broke my back, help...........

[BIG AUT]

i will start out by giving a little back graound. i first hurt my babck in 2001 in the military. at jump school me and another jumper got tangled up and we free fell from about 85 feet. i landed on my head breaking my L5 lumbar. it was just a slight fracture but a break none the less.

anyways three weeks ago squatting, on my last set i could not stand up. my lower back hurt like hell. went to the chiropractor and got xrayed. only to find out that now i broke the same L5 lumbar in three places. i got a second opinion from my regular doc, and they both recomend a possible surgurey.

has any one here had this kind of injury and made it through with out going under the knife?? i have not worked out in the last three weeks and am getting very depressed. anyones input or thoughts would be greatly apreciated.

 

[jrs]

for what it's worth, louis simmons (owner of westside barbell) broke his back in 8 places i believe and rehabbed himself to squat over a grand years later.

go to elitefts.com for a lot of good information

 

[BIG AUT]

thanks jrs...

i really am looking for personal accounts. some who has had this happen to them specificly and made it back.

 

[STEEDA69]

I was in an auto accident back in 2001 and the result was 2 herniated cervical vertebrae and a compression (wedge) fracture of T10. On X-ray, my T10 Vertebrae looks like... well... the best way to describe it is to imagine an empty soda can standing up-right on the ground and then someone stomping on it, crushing one side significantly more than the other. This injury CAN be one of the worst because now, the entire curvature of my spine has been altered.

At the time, I was in excruciating pain and was prescribed pain meds of course, problem was, I was allergic to most of them so that was an ordeal in of itself! I was given basically the same prognosis by 5 different Orthopedic surgeons and many, many primary care physicians! Their assessment was, IF you can manage the pain through meds, go that route! IF the pain is still too unbearable, opt for surgery but is was of their opinion to resort to surgery ONLY as a last resort due to the nature of the injury AND where it is located!

That's the basic synopsis of my injury, if anyone wants to know more they can PM me! By the way, I had to lay of the weights for 3 years and I was told I would NEVER squat again. I just started squatting last year and although I will never squat what I used to, I can squat comfortably with 365 lbs and instead of increasing the weight I just use higher reps and my legs are fine! I DO not deadlift because hyper-extending my back is virtually impossible due to the injury. However, I can still do stiff legged dead-lifts and good mornings with light and moderate weight!

Hope this helps some!



STEEDA~

 

[BIG AUT]

yeah steeda that is good news. of course not that you had to deal with that kind of an injury, but you did make it through, and are able to work out again.

thanks for sharing and best of luck to you..

 

[STEEDA69]

Yep, no problem! Just be sure to get multiple opinions AND my best advice is, BE PATIENT! It's hard but IF you rehab properly (physical therapy etc), it is possible for you to regain most of your range of motion!



STEEDA~

 

[Sassy]

I haven't broken my back, but I broke my neck. Does that count? C5 & C6 in my neck. The disk was crushed and they took a piece of my hip bone to replace it and fused C5 & C6 together. That was 24 years ago, and I haven't had any problems since.

It's a very personal decision, because any kind of back or neck surgery is difficult. The keys to success are a very good surgeon and your dedication to rehab. My ex-husband had back surgery too and was still have back problems. He would not step foot in a gym, so he never had any type of rehab.

I had a workout partner once with the same back injury as my ex. He didn't want to have surgery, but he continued to workout. He said that keeps him from having surgery. He would re-injure it at times and have to take time off from the gym, but he avoided surgery every time.

I've been working and weight training for 20 years, and I find that as long as I am working out my back doesn't bother me. When I take too much time off, my lower back start hurting.

I here to tell you that as far as any kind of surgery goes... your recover is all up to you!!! Before you do anything, be sure and get a good doctor that you can trust.

 

[BIG AUT]

sassy thanks. and you are right the more time i take off the worse the pain gets in my back. it seems like the weaker the muscle gets the more pain i have. it makes sense that the muscle is all that is holding that joint together. i have read that on of the pros (sorry can not remember his name) had the same injury as me and he continues to put on weight and looks great. he just doesn't do the excerises that put pressure on his lower back ie.. squats and deads, and shoulder press. so this gives me some ray of hope. i mean i was making great progress (for me anyways). i had goten up to 230lbs over christmas at 14%, and i am only 5'11.

anyways thatnks again for sharing guys, this is really helping my attitude.

 

[MAINEVENT]

There is a couple different ways to go here but if you want to stay the conservative route.......as long as the bone is not compressing the nerves or causing spinal stenosis I could see where it would just take time to heal. Now if there is ANY displacement what-so-ever then that is a different story.

What area are you from? I know of a great surgeon in Pittsburg who deals alot with athletes/pro's/etc. that tries to go the conservative route as much as possible.

 

[BIG AUT]

there in lyes the problem main. i have no insurance at the presen time. my wife and i are both in the process of getting it at our jobs, and the only place i can be seen is at the Vetrans Hospital here in town. which is a frigging joke, and any military here can tell you how "WELL" the VA system works for vetrans.

and sorry main i live down south.

also yes there is a big problem with the L5 and my pelvic bone. they are both bone on bone now and pitching that bundle of nerves there. luckily the spinal cord stops at the L2 lumbar so there is not really that much pottential for parallisis. though my nerves in my leggs are making me weak.

 

[MAINEVENT]

there in lyes the problem main. i have no insurance at the presen time. my wife and i are both in the process of getting it at our jobs, and the only place i can be seen is at the Vetrans Hospital here in town. which is a frigging joke, and any military here can tell you how "WELL" the VA system works for vetrans.

and sorry main i live down south.

also yes there is a big problem with the L5 and my pelvic bone. they are both bone on bone now and pitching that bundle of nerves there. luckily the spinal cord stops at the L2 lumbar so there is not really that much pottential for parallisis. though my nerves in my leggs are making me weak.

Did they do an MRI yet? Obviously what your having is sciatica (pinched nerves) which you probably know already. Your right about the spinal cord at L2 stopping (compression of that is called Cauda Equina Syndrome).....not good. But still over a period of time there could be damage to the sciatic nerve if not treated properly within a time frame.

Your in a tough situation....you cant get adjusted, you shouldn't do traction or decompression in my opinon due to the fracture. At this point I think water therapy would be good along with a course of prednisone and ALOT of icing if your not already doing that.

 

[BIG AUT]

will have another MRI done some time this month. but yes i have heard all the above. i am getting adjusted and that seems to be one of the only things that helps aleaveate the pressure on my back. no traction and no decompression, i have a wonderful doc. he works out at the gym i work at and sees me free of charge, ( awesome guy). but at this time all i am doing is taking the pain meds and getting adjusted. i have a consult with a ortho surgueon some time in the coming weeks at the VA hospital, but still dont know the date yet. damn VA!!! you would think vetrans would have better teatment than we get, but hey its still almost free.

now my chiroprator does not adjust any lower that L3 but that still helps with the pressure. this just sucks i have lost so much weight, cant eat anymore, cant work out, cant play with my girls like i want, or be with my wife like i would want. fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sassy]

Your welcome.

Oh... you could PM Everlast. He's got back problems as well. He can help you out with some of his tips on how he keeps his back in shape. I think he has degenerated disks. He also works out to avoid surgery.

 

[MAINEVENT]

for what it's worth, louis simmons (owner of westside barbell) broke his back in 8 places i believe and rehabbed himself to squat over a grand years later.

go to elitefts.com for a lot of good information

Louie is a big advocate of reverse hypers AND deca...lol. The machine he created is quite awesome for strengthing the lower back and surrounding muscles.

 

[BIG AUT]

well i tried to get of these fucking pain pills.... that sucks, but shit now it hurts so bad i can't do anything. i was wanting to get off of them and try and get back on my diet and do some light lifting and stretching. but shit now i don't know i may be screwed here guys.

some one please tell me to quite being a puss and just nut up and work out!

 

[wakejump4me]

it's good to hear that some people can recover,such injuries, without surgery . it always depends how severe the pain is . personally , if my pain starts to make me miserable and even effects my family, due to my mood swings,then i am definitely not waiting too much longer until action is being taken . if surgery is the best option to get rid of the pain and also help me to get back to do what i love to do , then surgery it is .

wake

 

[tobefitt]

I am 6 months post surgery L4-L5 fusion with screw fixation. I rehabed myself for the last 10 years avoiding surgery. But I was not able to take the needed time off from the gym therefore making it worse, which forced me to have surgery. I have had a difficult recovery to this point, but it is getting better. First thing you need to do is get off the pain pills, or you will be dealing with a whole different issue down the road. Water therapy has been very helpful, and a lot of painful therapy. My opinion surgery as LAST resort. I hope you find some relief very soon, good luck!!

 

[econstruction]

Thats horrible! You guys have been through some tough issues. I just twisted while jumping to my feet at work 5 years ago and it was like being hit by lightning dead center of my lower back. Couldn't move much less stand, laid there for 4 hours, I have never known pain like that.
Humbles you real quick.

 

[BIG AUT]

I am 6 months post surgery L4-L5 fusion with screw fixation. I rehabed myself for the last 10 years avoiding surgery. But I was not able to take the needed time off from the gym therefore making it worse, which forced me to have surgery. I have had a difficult recovery to this point, but it is getting better. First thing you need to do is get off the pain pills, or you will be dealing with a whole different issue down the road. Water therapy has been very helpful, and a lot of painful therapy. My opinion surgery as LAST resort. I hope you find some relief very soon, good luck!!

so tobefitt, you still worked out for 10 years, is that right? and how long were you down after your surgery?

And man i tried to get off these damn pills, but the pain after the third say was damn near too much. but i know what you mean, and i will be careful.

the idea about the pool is awesome, love to swim.

 

[wakejump4me]

do you stretch , at all ?


wake