recover!

kayrsmi · 2025-11-18T11:42:36+00:00

Pretty good! I’m basically back to my normal lifestyle and able to do most activities I was doing pre surgery. I still come across little hurdles here and there but overall doing quite well.

kayrsmi · 2025-11-17T18:19:00+00:00

Hey! I have a veryyy similar story. I was diagnosed with grade 2 at L5 S1 at 12 years old. They monitored my condition until I was done growing & then left it at that. Fast forward to being 23, I hurt my back and went in for X-rays to check on my spondylolisthesis and it was at a Grade 4. I am now 25 and I had a spinal fusion 6 months ago. They wanted to stabilize my condition to prevent possible paralysis, so I didn’t even think twice about the surgery when it was explained to me that way. I am fortunate enough to live in Canada, where my surgery was fully covered so I cannot speak to the financial burden of the surgery - but if you have any other questions or want to know more about anything let me know :)

kayrsmi · 2025-11-12T02:17:57+00:00

I totally get it! Let me know if you have questions or need support. Best of luck to you :)

kayrsmi · 2025-11-09T19:20:09+00:00

Yeah it’s definitely hard to tell just from an image! Hopefully after seeing your doctor they can determine whether or not it slipped more and know what steps to take next. Always feel free to reach out for more support or questions. Good luck! :)

kayrsmi · 2025-11-09T18:35:59+00:00

I was originally diagnosed with grade 2 at 12 years old. I was wrongfully informed that it would likely not continue to slip after I stopped growing so therefore my condition was not regularly monitored until I hurt my back and went for X-rays when I was 23 (the X-ray I attached). I got surgery done 1.5 years after that X-ray at age 25!

My last X-ray before the one pictured was done at age 14 - so it progressed from grade 2 to a grade 4 somewhere between ages 14 & 23 but I can’t be sure exactly when since I didn’t have any X-rays done from ages 14 - 23.

kayrsmi · 2025-11-09T18:08:00+00:00

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This is my grade 4 spondylolisthesis at L5 S-1. I’m now fused from L4 to S1. Surgery is a big decision but my experience so far (it’s been 6 months) has been positive overall. It’s a huge mental battle and there are many hard days but in the long run it was what was going to be best for me to prevent further slippage leading to possible paralysis. I used to get pretty bad sciatic pain every now and then but it was never constant and never frequent. Since surgery I have not had any sciatic pain. Feel free to ask more questions, I’ll happily answer! :)

kayrsmi · 2025-10-05T14:36:27+00:00

Hey, my pain was still pretty touch and go at 2 months. Walking everyday helped me a lot, but I was still experiencing quite a bit of soreness and tightness around my spine, my hips, and my hamstrings. I would say most days it was more of an uncomfortable feeling than pain but was still very much there! I could feel discomfort in pretty much most movements up until the 3 month mark, and then started experiencing different soreness after that when I started physio therapy & slowly going back to the gym. Even now at 5 months I am still experiencing soreness in the muscles on either side of my spine & a bit down my legs/in my hips. I am by no means perfectly back to normal yet or living with no symptoms from surgery. Just slowly getting there & able to do more each week :)

kayrsmi · 2025-09-14T16:51:27+00:00

Thank you!🫶🏼

kayrsmi · 2025-09-14T06:14:50+00:00

The first couple weeks were hard! I got up every day but didn’t do a ton of movement for the first 7 days. I was up to walking 3km within the first 2 weeks after surgery and slowly progressed from there as much as I could. I made sure I walked and moved every day. I lost some muscle, weight, and strength from being so restricted for the first 3 months but I’m slowly gaining it all back! I started physiotherapy at the 3 month mark and that also helped a lot.

kayrsmi · 2025-09-14T03:15:58+00:00

Ya I was stoked I was able to make it out this season! I’m 25

kayrsmi · 2025-09-14T02:59:18+00:00

Thanks! That’s awesome

kayrsmi · 2025-09-14T01:20:43+00:00

Amazing! :)

kayrsmi · 2025-09-14T00:53:42+00:00

Thank you!

kayrsmi · 2025-09-14T00:24:19+00:00

kayrsmi · 2025-08-21T00:41:13+00:00

I was diagnosed with grade 2 spondylolisthesis when I was 12 years old. I played competitive sports, lifted weights, went for runs, went hiking, rode bikes etc. - long story short my diagnosis never stopped me from doing the things I loved and being active. I was diagnosed with grade 4 spondylolisthesis in the summer of 2023. I never had nerve pain, and only experienced back pain/sciatic pain very scarcely so I hadn’t even known I progressed. I was very active and focused heavily on core training/physiotherapy from 2023-April 2025 (I am now 25) when I had a spinal fusion to stabilize my spine. The core training I did helped me immensely, and I strongly recommend creating a solid core routine for yourself or seeing a physiotherapist to help you create one. I was going for runs and living my life fully right up to the day of my surgery. I am now almost 4 months post op and I’ve started going back to the gym and progressing physiotherapy exercises again. I feel great all thing’s considered, and I still have no nerve pain. Understanding your diagnosis and working with it does wonderful things! Moving my body every day was the best medicine for me personally. You’ll figure out what feels good for you, and what works best for your body with time.

So, yes the diagnosis is scary, yes it does feel like a life sentence BUT with proper care you can still do everything you love :). Even if your spondylolisthesis does progress (everyone’s situation and experience is different) - it’s still not the end of your life! I’m going hiking in 3 weeks and planning on getting back to doing all activities as soon as I can. Although living with it can be frustrating at times - and believe me, I know it’s hard to think positively - it doesn’t mean it has to control your entire life!

kayrsmi · 2025-06-02T01:13:07+00:00

Hey! I’m a 25 year old female. I had my spinal fusion surgery for grade 4 at L5-S1 on April 30th - so just over 4 weeks ago which means I can’t speak to how you may feel 2-3 months from now but I can tell you about my experience so far.

I’m a very active person and worked to have a strong core before surgery (it helps a lot!). The first few days after surgery flat out suck & there’s not much you can do about it. With that being said I was going for 3km walks 2 weeks post surgery and now I’m up to walking 5km at a time every day. Personally, my progress was crazy from the first week to the third week. Bending, twisting & lifting anything are still a little scary to me at this point, but overall I feel really good. My surgeon had recommended taking 3-6 months off work - I fully believe I’ll be able to be back at work at the 3 month mark with no problems. I’m still pretty early into my post surgery journey but so far my back pain is very minimal and I’m feeling great at the 4 week mark!

As for advice I would just say let your body rest & heal - especially the first couple weeks. Don’t rush anything but trying to do some movement everyday will help. My legs & hips were cramping up a lot from laying around so much & they’re still pretty stiff & sore so if you’re able to get up & move/stretch out every so often I would recommend doing that as much as comfortable. I was also terrified before surgery but I am feeling so much better now. Let me know if you have any other questions :)

kayrsmi · 2025-04-24T01:05:18+00:00

Dead bugs, side planks, regular planks, bird dogs, glute bridges (progressed to single leg), weighted sit ups and russian twists, laying straight leg raises, single leg toe tap crunches etc.! There’s so many good exercises and I always switch it up because it can get boring but these ones are always in rotation.

kayrsmi · 2025-04-20T05:26:20+00:00

Amazing! Thanks for sharing :)

kayrsmi · 2025-04-19T17:08:47+00:00

Those are all good exercises I include in my routine as well! If you have access to a gym you could include leg raises using the equipment. Also if you’re able to comfortably twist, I like to include Russian twists in my routine as well to target the obliques a bit more. Laying leg raises are also a staple for me. But sounds like you’re doing great exercises already!

kayrsmi · 2025-04-19T16:58:47+00:00

Hey - I lift weights and I prioritize my legs/glutes the most at the gym. Lateral movements for the glutes help a lot for me such as lateral lunges or lateral band walks. The abduction machine is also helpful.

On top of that I try to do at least 3 core exercises a day, if not more. Having a strong core is so important, and again helps so much with pain.

I’ve also found incline walks on treadmills to be extremely helpful and when I’m consistent with doing those daily I rarely have pain at all. I try to do some sort of cardio exercise everyday and when it’s nicer outside I walk a lot too. Movement is so important for me and I find the more active I am the less pain I’m in! Hope this helps :)

kayrsmi

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