Broken back. Am I done?

If you need good advice give me a call. My Pops is a pain specialist and has a very good group of neurosurgeons that work with him. Back surgery is serious business and a few opinions never hurt. He still jumps the big doubles so he's knows where you are coming from. Good Luck, Todd

two years ago this march I did a human lawn dart imitation and crushed T5 T6 and broke a rib or two. NEVER felt any pain like that before! thought maybe I just broke some ribs I elected to ride back to camp. got a ride to an ER and waited for a few hours to get Xrayed.
told them my back really hurts.
X ray guys says looks like you aggravated an old spinal injury, said I never had a spinal injury. sends me across town to get an MRI.
Come back in to ER (i have been up and walking from room to room)and all hell brakes loose, they received the MRI electronically and the staff was asking the Xray guy how I was allowed to just walk around when I had completely crushed T5 & 6
I was strapped down and shot full of morphine.
two days and several debates over surgery later I was allowed to go home. Had to wear turtle shell brace. Kept myself as busy as I could to minimize my intake of pain killers. Now finally I can sleep for a full night, Pain level is improving at a very satisfactory rate.
strongest drug i have taken for the last year and a half is Motrin.
other than losing 11/2 inches of height I can say I am a very lucky guy.
Moral of the story-
a poor MRI beats a poor Xray every time. insist on an MRI if you have hurt your back.
If you hurt your back , be a puss and don't walk,ride,run until you get checked out The chances of further SC injury are very high after breaking vertebrae.
Get off the pain killers ASAP, when you are medicated you really cant tell when you are overloading the discs. this causes more pain and the need for more medication.
Spine decompression I think will do wonders for 24-48 hours of pain relief.
One of the best therapy's for a broken back is walking.

Just saw ortho doc two weeks ago. I have had herniated L5/S1 and bulging L4/S2 for about 20 yrs.
I can no longer have MRI's due to wearing battery powered defib/pacemaker.
Discogram's give you tremendous headaches and are not worth the trouble. Did that; boy real misery.
Done many epidurals; the best result came when doc used X-ray machine to pinpoint the damaged area needing the most relief from the inflamation/herniation. It worked somewhat better that the locating the area with gloved fingers. I could feel the medication hit the spot since everytime the doc pushed in the needle, pain down the left leg.
I have resisted total fusions due to the fact that at least half dozen others got relief initially, then scar tissue buildup occurs, mimicing the shooting pains down legs, pins, needles, scolding hot water feelings. And none of the 3 so called specialist could give me a better than a 50/50 result; for a 5+ hour operation. And all the half dozen I run into regret ever doing this.
I am glad for those that it had worked and obviously had some really good surgeons.
I look at back surgeries as so common that many so called specialist do so many each year; like rushing to fix your bike and not really knowing if it was fixed right.

And you also mentioned a fracture/deterioration of a back bone I believe. Possibly research a dissectomy of the herniation and fix the bone area that's of concern since you're still a really young man.

Asked my ortho doc about the status of replacement discs; he mentioned a metal based replacement that has been used instead of doing bone graft from hip and the additional hardware. I asked about the trials the National News has shown regarding a replacement disc made out of a rubbery like substance and he said that hasn't progressed as well as initially hoped.
He also mentioned possibilites of cadaver discs, like cadaver ligaments used in knees.

Be as pro-active as possible by doing research on the web and having a second opinion if insurance allow you to do so or if you have the resources to do so yourself.

Wish you the best and I hope you get better and are able to ride for however as long as you want. Good Luck.

My micro-diskectomy was the last resort for me also but when I could see the disk impinging on my spinal cord on the MRI films and the Dr. telling me that the pain was going away b/c the nerves were dying I scheduled it ASAP. I still have numbness in the back of my leg like some one covered it with saran wrap but most of the nerves "reconnected" when he removed the disk. The lower the surgury the better the results, even after a sucessfull surgury I still don't know if I would let someone mess around much higher.

[quote="Flmxer":1wwphkxb]2 months ago I pulled some thing in my lower back and leg moving some furniture and soon the pain eased in my back but seemed to get worse in my leg. I was well enough to pop a few mild painkillers and golf one day in mild pain. A few days later my friend and I received these Helmet cams that we had been waiting forever for. I was not sure I was going to be able to ride with my leg pain but went anyway and actually loosened up quickly and was on pace. Well my bike broke on the largest jump on track and I cased it hard, bucking me onto my head and I laid there unable to move for a few seconds and then got helped to my feet. I honestly thought I was paralysed for a moment and then it all came back. I helped load the trailer and was really sore the next day and then worse the next and so on. I went to doctor and I requested MRI and x rays but he said x rays only and said I had a Hemi/pelvic sprain and possible dislocation. He sends me home with painkillers and a trip to therapy 3 times for 3 weeks . They stopped therapy because I was getting a lot worse and they were concerned. Well the pain is now worse than when I had shattered my feet and I went for MRI's. Turns out I have 2 bulging disks, 2 annular tears and my L3 has a horizontal crack all the way across along with lots of degeneration. The therapy was hurting me worse and my Ortho called me late from his home on a Saturday night to tell me no more therapy after he reviewed MRI and seemed worried. Very odd. Epidural and Cort. injections to come then surgery. The weird thing is I have very little pain in back but my left leg is killing me and is worse than anything I have felt and I have been through lots of injuries over the years. I can not stand or sit especially in a car only lie flat but for the first 2 weeks I could. Anyone have any experience with this scenario? I am 34 and am riding so well these days and planned on riding till the end of days. I was misdiagnosed at the start and hurt worse during physical therapy most likely.[/quote:1wwphkxb]


sounds like your bulging disc is possibly pinching your sciatic nerve, mine (L5-S1) is, the back of my leg burns all the time. When i sit of course it makes it even worse. I even had endoscopic surgery to cut the bulging disc portion off, but still never relieved the pain totally.

[quote="dirtbikeguy":gvubn8p1][quote="uptite":gvubn8p1]
Another thing, it sounds like voodoo medicine but yoga does wonders for a bad back. It stregthens the midsection and the muscles around the spine.
[/quote:gvubn8p1]

+1

It has helped me immensely. Laying around and "babying" your back just makes it ache more. Strengthening and stretching is where it's at.


And a question...

Does anyone out there know anyone with an artificial disc, that is still riding?[/quote:gvubn8p1]

Actually the ortho who did my neck several years ago, and a guy that I trust with my life (literally) did the first artificial disc here in San Antonio and was one of the original researchers. I know when my neck was done, he mentioned that he wished he had an artificial disc solution to offer me. The recovery time for the artificial disc is considerably less than fusion and if you are going to take a surgical route, definitely look into the artificial disc. It has gotten some bad pub lately, but I believe that if there is an issue with the artificial disc, then fusion is still an option.

And guess what, 4 years after my neck was done, the same doc did an artificial cervical disc - timing is everything, recovery for my neck was close to a year, artificial disc is less than six weeks.

in 1969 i injured my back in vietnam while running for a bunker during a rocket attack. the docs said there was nothing they could do for me. eventually most of the pain went away. sometimes it would come back. i went to the VA when i got discharged in 1970. they said come back in about 20 years. i started racing in 1974. sometimes racing would cause it to flare up, sometimes just stepping off a curb wrong, once while waxing my van. i went to chiropractors for 12 years and that helped. sometimes i would just get drunk or self medicate in other ways. then a guy i worked with recommended accupuncture. that worked really well for about 6 years. then in january 1988, i was walking down the flight line where i worked and i couldn't feel my feet. my wife took me to the emergency room and i had an MRI and a spinal tap done. they said surgery was needed now, since i had two herniated discs and degenerative disc disease. i could have had a laminectomy, where they just trim the bulging discs, but they said i would be back in five years to have a fusion done. i took the fusion, L4 and L5. i was in the hospital for 10 days and went home with a back brace that i wore for three months, off work for six. i celebrated my 40th birthday in the hospital on january 13, 1988. in june i was water skiing, in september i was racing motocross again. my doctor said no bull riding, but motocross was okay. i have never regretted having the surgery. Dr. Beckley from Ft. Worth Bone and Joint did the work. i've continued to race and playride ever since. every back injury is different and you should learn as much as you can before you make a decision. i just turned 60 in january and i'm still riding. look for me at glen helen in november at the vet world championship. i'll be the one with a big smile on my face, under the big moustache of course.

dirtbikemike #757

[quote="Flmxer":fqdomncp]

Well my bike broke on the largest jump on track and I cased it hard
[/quote:fqdomncp]

What broke on your bike? A bog on launch or are you saying you just came up a little short ?




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BTW - Nice air ... but if God had wanted man to fly ...

Heal up soon.

Oh yeah, make sure your insurance will cover anything you decide to undergo [u:fqdomncp]BEFORE[/u:fqdomncp] you undergo it.

Most importantly...Can you still Fish ?!

I'd take Todd up on his offer since his dad is a doc and knows moto.

I don't know if any of you are in CA, but I have a Doctor in Murrieta that is fantastic. His name is Dr. Phil Convertino, he is listed or you can PM me and I will give you his number. I would travel anywhere in the States to see him. I have been going to him for over 20 years. He has worked on Mike Metzger, Josh Hansen, The Bostrom brothers among others. He is legally called a Chiropractor but he's not, he doesn't crack or pop you, he uses his thumbs and presses on your pressure points, kind of like thumb acupuncture. Last July I moved and like a dipshit I fell off the ladder, I didn't hurt myself too bad (I thought) and seemed ok. Well I got progressively worse. I had the bulging disc, pinched sciatica (pain 24 hours a day for 3 months plus), I had also disclocated 10 of my ribs. I couldn't walk, if I had to maybe 15 feet then have to stop, catch my breath, then walk another 15 feet, stop again, sitting wasn't bad but standing straight up killed me. I should have just gone to him off the bat but I kept thinking it would go away. I went to a regular doctor and all he did was prescribe muscle relaxers and all that did was make me drool for a few hours until I passed out, but when I woke up I was back in pain.

So I drove the hour drive and after the first treatment, i was 50% better, waited 2 weeks went back for treatment 2, I was fixed, no pain, he could see on my left foot (pinched nerve side) that I had been dragging it when I walked and he was afraid I might have damaged it beyond repair. You know how when they take the little rubber hammer and hit your knee for reflexes ? Well they can do the same thing on the back of your foot above your heel, the achilles area, my right foot would pop, my left foot was dead, wouldn't even flinch. I have full movement and pop back to it after 3 treatments total. Now I am going to him once a month for preventative maintenance. I never want to feel that pain again, serious I considered amputation of my left leg if I would have had to have that pain the rest of my life, and 3 months was too long as it was.

Phil knows MX, he also trained Jeff Spencer (Johnny O's trainer, really trained all of Honda in the 80's) and Jeff still works in the MX industry. My mom was in a street bike accident when she was 18, screwed up her back and was told in her 40's that she needed to have her back fused, Phil has been working on her foe 20+ years as well and she is in her 60's no pain and she gardens etc very athletic and active. My dad was one of those people that had migraines, bad, the kind that made you puke even eating broth, and forget about light. He went to Phil 2 times and never has had a migraine in 15+ years.

Phil is amazing, he can fix you, even if the prognosis is not good, I highly reccomend him and if you are in pain he will make it go away.

S