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Edited Date/Time
3/8/2016 12:14am
The day before Thanksgiving last year I crashed on my mountain bike and ended up having to get my C5-C6-C7 vertebrae fused. At the moment after the crash I was paralyzed from my neck down and after about ten minutes I was able to start moving everything except I had massive tingling in my forearm and hands.
I am now 3 months post OP and I have most of my strength back in my hands (everything else is fine) but I still have tingling in my hands which I was told may or may not ever go away. But the fusion is healing like it should,
All I can think about is getting back on my dirt bike and going for a ride. My surgeon told me that I fall and hit my head a certain way it could be bad because with the fusion the other vertebrae in that area will have to soak up more of the shock.
As with many people here riding my bike is the thing I enjoy most in my life and now I am not sure if I should give it up?
Has anyone here had the same surgery and still ride?
I am now 3 months post OP and I have most of my strength back in my hands (everything else is fine) but I still have tingling in my hands which I was told may or may not ever go away. But the fusion is healing like it should,
All I can think about is getting back on my dirt bike and going for a ride. My surgeon told me that I fall and hit my head a certain way it could be bad because with the fusion the other vertebrae in that area will have to soak up more of the shock.
As with many people here riding my bike is the thing I enjoy most in my life and now I am not sure if I should give it up?
Has anyone here had the same surgery and still ride?
The Shop
Just out of curiosity, what are the details on your crash?
The injury was from a motocross accident.
Yes, I still ride. Took 3 years off during college and eased back in with off-road riding, however that turned into hare scramble racing within a year of being back on a bike. Now I ride MX tracks and dual sport as well.
Doctor told me to take up sailing after my injury.
My neck/right shoulder are pretty much locked up this morning and I cant move my head without serious pain. In an hour or so I will be seeing my local GP who (hopefully) will steer me in the right direction. I'm 45yrs old and have had roughly 25 years riding/ racing behind me. I have a gut feeling something is really screwed up in my upper back / neck area. I can feel / hear grinding when I move my head.
How did you initially find out about your condition?
PS. I have had three serious dislocations of the right shoulder and on two occasions went in head and shoulder first.
Yes, like anything else, there are good, average and bad chiros. If you don't know of one you will need to put in the work to find a good one. (Trust me, a good one is worth their weight in gold.) They are basically your only alternative to an orthopedic surgeon ... who can only offer drugs and surgery. Save that as a last option as you can't go back.
The philosophy mentioned above. A life lived in fear is a life half lived.
I did stop racing but I have been riding like this since 2011 with no "major" problems yet. But you are going to be sore a lot more.
No operation but the tingling was bad. When I looked down it was like a cattle prod was stuck in my back,made my hands open and I would jerk just like you would when shocked.
Was working in my barn loft and stood ramming my head straight into a joist. Noticed a few days later the shock and tingling were gone,guess I lined myself back up.
Started racing again 3 yrs later I think,maybe 2,can't remember dates well.
Had a massive crash,just like the one that broke me neck but got up just like the dozens of others.
I know I'd race again if i was you,but that is me.
I do know I will never MTB at night again, especially on trails I don't know.
Thanks for all the replies.
Pit Row
If riding your mx bike makes your spine deteriorate(deterate) faster then I would consider that. You'll end up spending years 50-80 in chronic pain...maybe...maybe not?
I have no issues other than a little periodic numbness in my left leg that is probably due to some permanent nerve damage.
For me, the answer was easy: Avoid things that will lay me up sooner than if I did not do those things. I now ride road bicycles a lot.
As my doc told me..."Pick the hill you want to die on."
Anyway, I ride all the time. I do have weakness in my right arm that was due to my car crash, so my grip strength isn't all there. I wear a Leatt. My fusion was done in '07. I have another friend who rides with a neck fusion also. Don't give up riding.
Post a reply to: Looking for advice - just had C5-C6-C7 vertebrae fusion should I ride anymore?