After 7 years of daily back pain, I've finally had my two smashed discs (L4-L5 & L5-S1) replaced with the ActivL artificial disc. The surgery was one week ago today. I'm on pain drugs and looking forward to the future. I've signed up for NASM's CPT course.
I decided on this surgery after talking to a Hollywood stunt woman whose career was ended due to herniated, desiccated lumbar discs and then revived after getting artificial disc replacement (ADR) surgery. After doing some research, I decided on the ActivL disc (there are several brands) because I found a video of a guy who had the surgery a year earlier doing powercleans with 135 lbs. Now, 135 lbs isn't a great amount of weight but considering the guy couldn't lift a gallon of milk to chest height prior to the surgery, I'd say it's a fantastic improvement.
I don't know exactly what the future holds for me but I hope I'm going to be able to compete in raw, natural powerlifting one day. The ActivL can handle over 1,650 lbs. I'm sure I'll never be able to squat or deadlift anywhere close to even half that amount, but I'd like to compete nonetheless.
As I mentioned before, I'm on drugs right now. I'm going to post this even though I'm not 100% sure it's going to make a whole lot of sense.
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Results 1 to 6 of 6
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12-30-2019, 05:23 AM #1Registered User
- Join Date: Sep 2019
- Age: 54
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Artificial disc replacement surgery: what do you know about it? Have you had it?
Former & future certified trainer
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12-31-2019, 06:10 PM #2Registered User
- Join Date: Sep 2013
- Age: 57
- Posts: 157
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Me too
3 bad discs in neck. Did 26 physical therapy sessions, no relief. Then 5 rounds of cortisone epidural injections, no help. Next is to attempt to burn the nerves. Then surgery.
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12-31-2019, 06:16 PM #3Registered User
- Join Date: Mar 2017
- Location: United States
- Age: 64
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20 years ago I had one in my neck replaced (but they actually cut a piece of bone from my hip for the disc replacement.) Best thing I ever let a doc do to me. Was back in the gym in 2 months and lifting "normal" in well under a year. Took a little longer than that for nerve damage in arm and chest to recover.
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12-31-2019, 06:30 PM #4anonymousGuest
Damn,you guys are a lot braver than me. My l5 is destroyed but I don't believe the replacements are ready for prime time yet.
Good luck and stay safe
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01-08-2020, 10:53 AM #5Registered User
- Join Date: Sep 2019
- Age: 54
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It's not experimental surgery. Disc replacement has been done since the early 1980s. Those earliest models (the Charité and the ProDisc) weren't ready for primetime, but the ones they've made since then certainly are. During my research leading up to making a decision, I talked to several people who had the procedure done 20+ years ago and they've had no problems at all. The failure rate for modern artificial discs is far lower than the failure rate for fusion surgery.Originally Posted by Halfway
In fact, my insurance company was only willing to pay for one level so the surgeon came back to me said they he wanted to fuse the L5-S1 and replace the disc in the L4-L5 and I said "Nope. No way. No fusion." I was perfectly willing to forego surgery altogether and just suffer but after some back-and-forth, I ended up paying for the second one out-of-pocket.Last edited by SmithJLee; 01-23-2020 at 01:52 PM.
Former & future certified trainer
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03-17-2024, 02:52 AM #6Registered User
- Join Date: Mar 2024
- Age: 54
- Posts: 1
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About to have L5/S1 ActivL replacement
Originally Posted by SmithJLee
SmithJLee, how has the recovery been since 2019? Have you been able to return to full functionality with exercise and mobility? Have there been any issues with your body accepting a foreign object or other unusual symptoms or weather/season based symptoms? How long was your recovery before you could return to work?
I'm about to have mine done and glad I found this forum. Any feedback will be much appreciated
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