Anybody here has had compressed vertebrae injury?

Just seeing if by chance anybody has any advice or insight.

I managed to step off my 450 sumo couple weeks ago. (really stupid accident, btw. ) Besides scoring a mild concussion and some formidable road rash, my doctor just told me yesterday that I fractured my T7,T8,T9 and aggravated T10/T12 vertebrae, I'm paraphrasing here.

I'm not in whole lot of pain but picking up anything over a few pounds is definitely out of the question. I guess the two questions I have is a) As far as I understand the long term prognosis for this kind of injury is pretty good? B) Anything I can do to speed up the healing process? Exercises?? Things NOT to do? Since I work construction I was thinking of taking a couple of weeks off?

My main fear is this turning into some sort of life long back problem. Any advice is appreciated.

Needless to say my racing season is over.

 

I can't really give you any help for your questions, but I compressed and herniated two discs in my lower back when I was 17. I'm 23 now and I still have constant back pain and occasional sciatica down my left leg - consistently riding keeps my back and core strong enough to support my back which lessens the pain a lot.

Also, since I am so young I don't get any of the cool painkillers because they assume I am a drug seeker or some shit... even though I've had multiple MRIs.

 

compressed 2 and fractured 2 over 30 years ago[cant remember which ones]
if memory serves I took it easy for a few weeks is all[car/truck tech]
xray a few years ago showed it all healed up good
of course results may vary

 

i had part of my L5 S1 disk removed after screwing it up. once you injure your back, it will be a life long problem. hit up a physiotherepist!! stay away from a chiropractor, and if you can, get an MRI done so a Doc can see any soft tissue damage. an xray wont show any disk injuries.

 

DO the physical therapy.. i broke my C6/C7 2 years ago and have pretty moderate pain every single day still..i skipped out on 4 weeks of PT bc i didnt have the time to do it

 

Sorry to hear that Matt. Page me if you need anything

 

I compressed two vertebrae in a wreck when I was 18. Joined the service and went through boot camp 9 months later (lied on the medical questionairre). Hurt like hell but I made it. Thirty years later there have been no long term problems whatsoever. Take it real easy for a few weeks and I'll bet you will be fine.

 

Got a Teeter inversion table in today. Will find out if inverting helps relieve years of spine injuries from working out.... 51 now.

 

Katie's right, do the PT as instructed. I fractured a few in the past MXing (among tons of other injuries), take the proper time to heal...esp if your in construction!

 

I cracked t7 in my 1998 crash, only aches after picking up too many bikes.

 

broke my C1 in 2007, well more like shattered it due to compression

this was in a car accident


i was messed up for a good 4 months and stuck in a very restrictive neck brace for this time then didnt regain my full range of motion and strength in my neck for another 3 months afterwards

do not skip out on PT

injuries to your neck and back are serious and can affect you for the rest of your life.....why on earth anyone skips PT or other helpful things for an injury like that amazes me but to each their own

my neck bothers me nearly every single day but feels better the more active I am

take time off, let it heal properly or you will be regretting it later in life

 

:up:

 

I had one, well still have it, in 1993. I went to a specialist that said the only cure was fusing my spine at the spot. I play hockey, and this would mean no more hockey for the rest of my life. I got a second opinion, and after he told me what a butcher the other doc was, he scheduled me for 3 cortisone epidurals. I've been fine ever since. I don't even want to imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn't seen the second doc.

 

I fractured T2,T3,T4,T6,T8,T9 and crushed T10 in an accident last year. I am 3/4 of an inch shorter from all of said injuries. From what you have said it does not seem to be the extent of what I went through. Pretty much bending over or leaning to pick anything up with any kind of weight causes/caused pain and discomfort. I have been to physical therapy twice since the accident and still have constant pain. I was told to keep doing stretches and exercises to keep the muscles from tightening up as well as strength training. I also tore a lot of muscle that attaches to the vertebrae so my back will have problems for the the rest of my wonderful life.

If you can, definitely go to physical therapy. It did help a lot with finding out which muscles were weakened after my accident and what I can do to help.

 

I have the same problem and found that the upside down tables (inversion tables) work well if you can use them often. I am in the military and live away from my house alot but use it everytime I come home. Other then that get a strew and suck it up becasue you are going to be in pain for a while. Good luck

 

I crushed my L5 after a stupid moment on my R6 about 6 years ago now. I had it checked out at the Cleveland Clinic, and the doctor said that since I didn't have any disk damage it would completely heal. I have grown back about 1" of the 1.5" that I lost, and currently only have occasional pain when I over do it. He also told me that while he would have told me the same thing, ignoring the adivce of the first hospital to take it easy and not lift anything probably stimulated bone growth earlier.

I guess it comes down to whether you have disk damage or not. If you do, then it sounds like you have a long painful road ahead of you. If you managed to escape disk damage, you could be back to normal in a few months. I think the key is to find a good neurosurgeon that specializes in the area of the spine that you damaged to go see.

As far as your racing season is concerned, you never know. I was back racing a couple months after my injury.

 

Compression fracture T10, 20 years ago. Dr told me to walk all I could, the more I walked the better I would feel. He was right. This was before orthopaedic surgeons had their own therapy units, so I expect the treatment would be different today. I would say I was 90% better within 8 months, but the skin on the right side of my back was numb for a couple of years.

Good luck with your recovery.

 

Damn, Its been a little over a year since my accident and I'm waiting on the feeling to come back. Granted it took you a couple of years, at least you got the feeling back, and that's what I'm hoping for myself.

 

You need to give the vertebrae time to heal, bone will take at least 8 weeks to heel before you can think about stressing it. Compression fractures are stable so it is a safe fracture, you just need to take it easy and give it time to work its natural healing course.

 

ditto what the dude said about disc vs. bone. if you just fractured bone and the discs are fine then you will be fine. I have a bulging L4-L5 disc and pretty much have at least SOME pain in my back 24/7. sometimes i get the tingling down my leg. some days i feel awesome (relatively speaking). often, there's no real reason I can see for why I do well somedays and not others. What I HAVE noticed is that the position you sleep in and the quality of your mattress can make a huge difference! i suggest sleeping on your back with a pillow under your knees. if you can sleep the whole night in that position you will feel like a million bux in the morning.