What is the recovery or down time from lumbar surgery?
The hospital stay is anywhere from overnight to 2 or 3 days. Depending upon the type of surgery recommended your recovery time will vary anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks to 12 weeks for bone healing (fusion type of procedure). You should not stay in bed for that length of time; you should be up and moving. Most patient are able to do most normal activities of daily living (such as driving, grocery shopping, etc.) within the first couple of weeks. However, we recommend that you avoid heavy lifting, bending and twisting activities. Depending upon your job requirements, recovery for a fusion type surgery may require that you be off work for several months. If your employer provides light duty work that does not require heavy lifting you may be able to go back to work in a few weeks.
