goose70

I realize this is a pretty specific question that (hopefully) few of you have had to deal with. Six weeks ago I had two disks in my neck replaced with artificial disks. My arm had started to ache, then go numb, which is what alerted me to the problem and caused the surgery. I'm 52, been racing for twelve years, biking (mostly road) for 15. Range of motion and functionality in my arm and neck are supposed to return to normal -- or, preferably, better than normal -- eventually. I tried to train up before the surgery so that I was in reasonable shape going in. I then took a week off post-operation before gradually introducing workouts on the indoor Wahoo trainer. I'm now 6-weeks post-op and looking to start riding outside again (no racing for a year, surgeon said).

According to my subjective feel and my objective stats, I've sort of hit a wall and am regressing a bit in terms of bike performance after making good progress for the first several post-op weeks. The surgery-specific soreness in my neck and throat are pretty well gone, but my body just isn't responding well (heavy legs, HR not going down as quickly during rest intervals, etc.). I'm not alarmed; it's still early days and I realize I'm still recovering. But I'd appreciate hearing from any of you who've had this surgery or had a patient/client who went through it. My surgeon doesn't' bike, so I'm trying to get a feel from a real world standpoint on how recovery goes for cyclists, lessons learned, things you would or wouldn't do again.

Thanks.