I had compression fractures T5-T7 and I don’t know if this is good or bad news, but sleeping was the last thing I fully recovered. I was allowed to ride after about 3 months, was back eventing in 6, but it was more than a year before I could sleep comfortably on my left side and close to 18 months for my right side. So it will come back eventually 
Thanks for the encouragement! At least Rolex is on this weekend!
Good grief Beam Me Up… Glad I don’t have that problem. I suppose in that way I’m lucky it’s my neck because my mediflow pillow makes it happy. Bed is the one place I’m totally comfortable. It seems the compression fractures in the thoracic and lumbar take longer to recover from. I’m off all pain meds, anti inflammatories and muscle relaxers now so I’m hoping my surgeon will release me to ride after I see him May 4th. I’m sure it will feel like crap but I’d like the ok to try and to get back to walking on an incline on the treadmill and doing some Pilates.
As an aside I have been using the salon pas patches right over the fracture site at night and those things must just be full off rainbows and unicorns because they really help. Might be worth a try for others.
[QUOTE=equisusan;8120411]
As an aside I have been using the salon pas patches right over the fracture site at night and those things must just be full off rainbows and unicorns because they really help. Might be worth a try for others.[/QUOTE]
I will definitely look into it! I just can’t thank you enough for the pillow recommendation. I can’t believe how sleep deprived I was. The doctors thought my declined cognitive function was due to the concussion I sustained when I fell (and in part it probably was for a while) but since I bought the pillow and am sleeping better my cognitive function is almost back to 100%. Yay!
I also have degeneration in my neck and have been sleeping poorly for years and I think the pillow is helping with that as well. On average, I am sleeping 7 hours straight through without waking up. It’s like a miracle! I can’t believe no one mentioned this pillow to me before.
[QUOTE=equisusan;8120411]
Good grief Beam Me Up… Glad I don’t have that problem. I suppose in that way I’m lucky it’s my neck because my mediflow pillow makes it happy. Bed is the one place I’m totally comfortable. It seems the compression fractures in the thoracic and lumbar take longer to recover from. I’m off all pain meds, anti inflammatories and muscle relaxers now so I’m hoping my surgeon will release me to ride after I see him May 4th. I’m sure it will feel like crap but I’d like the ok to try and to get back to walking on an incline on the treadmill and doing some Pilates.
As an aside I have been using the salon pas patches right over the fracture site at night and those things must just be full off rainbows and unicorns because they really help. Might be worth a try for others.[/QUOTE]
I got the salonpas patches and they are officially filled with rainbows and unicorns! They don’t get the really deep pain, but they certainly take the edge off. Thanks for the suggestion!
So glad the salon pas and pillow helped you guys. Yayyyy… My appt with my neurosurgeon got delayed to June 1st so I’m very frustrated I’ll have to stay off my horses for another month. My brother says I definitely need an X-ray before I ride again. Grrrr… Will try to negotiate an earlier date tomorrow… back to healing
[QUOTE=equisusan;8124756]
So glad the salon pas and pillow helped you guys. Yayyyy… My appt with my neurosurgeon got delayed to June 1st so I’m very frustrated I’ll have to stay off my horses for another month. My brother says I definitely need an X-ray before I ride again. Grrrr… Will try to negotiate an earlier date tomorrow… back to healing[/QUOTE]
How frustrating!!! I hope you end up with an earlier date! I realize doctors have many patients to worry about but sometimes they just make me crazy. Another month is an eternity!! Best wishes!
Well I talked to my surgeon’s PA this morning and she basically said I need to chill out. She said three months is about the right amount of time for it to heal properly and they will want to see me and get an x-ray taken close to my appointment date to be sure to clear me to ride. Chilling out now. June 1st better not get rescheduled.
That is so frustrating! I’m so sorry, June 1st will be here before you know it! I keep reminding myself better safe than sorry…
The doctor told me today still no riding and we will talk more in two weeks…again. I am doing light physical therapy. While it is helping my range of motion it has made me realize how far from normal I am. One day I hope to sit-up without doing a log roll!
Compresssion fracture L3
I fell off on Easter Sunday (April 5th) and landed HARD on my butt with my legs straight out in front of me. 25% compression fracture (wedge, front only) of L3. I do have mild osteoporosis btw (I’m 60). After two days I had almost NO pain, and after about a week I started resuming SOME normal activities… bending over dishwasher, doing laundry, picking my boy’s hooves etc. BIG MISTAKE! Even though I felt very little pain, when I went for follow up exray 3 weeks after injury I had made it WORSE by about 5%. I did NOT know you could make a bone injury worse, and I ASSUMED that because I was almost pain free, I was HEALING, not going the other way. So now, under threat of back surgery and permanent back problems, I am wearing my brace and totally behaving myself. I am driving- nobody told me not to, and I have to drive 14 miles to the barn and 10 to work. So scared that it’s going to take me months to get back into the saddle. I KNOW I am so lucky it’s not worse, but I’m obsessing anyway. ANybody had the experience of making themselves WORSE after an injury like this? How long before you were back to normal? Do you still have pain?
how did this happen, what do I do?
Don’t know where this came from compression 
fracture of 2 thoracic vertebrae;came from, most likely, osteoporosis:cry:
will learn which vertebraeit’s T4T5 green tomorrow; the surgery sounded like witchcraft:eek: but, I will learn more about it before closing the door firmly:mad: on that:yes: honestly, I ’ I’ve now broken as many bones as when I was eventing and riding young young, very:eek: just the thought of moving around with concre:mad:te n my spine makes me tired green horses in an open field full:yes: of hills, but, no ring:no:
the surgery involves putting concrete:confused: between the two vertebrae,T4 & T5:no:
Good luck to all!
Yes, I had one with 30% compression. Also broke the back of the spineous processes off C-7 and C6. I had many other fractures in my back at the same time. Originally it was very painful. Doctor put me in a body cast for the other breaks and did not really do anything for the neck. Injury was in 1995. Ended up with it being a problem and having surgery to stabilize it as well as remove the spineous process pieces that were just sitting in there. Accident caused me to loose a lot of muscle attachment and I was cautioned that another hit to the head could be REALLY bad for me. Post surgery, it has been the least of my problems. Besides general stiffness and reduced range of motion it is not bothersome. I do wish that they had addressed it sooner and perhaps stabilized it at that point. But that’s another story. The chronic problems I have are from my other fractures at T3, T4…T8, T9… and L4, L5. To address those I had a vertibroplasty on T8, and a fusion of L4, L5 and S1. I came off like a head first arena dart when a dog chased my horse. Spent 8 months in a body cast! Follow their time restrictions religiously and also use all the PT they offer to strengthen the muscles and get range of motion back to good. Good luck and I hope the best possible recovery for you!
little pain but,
Mine was many years ago, a greenstick fracture from a fall at speed!:eek: I thought I was feeling pain from my back and collar bone but, when the pain became too bad to even walk down the driveway; I knew Rolex ** was not to be at least, not that year:sadsmile:; and my entry had already been accepted:)
At that point. I was horse showing trailering my mare “Merry Meeting :)” to shows every weekend; and then grooming, I must have walked miles and miles at shows; on occasion , I would warm her up for her BNR; I wore my “Philadelphia/ hard plastic collar/ brace; rode a little more each day; people were very alarmed when they saw me but, I really felt no pain;” just bruises:eek::mad::no:" from the fall
I was eventing again:winkgrin: by August of that year; the fall had happened in March/ April, so, about 4 months of "light exercise; I have felt no pain since. only in my collar bone/ ribs Do you get Physical therapy?. Your doctor and P T will become your best friend:yes:
Sounds great! but, What pillow is this:confused:?
I second that PT will be great. I am at 8 weeks out today, and I do not know what I would do without PT a couple times a week. It was SLOW at first, but I am slowly able to pick up the pace. We have not started rotating and have been focusing on core strength and stretches.
I did sit on a horse this week just to see how it felt…ouch. Just the movement while walking aggravated it…guess it needs more time to heal.
Good luck with healing!
equisusan, If you get some very basic centered riding lessons , you will be more comfortable:yes:
I’m sure, but, you can either take:) the time now or later when it may be much worse:mad:
[QUOTE=southernhunter;8135884]
I fell off on Easter Sunday (April 5th) and landed HARD on my butt with my legs straight out in front of me. 25% compression fracture (wedge, front only) of L3. I do have mild osteoporosis btw (I’m 60). After two days I had almost NO pain, and after about a week I started resuming SOME normal activities… bending over dishwasher, doing laundry, picking my boy’s hooves etc. BIG MISTAKE! Even though I felt very little pain, when I went for follow up exray 3 weeks after injury I had made it WORSE by about 5%. I did NOT know you could make a bone injury worse, and I ASSUMED that because I was almost pain free, I was HEALING, not going the other way. So now, under threat of back surgery and permanent back problems, I am wearing my brace and totally behaving myself. I am driving- nobody told me not to, and I have to drive 14 miles to the barn and 10 to work. So scared that it’s going to take me months to get back into the saddle. I KNOW I am so lucky it’s not worse, but I’m obsessing anyway. ANybody had the experience of making themselves WORSE after an injury like this? How long before you were back to normal? Do you still have pain?[/QUOTE]
Yes you can make it worse but usually it’s made worse in the first couple of weeks and then it stabilizes. Depends on how stable it was to start with. I wouldn’t know if I made mine worse because I didn’t know I had a compression fracture for several weeks after my fall. I’m still healing at 8 weeks. Had a lousy day today after an uncomfortable nights sleep. 3 more weeks til I get new X-rays and hopefully get cleared to ride again because it’s healed. Fingers crossed. So much referred pain in my shoulder and rib cage today. Eating yogurt and cheese daily for calcium and taking 5000IU of vitamin D daily. Heal bones heal.
[QUOTE=ladybugsbw;8141726]
I second that PT will be great. I am at 8 weeks out today, and I do not know what I would do without PT a couple times a week. It was SLOW at first, but I am slowly able to pick up the pace. We have not started rotating and have been focusing on core strength and stretches.
I did sit on a horse this week just to see how it felt…ouch. Just the movement while walking aggravated it…guess it needs more time to heal.
Good luck with healing![/QUOTE]
I was so sure I’d be better at 6 weeks now I’m at 8 weeks and I’m starting to worry that 12 weeks won’t be long enough. Damn neck!
