BROKEN BACK

[YZ 250 RIDER]

Does anyone know how long it should take to heal a broken back? I broke my t5 56 and t7 vertabrae on April 7 and am still recovering, am going to the chiropractor and therapy it seems to help I guess I was just hoping to ride sooner than I am going to for the summer . The therapist says 1 to 2 years for sure I will not be getting back on the bike, and the chiropractor says by august. Any replys would be appreciated.

[char393]

Welcome to ATM.

Hopefully MotoMan and Keetoman will chime in on this as I believe both have had similar injuries.

[UnsafeHaven]

Well you are in luck. I also broke my t5, t6, and t7 (i think, it has been a little while) I broke it on march 26th, and was racing in washougal in august i believe. The first three months i was very careful and strict about obeying the doctors orders to the T. At that point they said that it had healed very quickly and looked good. I did a little riding, but i never really felt safe to go out and ride hard till the 5 to 6th month point. I know A LOT of it has to do with how you follow the doctors instructions in the first little while after the injury.

I have a buddy who broke his back just last year, didnt heed the doctors words and now they are worried his vertebrae is going to slide. I remember watching him run around the race track watching our friends race and coming back in a lot of pain. I told him to stop, but he just didnt care. Anyway so what i am saying is it has a lot to do with you and how well you take care of yourself. ok, since you are all tired of me talking i am done. bye bye

[YZ 250 RIDER]

Yeah well my doctor has not
told me to do any exercises etc. the only person that has given me any helpful information is my chiropractor and therapist thanks guys for the replys

[mxmama393]

Man I hope I never ever have to find out!

Hope you recover soon!

[Keetoman393]

I just broke the Transverse Proccess like tree limbs but I was only off work for a month and back to riding in 3 months. Motoman's back problems included crushed vertebra and had to be fused together with several others so your time will be different than anyone elses. When you say you broke it, what do you mean? Was it cracked, crushed, chipped or moved at all? Back problems are a tricky thing to treat. Best of luck and keep us posted on what your doctor says.

[YZ 250 RIDER]

I broke 2 and cracked 1 it is a compressed fracture thanks for the support guys.

[MotoMan]

Few questions.

Did you have any paralisis with the fractures?

Did you have any hardware installed?

Do you have any limbs of your body that are still numb or tingly feeling.

Did you have issues with your "bathroom abilities"?

It was a full year before I even though of a bike again, but I had all of the above and then some, I was told that if my accident had happened as little as 2 years before it did, I would be in a chair perminatly.

What has your doctor told you?

[schwen_108]

Hey Unsafe, why were you racing in Washougal?
what race was going on?

[UnsafeHaven]

It was the washougal round in 03. I was racing on wed thurs and friday if i remember right. Then we watched RC, Reed and Windham. HMmmmmmmm the good old days, that was fun.

[schwen_108]

I was there in 2003. I was in the Parts Unlimited hospitality area, right next to the whoops.

[YZ 250 RIDER]

Originally Posted by MotoMan

Few questions.

Did you have any paralisis with the fractures?

Did you have any hardware installed?

Do you have any limbs of your body that are still numb or tingly feeling.

Did you have issues with your "bathroom abilities"?

It was a full year before I even though of a bike again, but I had all of the above and then some, I was told that if my accident had happened as little as 2 years before it did, I would be in a chair perminatly.

What has your doctor told you?

I do have a tingly feeling that goes from where your pants start at the top to the bottom of your neck, it is a compressed fracture.

[MotoMan]

Mine was a compression fracture as well, to the point of over 1/2 of one of my vertebre is missing.

If you don't have any hardware or fusions, I really can't be of too much help, but I would assume that within a few months you should be good to go. The best advise I can give you is follow your Doc's orders and do your PT not only at the doctors, but at home as well.

Did you suffer any temporary paralisis??

[YZ 250 RIDER]

Originally Posted by MotoMan

Mine was a compression fracture as well, to the point of over 1/2 of one of my vertebre is missing.

If you don't have any hardware or fusions, I really can't be of too much help, but I would assume that within a few months you should be good to go. The best advise I can give you is follow your Doc's orders and do your PT not only at the doctors, but at home as well.

Did you suffer any temporary paralisis??

I have not had any paralisis problems, how long does it usually take too heal these kind of injurys? Does your back hunch over naturally now because mine does?

[MotoMan]

I don't really have any hunching issues but do deal with everyday pain some very strange sensations in my legs and mid sections, the occasional stumble when I am walking that comes out of nowhere, and a few other recurring issues. I was paralised from my waist down and had to learn to walk again as well, so be thankfull you didn't suffer that fate, let me tell you it's not alot of fun at all.

Here are a couple of my xrays:

[UnsafeHaven]

wow, that makes me cringe!! I must of been lucky, I didn't have any of these things you guys are talking about. I was told to keep my back straight for the first month and a half to prevent hunching (is that a word?). My doctor told me that if I didn't take care of my back i could end up with a bad angle, or curve in my back. So I followed his orders to a T. You might want to speak to your doctor again about the hunching over, but then again what do I know, I work with computers all day!

[YZ 250 RIDER]

Okay guys I'm getting better I can tell cause now in therapy I'm lifting a crate with 30 pounds in it and pushing a sled that weighs 50 pounds. Just giving an update on the injury. Thanx for all the support everyone.

[mxmama393]

great news!!!!

[weld_13]

Thats good to here. Never broke my back but did breack my arm and wrist in several palces and I know that wasn't cool cause I had all kinds of pins and dislocations everywhere so I'm sure that back thing has to hurt I would hate havin to wait a long time to ride again. I had my cast for about a month a little bit more then therapy which I honestly quit goin to cause I was doin good reall quick and wasn't worth the money so I was back on a quad after about 1 week or 2 out of a cast but I didn't break my back hope you get better

[DRGSin393]

Nice to hear about the progress youre making. remember, the more you put into your therapy, the better off youll be in the long run...Keep it up