The BOARDWORLD Forums ran from 2009 to 2021 and are now closed and viewable here as an archive

   

Fractured Vertebrae

Avatar

Some might remember a few months back my dad fractured his spine in 11 places and ended up living with me while recovering.

Im very good at repairing my injuries against standard medical practices and helping others achieve similar. Modern medicine is largely guess-work and over use perscription medication. It works fantastically when statistics across the mass population are applied but individuals heal in a vastly different manner.

Physiotharepy - I rate highly but it is a medically trained profession and set by rules.
IMO rules = restriction.

When it comes to healing I’ve never fit into medical rules, theory or experiences.

#1 Your mind is more powerful than the body.
This can be an undoing as the mind can ignore healing and create damage.

#2 Don’t ignore medical advice.

#3 Everything already said I agree with.


Having said that I’ll return to dads episode; within a week he went from not being able to lift his head or wipe his bum to getting into his troop carrier, driving it 100km and fishing. Dad is a fragile old man.

Nthn, a few questions:
Ever fractured bones before, how long until YOU THOUGHT they felt better?
Age? (I think your early 20s right?)
How long do you want to take to recover?

Notes on what’s been said:
Love my RED snowboarding back brace! I put it on dad while he was still unable to walk and he could instantly get to the bathroom and start lifting his head unassisted. It was due to the brace he could stop taking pain killers and muscle relaxants.
I feel twice as strong when boarding with it. But don’t wear it all the time so I don’t become weak.

Glucosamine can be found in foods naturally. Apply the theory of ‘you are what you eat’ so eat what your body needs. Chicken is a good source, or any meat still attached to the bone. Don’t skimp - suck bones dry, some smaller bones you can chew up and swallow or the ends of red meat bones.
I know of olympic skiers who’ve done horrific bone/ligament damage and blended chicken bone/cartlidge to consume.
I have heard negatives about taking glucosamine - it replaces your bodies ability to produce it naturally and you will need to continue taking it forever. (it’s dammed expensive).

stretching This will help your body get rid of bad stuff and get good stuff where it needs.
It will make you strong.
It will balance what’s out of balance.
It will co-ordinate your body.
It will align you nerolical system.
It will make your body last a very long time.

core strength
Your a surfer! You have a hyper-flexed spine. Your back is hyper strong and out of balance.
For as long as you surf you need to (try) and compensate for it but you never ever will (so long as you use you arms to paddle a short board).

More later…

 
Avatar
RPS88A - 17 June 2012 12:05 PM

was good to see you again on the weekend man! spewing about the accident though, mustn’t of been long after drc and i saw you as you were just telling us you landed one perfectly and then were off to the magic carpet or something haha hope the recovery is quick mate!

Yeah was about an hour after I saw you or about that I reckon.  Did the bunny slope with the girl and then she went to the pub and I went out for a fateful last couple of runs.

 
Avatar
lanox - 17 June 2012 12:36 PM

nthn, i have massive problem with my lover back, i am not going to go in details but lets say when its bad i can barely get out the bed and put my pants on.

what you can buy that does help with out prescription is fallowing creams and they do help and num the pain on relax your muscles.

1) traumeel
2) tiger balm

You need prescription for this 1

colobrex i think its called.  and it is very good.

Other things i would suggest stretch a lot believe it or not it help heaps since i have been stretching and becoming more flexible my back pain has been less frequent.

if you would like to know what exercise i do let me know or send me a pm and i will tell you exactly what i do.

on the other note thos back protectors are good i have the one in second link and i am thinking of getting the vest when i go to use only coz in usa they are cheap let me know maybe i can offload my one 2 ya, however having those back protectors would help you a lot when you do jumps but i think the way you fell having it on or not having it would not made much difference, i tell you what backprotecters are awesome for rails and falls on your back it has saved me so many times.

Lanox, thanks for that mate.  I have some tigerbalm around somewhere, do you prefer the warm or the cool one, I have both, personally I think I will be going for the warm one being winter and all.  Traumeel I will have to look into, I have a prescription for Celebrex from the hospital, it’s an anti inflammatory from what the Doc told me, will be picking that up today.

I’m not sure that I’m at the point where stretching or strengthening exercises are needed, still need tor est it I suspect, I am going to see my local Doc ASAP to see about this.  With that said I would like to know what you have been doing Lanox so PM or shot it up on here I don’t mind it’s up to you.

Interesting to hear your thoughts on the back protectors, I think my injury was from a jolting compression based on the video rather then impact so you might be right regarding the back protector not helping.

 
Avatar
Mizu Kuma - 17 June 2012 12:41 PM
nthnbeachesguy - 17 June 2012 11:01 AM

Same 3 same 30fter banger, just did it yesterday. Kinda weird I had just about overshot the landing the attempt before then did that. Earlier in the day I landed 2 perfect from memory. Had two beers at lunch, spent an hour on the bunny slope with the girl and just wasn’t really feeling it and the light was A bit weird,  but was with a mate and thought fark it I will go for it anyway. Hindsights a wonderful thing though.

That’s the downfall right there!!!!!

Even though two beers is nothin, and it seems though it has had no effect whatsoever, for some reason it seems to bring people unstuck on the hill!!!!!

Pretty sure K2 had a bevy break just before he went skydivin at last years shred!!!!!

I know what you mean Mizu, I did have about 45 to an hour on the bunny slope with the girlfriend so I thought I would have been fine after that.  I don’t think I have ever gone for anything bif after having beers before, another lesson learned in a fairly expensive fashion.

 
Avatar

Spaz, nice post mate.  What sort of alternative therapies or treatments help with bone healing?  I’m all ears at the moment and am very keen to get myself fixed up ASAP.  I wish I was early 20’s but I’m a decade past that in my last year of early 30’s at 33.

Past fractures have been my ankle when I was 15, took 8 weeks before I was surfing again.  I went surfing about 3 days after I got my cast off at 6 weeks but even at 15 it took me three waves to realise it wasn’t a good idea and I went in.

I did my ribs a couple of years ago, they sucked and were sore for a while but I did start playing again after 6 weeks.  Last year a mate hit me snowboarding and separated my lower rib from my spine, that was painful for a while and seemed to take a while to fix itself, can’t remember exact time periods though because I was snowboarding all through that one.

As far as how long I want it to take to recover?  Well ideally I would like to go snowboarding again on the weekend of the 28th July, which is 42 days from now or 6 weeks.  If I can get it done faster I would be over the moon but as I have my surfers ear op July 2 that will keep me off the slopes till about then anyways.

This is the Xray view that shows it best

Photobucket

This is a CT scan from side on
Photobucket

This is a CT scan from front to back
Photobucket

 
Avatar
nthnbeachesguy - 17 June 2012 09:42 PM
lanox - 17 June 2012 12:36 PM

nthn, i have massive problem with my lover back, i am not going to go in details but lets say when its bad i can barely get out the bed and put my pants on.

what you can buy that does help with out prescription is fallowing creams and they do help and num the pain on relax your muscles.

1) traumeel
2) tiger balm

You need prescription for this 1

colobrex i think its called.  and it is very good.

Other things i would suggest stretch a lot believe it or not it help heaps since i have been stretching and becoming more flexible my back pain has been less frequent.

if you would like to know what exercise i do let me know or send me a pm and i will tell you exactly what i do.

on the other note thos back protectors are good i have the one in second link and i am thinking of getting the vest when i go to use only coz in usa they are cheap let me know maybe i can offload my one 2 ya, however having those back protectors would help you a lot when you do jumps but i think the way you fell having it on or not having it would not made much difference, i tell you what backprotecters are awesome for rails and falls on your back it has saved me so many times.

Lanox, thanks for that mate.  I have some tigerbalm around somewhere, do you prefer the warm or the cool one, I have both, personally I think I will be going for the warm one being winter and all.  Traumeel I will have to look into, I have a prescription for Celebrex from the hospital, it’s an anti inflammatory from what the Doc told me, will be picking that up today.

I’m not sure that I’m at the point where stretching or strengthening exercises are needed, still need tor est it I suspect, I am going to see my local Doc ASAP to see about this.  With that said I would like to know what you have been doing Lanox so PM or shot it up on here I don’t mind it’s up to you.

Interesting to hear your thoughts on the back protectors, I think my injury was from a jolting compression based on the video rather then impact so you might be right regarding the back protector not helping.

Nthn no problems mate, you are 100% correct about celebrex, spine surgent that i went to see told me to use it at night before i go to bed as it will relax my muscles etc, coz my worst time for my back pain is in the morning when i just get up.

2 be honest with you mate if you are in massive pain fill up a tub with hot water pretty much as hot as you can bare to be in it and put some of that salt stones in water, i am not sure the exact name for it, that will relax you muscles and you should feel lot better.

tiger palm yes use the hot one(just make sure you put singlet on top before any other shirt it stains the shit out of it lol i learned hard way lol ....

hrm let me know what you experiencing regarding the pain ?

try this ( DO NOT FORCE IT IF YOU CAN DO IT )

stand straight and try to touch you toes, how far can you go ?  if you cant do it at all dont DO IT.

 
Avatar

Lanox as far as pain is concerned it’s probably like a 3/10 generally speaking until I do certain things.  It hurts to use my back at all to bend, makes putting on socks and even putting on pants a real chore.  I am using my legs to do everything that requires me to get closer to the ground, this is probably something everyone should always do but are too lazy.  Luckily I have spent a lot of time in the gym on and off over the years so my squatting form is pretty good and keeps my back straight.  I think this symptom probably rules out trying to touch my toes at this stage, additionally that movement is on the same plane as the injury so I will talk to the Doc before attempting it.

I’m sitting in the office right now and my back is ok but I got up to get a coffee and it really didn’t feel that flash, think I will be leaving soon to head home and lie down for a while.  I haven’t had any pain killers since last night, is some respects I would rather not as pain is an indicator that you are doing something wrong, masking it might create further problems.

 
Avatar

nthn, if you don’t need to take anything for pain i would not do it either….. but in saying this, hot tub with water will only do you good coz it relaxes your muscle and it might even help heel faster if here is no permanent damage. ( THAT IS WHAT I WAS TOLD)


and i would recommend the back protector highly however like i said in my first email what you did back protector will not help you at all .

 
Avatar

As far as I was lead to believe HOT for Fractures is NOT good.

even weeks after an ice pack does a lot for healing. On that basis i would use the cold tiger balm stuff.

Also if you can go into a Chinese food shop in China Town and get a better/stronger one than tiger balm.

 
Avatar
ozgirl - 18 June 2012 01:05 AM

As far as I was lead to believe HOT for Fractures is NOT good.

even weeks after an ice pack does a lot for healing. On that basis i would use the cold tiger balm stuff.

Also if you can go into a Chinese food shop in China Town and get a better/stronger one than tiger balm.

this is different kind of injury read here

http://www.wikihow.com/Treat-a-Pinched-Nerve

read step 3

that is just one of the link i have found quickly as i am little busy 2 day to look more in details ....

all i said is what i was told by back specialist and what i do to help my self ... and belive me when your wife has to put the pants in the morning for me some days its bad… lol

 
Avatar

Tiger Balm is the bomb!!!!!

RED for Muscular - White for Colds/Flu’s!!!!!

That is a sizable chunk off that bone too, nthn!!!!! I reckon it will be givin ya grief whenever ya bend forward!!!!!

The thing that I was tryin to convey in regards to core strength exercise was more subtle!!!!! Just by tightening and relaxing the abdominal muscles you will strengthening them, and in return will go a long way in supporting your spine more!!!!!

* And even though the ice treatment is renown for bein the best method of treatment for bruising/tissue damage, I have found that whenever I have used this method it prolongs the injury!!!!! Heat is the ONLY way for me!!!!! (With a few anti-inflammatories thrown in)

 
Avatar
Mizu Kuma - 18 June 2012 03:42 AM

* And even though the ice treatment is renown for bein the best method of treatment for bruising/tissue damage, I have found that whenever I have used
this method it prolongs the injury!!!!! Heat is the ONLY way for me!!!!! (With a few anti-inflammatories thrown in)

Isn’t the idea to ice for the first day to reduce bruising/swelling, then heat after that to promote circulation and healing?

 
Avatar
Mudhoney - 18 June 2012 03:50 AM
Mizu Kuma - 18 June 2012 03:42 AM

* And even though the ice treatment is renown for bein the best method of treatment for bruising/tissue damage, I have found that whenever I have used
this method it prolongs the injury!!!!! Heat is the ONLY way for me!!!!! (With a few anti-inflammatories thrown in)

Isn’t the idea to ice for the first day to reduce bruising/swelling, then heat after that to promote circulation and healing?

Yeah, but I have found that this initial ice treatment can actually make the injury worse!!!!!

While it does reduce bruising to the site, it also constricts the muscles, and I have found that constricting an already stretched/torn muscle is not a great idea!!!!!

I, personally have had more success when I apply heat asap, as this relaxes the muscle and prevents further damage to it!!!!!

I am not tellin anyone to go against the advice of their doc though, as I am not a trained pro, but this is what I have found over the years of trial and error so to speak!!!!!

 
Avatar

By the way guys out of these two which do you think would be the most comfortable to ride with and will stay in the same place rather then move around??

 
Avatar
nthnbeachesguy - 17 June 2012 05:40 AM

So some of you might be aware that I have fractured the L1 vertebrae in my spine.  Would just like some ideas from anyone who has some experience with vertebrae issues, what treatments are available, any dietary supplements worth looking into and basically any experiences that might help get better quicker!  At this stage I’m looking mostly at rest and looking after my diet, upping the dairy for calcium and maybe some bracing if required.

Apart from that I will keep this thread updated with how it goes for me and be a reference for anyone else who (hopefully not ) might suffer a similar injury.

Sorry to hear it, mate. I don’t really have any advice ut I want to wish you all the best for a fast recovery.