Walking and light exercise are typically fine for most patients but you should talk about your specific restrictions with your neurosurgeon.Īfter the initial two week period, if the patient is recovering well, I advise them to slowly start back to their activities. This means no activities like yoga, golf, or skiing. Patients should also avoid bending, twisting, stretching or jumping as the electrodes that were placed during surgery and held in place with sutures are still healing. This will reduce their risk of infection. During this initial postoperative period, patients should not do anything that requires being submerged in water, like bathing, swimming, or sitting in a hot tub. I often tell my patients that the first two weeks after spinal cord stimulator surgery are the most restrictive as I want to ensure patients have time to properly heal. While there are no permanent restrictions for spinal cord stimulators, there are temporary restrictions after the procedure. I have many patients who were very limited in terms of what activities they could enjoy before getting their spinal cord stimulator and now they are more active–golfing, skiing, hiking–than they have been in years.
In fact, most patients who move forward with a spinal cord stimulator after a successful trial period have fewer limitations than prior to having the stimulator when they were experiencing uncontrolled pain. Getting a spinal cord stimulator does not carry any permanent restrictions. Patient Story: Life After Brain Tumor Read Story What is Inspire Surgery for Sleep Apnea?.Pseudotumor Cerebri (Pressure Around the Brain).Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF).