skymick 0 #1 July 8, 2003 Hey all, ive recently busted my back (crushed L1 vertabrae) and had 4 rods and screws put in plus a bone graft from my hip bone to fuse the vertabrae. While it is healing I have to wear a hyperextension type brace for up to 3 months (been 1 month so far). Ive been told ill be out of jumping from anywhere from 6 to 12 months (the rods come out in 9-12 months). I was wondering if there is anyone out there who has had a similar injury happen to them and if they can give me some details like how long there were out of the sport, future back problems they had etc Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingnut 0 #2 July 8, 2003 try pm'ing skybytch.. know she had a couple verts fused 2 years ago... i myself onlyhad part of a disc removed so i wouldn't be anyhelp.... i would sugest going very conservative in futue skydiving plans with canopy choice and such... one an injury is there is is easier to re injur it... ______________________________________ "i have no reader's digest version" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airtwardo 7 #3 July 8, 2003 Been there Done that! L1 through 5 fused... 4 rods...6 screws... (I'm the guy beeping at security in the airport) My doc told me skydiving is over at first... and I'm sure it's good advice for 'normal' people. But... WE'RE SKYDIVERS! By that I mean the Doc didn't really understand the sport in my opinion, and was playing on the side of caution. They told me I would be in the hospital 7 days, using a walker for 2 weeks, then a cane for up to 6 months... I walked out 3 days after surgery...unassisted... It was a challenge, but I knew I needed to get myself rehabbed ASAP. And as I'm sure you know..the pain after surgery was nothing compared to prior! I did a lot of walking at first, pushing myself to do more each day. I am a black belt and have always been flexible... I continued to do light stretching every day. It's your body...you know what you can do... But you HAVE to WORK at rehab...Get plenty of REST...NUTRITION... EXERCISE... I took 364 days off jumping, and honestly...was a bit worried when I made the first few. The nightmare of a stiff opening shock or hard landing, busting things up inside and being paralyzed as a result. It's been 7 years...no real problems. I'm big...6'4" and 230lbs. I jump big canopies...end of story! I went back to doing tandems for a while but quit as they put some factors of possible injury in another's hands. ...Could be argued, but I felt better just concerning myself with just me. I'm on a pro demo team...a belly flyer...still do some style & accuracy. I made just over 100 just last year. ( 3 kids = jump less time! ) The only real problem I ever had was a year ago... Riding a mountain bike, I pushed a screw head through the skin... (thought there was a lotta sweat going down my butt crack...nope, blood) Again...you will know what you are able to do and when...just work at getting strong. I have an old motorcycle buddy that had the same type of surgery 4 years ago... he sits on his couch smoking dope and drinking beer... bitching about how bad his life is cause of his 'weak' back. There's weakness all right...but it's not his back! GOOD LUCK! By the way...MY steel never came out... I look at it as " rough country " suspension! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymick 0 #4 July 9, 2003 Thanks for the info, ive been doing pretty much what you did...shitloads of walking, cant do much else till I get this brace off though . Good thing is right now over here its winter so im not missing out on much jumping but once summer comes up damn its gonna be depressing being stuck on the ground...oh well serves me right for fucking up i guess Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Eiley 0 #5 July 9, 2003 Quote...oh well serves me right for fucking up i guess Them accuracy comps shure do bite! In my 14 years attending the JB Acc comp, I don't think there has been a single one without at least one ambulance ride. Target fixation is baaaaad... mmmkay? That's why a few years ago the ambos pressured our DZ into donating a special scoop stretcher for lifting people who are out in paddocks! nothing to see here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites riggerrob 643 #6 July 9, 2003 You have my sympathy. Sixteen years ago I "only" herniated a disc, but it was a slow and painful recovery. All the drugs and physiotherapy were a waste of time. Since running and walking only further inflamed my weak disc, I had to give up on those two sports. Over one winter I swam religiously three times a week. Swimming helped with overall muscle tone and made a huge improvement in my morale. The second winter I took up aerobics. In the long run, the only thing that got me back on my feet was hundreds of hours of stretching and a million sit-ups. Since my injury I have done 3,000 skydives, including 2,400 tandems. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites gremlin 0 #7 July 10, 2003 i fractured T7 vertebra. Took a long time to heal. But the two biggest lessons it taught me were, 1. Do not rush the rehab, get all the physio you can and do what the dr tells you, rushing to get better will only slow you down when you over do it. 2. It is your body and you know what your limits are. Once your back is as good as it can be make sure you find out what those limits are. It is far too easy to sit back and moan but life is there if you want it enough.I'm drunk, you're drunk, lets go back to mine.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skymick 0 #8 July 11, 2003 Quote That's why a few years ago the ambos pressured our DZ into donating a special scoop stretcher for lifting people who are out in paddocks! Well with the lack of canopy control skills of some of the guys at the DZ I dont blame them! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites deadbrowncow 0 #9 July 21, 2003 Compressed T-10 through L-2 and shattered L-1. Had the cool and groovy Ninja Turtle shell body cast and all that cool stuff. The only ting I could say is don't rush it. Doc told me that I was lucky that I didnt get paralyzed and that I should forget about jumping. I couldnt believe the dude went to school for all those years and could say something so stupid. hahaha. Regardless, don't be in too much of a rush bro. Crawl, walk, run, swoop. It takes time but it will work out. As for what the future holds, its pretty much up to you. Take it easy and fly conservatively, and you probably have a good 10-20,000 jumps left in you. Try to get all crazy and rush the healing process and your ass could end up in a wheelchair. You make the choice. Now sit down, relax and watch some jumping videos!***"A smart person can act dumb, but a dumb person can't act smart"*** Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites ltdiver 3 #10 July 21, 2003 QuoteAll the drugs and physiotherapy were a waste of time. Guess you went to the wrong P.T.! We have a wonderful heated pool that my back patients use as part of their therapy. They all LOVE it and their rehab is very positive. ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites skymick 0 #11 July 21, 2003 Yeah my doc said the same thing at least but I kept telling him that wasnt an option until he relented and gave me 9-12 months I know I cant rush it back but right now my back feels great considering, there virtually no pain and only gets sore after sitting down for a while...I almost wish I was in a bit more pain so I wouldnt so bad being grounded. Thanks for the advice anyway Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Paste as plain text instead Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply 0
Eiley 0 #5 July 9, 2003 Quote...oh well serves me right for fucking up i guess Them accuracy comps shure do bite! In my 14 years attending the JB Acc comp, I don't think there has been a single one without at least one ambulance ride. Target fixation is baaaaad... mmmkay? That's why a few years ago the ambos pressured our DZ into donating a special scoop stretcher for lifting people who are out in paddocks! nothing to see here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #6 July 9, 2003 You have my sympathy. Sixteen years ago I "only" herniated a disc, but it was a slow and painful recovery. All the drugs and physiotherapy were a waste of time. Since running and walking only further inflamed my weak disc, I had to give up on those two sports. Over one winter I swam religiously three times a week. Swimming helped with overall muscle tone and made a huge improvement in my morale. The second winter I took up aerobics. In the long run, the only thing that got me back on my feet was hundreds of hours of stretching and a million sit-ups. Since my injury I have done 3,000 skydives, including 2,400 tandems. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gremlin 0 #7 July 10, 2003 i fractured T7 vertebra. Took a long time to heal. But the two biggest lessons it taught me were, 1. Do not rush the rehab, get all the physio you can and do what the dr tells you, rushing to get better will only slow you down when you over do it. 2. It is your body and you know what your limits are. Once your back is as good as it can be make sure you find out what those limits are. It is far too easy to sit back and moan but life is there if you want it enough.I'm drunk, you're drunk, lets go back to mine.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymick 0 #8 July 11, 2003 Quote That's why a few years ago the ambos pressured our DZ into donating a special scoop stretcher for lifting people who are out in paddocks! Well with the lack of canopy control skills of some of the guys at the DZ I dont blame them! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deadbrowncow 0 #9 July 21, 2003 Compressed T-10 through L-2 and shattered L-1. Had the cool and groovy Ninja Turtle shell body cast and all that cool stuff. The only ting I could say is don't rush it. Doc told me that I was lucky that I didnt get paralyzed and that I should forget about jumping. I couldnt believe the dude went to school for all those years and could say something so stupid. hahaha. Regardless, don't be in too much of a rush bro. Crawl, walk, run, swoop. It takes time but it will work out. As for what the future holds, its pretty much up to you. Take it easy and fly conservatively, and you probably have a good 10-20,000 jumps left in you. Try to get all crazy and rush the healing process and your ass could end up in a wheelchair. You make the choice. Now sit down, relax and watch some jumping videos!***"A smart person can act dumb, but a dumb person can't act smart"*** Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #10 July 21, 2003 QuoteAll the drugs and physiotherapy were a waste of time. Guess you went to the wrong P.T.! We have a wonderful heated pool that my back patients use as part of their therapy. They all LOVE it and their rehab is very positive. ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymick 0 #11 July 21, 2003 Yeah my doc said the same thing at least but I kept telling him that wasnt an option until he relented and gave me 9-12 months I know I cant rush it back but right now my back feels great considering, there virtually no pain and only gets sore after sitting down for a while...I almost wish I was in a bit more pain so I wouldnt so bad being grounded. Thanks for the advice anyway Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
