Broken back?

[Vodkagirly]

Question, how did it take you to recover from a broken.back?

I had a stupid fall, managed to get up and walk myself back and got a lift to hospital. Apparently 2 chipped vertebrate but nothing complicated, I was told weeks not months.
20 weeks later I'm still in agony.
I see someone on fb who had had full air ambulance, hospital stay back professionally riding.
I'm struggling, what can I do? I've rested, not touched or lifted anything but I don't feel better. I'm so weak and exhausted. Seen 2 consultants in 20 weeks and gp won't see me.
Any advice?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would go to a walk-in centre and tell them that you are still in agony. Or ring 111

 

[Sossigpoker]

Which part of the vertebrae did you fracture ? The body or the spinous processes you can feel in your back?
I fractured my L2 and was in a back brace for 10 weeks followed by lots of physio and exercise. If you're still in a lot of pain , I'd ask for a referral back to a consultant.
Of course the pain might be entirely muscular and might improve with physio and exercise but there's of course a chance that your spinal chord is being compressed.
Edit - if the fractures are stable and the spinal chord isn't compromised , then resting is probably the worst thing you could do. Your muscles will be sore and weak from lack of use.
Initially I couldn't even complete a 15 minute gentle walk around the block without sitting down and resting: I was told to start walking straight away after discharge, in my back brace.

 

[blodwyn1]

I had compression fractures of t4,5,6,and 7 and was in extreme pain for months . It changes how all your ligaments and tendons hold your spine together. I also lost half an inch in height. X rays don't always show up damage immediately I wonder if they X rayed again if they would find more damage.

 

[Parrotperson]

Not the same i know but my tibia fracture didn’t show on x rays. Was sent home and told to walk normally. After two weeks of agony and my keg collapsing under me went back.

They MRI’d it and lo and behold I’d be walking round in a broken bone fir a fortnight.

Get an MRI. Get it privately if you can afford it.

 

[Pippity]

I had compression fractures of t4,5,6,and 7 and was in extreme pain for months . It changes how all your ligaments and tendons hold your spine together. I also lost half an inch in height. X rays don't always show up damage immediately I wonder if they X rayed again if they would find more damage.

I had very similar, but only one vertebrae fractured. It took a week for the damage to show up on x-rays, and the pain had been steadily increasing through that week.

OP, if you're still in agony there's a good chance that there's something else going on that wasn't visible at the time.

 

[Barton Bounty]

OP that sounds really sore! I would definitely go back to the centre.

@Parrotperson hope you are ok now

 

[Bobthecob15]

The bone may have healed but there will undoubtedly be soft tissue damage because of it...I also imagine you have changed your posture as a result of the fracture and pain...so other issues could have developed. Definitely go back to your GP, self refer yourself for Physio at the very least as they can ask the GP for MRI referrals etc if needed. Definitely shouldn't be this sore this long...goof luck x

 

[Tiddlypom]

Sorry to hear that you are still struggling. If you can, go private (it will be much quicker than relying on the NHS) and get more x rays and definitely an MRI.

If something is found, your private consultant might then transfer you to their NHS list - that happened to me with another issue.

 

[Vodkagirly]

Interesting to hear that some things don't show initially. It was my l3 and s4 that were chipped. They said the s4 was just superficial, I only found out about that from requesting discharge notes, no one told me .
Meant to be having an mri but said it could be 6 weeks. I'm just so fed up.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

The initial break was painful and I remember aching at the broken bone sites when I was allowed home in my brace. I had some nerve damage which gave tingly numb feelings in some odd places but at twenty weeks I don’t remember being in pain..I was back at work but wasn’t riding. I recall a nurse friend saying new bone needed quite a few months to harden. I wonder if tendons and muscles are causing the pain…I was never given physio or exercises. Twenty years on I visit chiropractor occasionally and love massages when I can find the time. I hope you find relief soon.

 

[sbloom]

Definitely go back to the medics, but if cleared then movement has got to be key I'd have thought? You should be offered physio, then once you're underway with that and it's safe to do so I'd work with a movement programme/specialist, I have some I recommend specifically for riding but there is Anatomy in Motion, Simplistic Movement Method and probably many others, some will offer one to one consultation (certainly the equestrian coaches I recommend do). Good luck.

 

[Arzada]

Seen 2 consultants in 20 weeks and gp won't see me.

You will have to be proactive and determined seeing as how your GP has let you down.

Possible routes: if the consultants haven't discharged you from their care then you could contact their secretary, explain your situation and ask for an appointment to include an XRay. They will then have this in front of them when they see you. If you have already been discharged you could contact the secretary anyway explain your situation ask for advice and request a referral to the hospital's fracture clinic. While this may not be what you need you will at least be seen by a physio and if they are worried they can refer you to the consultants. This will not be quick.

The routes above could take weeks. If I was still in agony after this length of time I would go back to A & E and go from there. You will be seen. You may even find that they request an XRay and call a spine consultant to see you. With luck they will send you for an MRI during your visit. Wishing you well

 

[Muddy unicorn]

I broke 5 vertebrae last year - couldn’t walk, air ambulance, a week in hospital, CT/MRI/x-rays- the works! The hospital physios wanted me moving as soon as I physically could, even though it took morphine to be able to get out of bed the first couple of times. Once I got home I was encouraged to walk as much as I could and to push my comfort zone a little further every day. I started physio exercises after 7 weeks and was back riding after 4 months. By then I had absolutely no pain at all so would definitely echo the advice to go back to your GP and if they won’t see you then A&E.