Cycling after back surgery

As cyclists we all have back niggles at some point but when they go beyond just a niggle into something serious, then there isn't a lot of good advice. I've recently spent a lot of time looking for information about getting back to cycling after back surgery, both on and off the forum, and ended up with not much to be honest.

I found most of the information out there falls into one of two categories; 1) very cursory information; as in "your doctor will advise you on how best to....." or 2) incomplete information; forum discussions or blogs that die out. It's intensely frustrating looking for specific information and only finding medical platitudes, 4 year old threads from various fora, and really rubbish blogs.

I can complain or I can do something. So I'm doing something.

This thread then is my attempt to change that by documenting my own experience with back surgery and trying to get back into cycling. I would hope that it would encourage others to discuss their own experiences and give a platform for people with questions who may be facing surgery. There are lots of people on the forum with back issues and lots of medically trained members, physios, massage therapists, etc who would be able to contribute as well.

This thread assumes some knowledge of back physiology and terminology - Google is your best bet if you get lost.

Here then is my experience of cycling, Spondylolisthesis and Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF) surgery and some of the things I've learned along the way.

Background

I was diagnosed as having spondylolisthesis about 15 years ago after a prolonged period of sitting awkwardly caused me to temporarily lose all sensation below the waist. My Spondylolisthesis was diagnosed of the isthmic variety on my L5 (lowest lumbar) which has slid forward on the S1 (sacrum). At the time I was a casual mountain biker and told to stop riding by the chiropractor who diagnosed me. A visit with a very pro-surgery surgeon to discuss options ended up as a discussion all about surgery, when pressed hard he gave me some alternatives to consider. I chose the alternative (physio therapy - core strengthening - weight loss) rather than the surgery.

8 Years later after some back problems I went for an MRI scan to see if the condition had changed. I wanted to be sure that I had not progressed beyond Grade 1 Spondylolisthesis. The verdict of the scan was that I had put on weight which was aggravating my back and I needed to be exercising.

Doc: "Running is out of the question so cycling would be a good option for you to get back into shape. Just go easy at first."
Me: "But I was told years ago by my chiropractor that I couldn't; too hard on the back"
Doc: "Bollocks. You'll be fine."

So, after much swearing and cursing of my old chiropractor, I did.

What I learned was;

1) Always get a second opinion: My chiropractor was wrong about stopping riding, I could have kept riding at the time and a second opinion would have confirmed that. Gah!
2) Always ask for alternatives: Surgeons are going to push for surgery, there are always alternatives but you need to understand your complete range of options and associated risks