Broken back!!!!

D

dad_io

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 June 2009
Messages
61
Visit site
Two weeks today ago I broke my back badly (L2 compression rotation). But due to the great skills of the paramedics and the fantastic Doctors and staff of the Royal Berkshire Hospital I am sat here bolted back together(L1,L2,L3 stablisation but not fused) and walking (bit like a robot) I have to take it very steady for a year but hopefully will be able to get back on a horse (dont think jumping will be on the menu for a while though) Has any one been through this and got any hints and tips to help me stay sane through this period?
I would like to say a huge thank you to my wonderful wife who has been a rock through this very stressful period and has worked so so hard to keep things together at the yard/home/work.
 
I haven't been through anything like your going through so no tips
frown.gif

I just wanted to wish you a speedy recovery
smile.gif
 
Oh dear that sounds horrid, I am glad you are on the mend though.

I haven't done anything anywhere near as serious, but I did sustain a back injury (muscles and discs) in a car accident, and, like you, was unable to ride / do any exercise for some time. What I wish someone had told me then was that I needed to cut back my calorie intake! I went from riding 6-8 times a week, walking miles in the indoor school and fields, going to the gym, running in the woods etc, to absolutely zilch overnight, and I didn't adjust my diet accordingly, and piled on the pounds! years later, I know this was the start of my downfall, and am not having fun trying to shift the weight (although I am swimming and back at the gym these days).

I guess the other advice (that I did take!) was to do all the physio exercises even tho they hurt like ****

In terms of sanity levels, try not to let it stop you doing other things, like going out with friends, popping out for pub lunches etc - I know a few folk who have felt they needed to be homebound after injury, but it isn't necessarily the best idea. And if horses took up a huge part of your life, find a new hobby to fill it - selling things on ebay / reading / pet hamster????!!!!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
What I wish someone had told me then was that I needed to cut back my calorie intake! I went from riding 6-8 times a week, walking miles in the indoor school and fields, going to the gym, running in the woods etc, to absolutely zilch overnight, and I didn't adjust my diet accordingly, and piled on the pounds! years later, I know this was the start of my downfall, and am not having fun trying to shift the weight (although I am swimming and back at the gym these days).

I guess the other advice (that I did take!) was to do all the physio exercises even tho they hurt like ****


[/ QUOTE ]

I did my back too, not that bad by any means, but it was horrid and involved operations. I totally agree with you Emma.

I hope you have the easiest recovery possible, but it takes guts to even lift a leg for a while and going out is scary with people near you, but it passes. Find something to do, mentally taxing, I suggest, otherwise you will go mad, and then the swimming is excellent as you can push yourself to do a tad more each time, even if it is boring after riding.
Bless your wife, friends family, all of them because they are going to suffer the frustration as much as you.
Best of luck and attack recovery like you did the xc courses, remember, cut the calories down NOW!
wink.gif
 
hi, hope you mend quickly. I fell at a talus and fractured L1 L2 and L3 but was lucky enough to wear a plaster cast for 3 months and not have surgery! It was agony, wasnt it! I have never felt such pain in my life and hope I never will again. I still get on every so often but tbh, the thought of coming off takes some of the pleasure out of it
frown.gif
Best wishes and oodles of patience. Mairi.
smile.gif
 
crikey, poor you, sounds very painful.
umm, lots of good books, lots of good film, lots of patience! doing what you're told and not trying to prove the doctors wrong, no matter how tempting it is.
very best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.
 
A friend and I were hacking a year ago (today!) and her supposedly bombproof horse (she had had for a week that came from a dealer) bucked her off on the road with no warning. A real rodeo buck. She broke c6 and 7 ( I think) and had them fixed with a plate. This is the base of her neck so a different place to you. She had a few months in a collar and has been having physio since but is doing really well. She has now spent her pony money on a piano so although doc has said she can ride don't know if she will.

I hope you get better soon. The paramedics were fantastic with my friend too (air ambulance_).

I don't know of any hints or tips - just do your physio!! The most problematic thing for her was the collar and not being able to wash her hair - it also got in the way when she ate or drank.
 
I have no advice either. You're so lucky to have escaped an even more life changing injury. Hold on to that thought when you get down, bored and frustrated during your recovery.

I wish you all the best.
 
Poor you! Glad you're up and about though!

My next door neighbour fell off her horse and broke her back at C4, luckily she never lost consciousness, realised things were very wrong and stayed rock still so she made a full recovery. She had to spend quite a bit of time immobile in bed and then months and months with a body cast, but she kept her spirits up through the whole thing and now she is back riding!

Hope you have a speedy recovery!
 
My husband got bucked off & broke L5 (compression). It healed up fine & he has been riding again with no probs.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.
 
owch!! how lucky that it looks like you should make a full recovery. how about doing something mentally challenging like an online or correspondance course? i think you might be able to do horsey related ones or you could do something with the OU or something like that. thats what i'd probably do...and catch up with all those DVDs that i haven't watched yet
smile.gif
 
Well thank goodness I am not the only prat who has just done this! I am now nearly7 weeks on from surgery (I did my T12 exactlly the same) so know just what you are going through. You will make massive progress in the first couple of weeks from walking like a robot to having a few minutes of pottering almost normally and you will feel fantastic but then the recovery really really slows down. This is just at the point that they ramp up the physio! So - don't be downhearted - my surgeon said that this is completely normal. I also agree with the issue of calories - I am going to start going to the swimming pool today (not sure if I can actually swim??) and have had to buy a significanlty larger cozzie
blush.gif
blush.gif

I know my physio is very good as best chum is also physio and she has been monitoring what they have given me - loads of work on core stability and ask them if you can use a swiss ball etc. to enhance your work. Also keep trying your hardest to stand up straight - I forget and hunch really badly!
My last 'finding' is that all the targets I was given were actually big fibs!- I am going to have a little attempt at driving this weekend for the first time and even then, am not sure how it will go (I was told 4-6 weeks after surgery) and I was also told could ride after 12 weeks - well has now turned into 12 weeks after my 6 week check
frown.gif

I am glad you posted this though - I really didn't know what to expect and feel I have had to discover it all for myself, and maybe it is really individual but at least you have an idea of what others have done.
Good luck - and as far as staying sane - thank goodness for mobile phones, internet and most of all chums (plus Wimbledon starts soon!!!)
 
QR
Thanks everyone for the words of support. Now home and managed to go see the horses last night
smile.gif
. I think my problem will be pacing myself and not trying to do to much too soon. Speaking to one of the doctors just before they discharged me from hospital (who also rides) mentioned that the investment in proper recovery time pays dividends in the long term. I think that was her way of saying don't be tempted to get back on too soon so will stick to my plan of a year off (always try driving as we have a couple of suitable horses
smile.gif
( see what i mean!!) So in conclusion its good to know that others have got through this rather scary situation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top