Back injury..Getting diagnosed, need support

[TrueGrit]

good luck with your surgery!

[QUOTE=luvmy1horse;5157621]
Zuzu…here is the latest…I went to the Neurosurgeon yesterday and I am having surgery tomorrow. He said it is a severe rupture with severe nerve compression. He is concerned I may have permanent nerve damage and doesn’t want me to wait a day longer. … I’ll post next week and let you know how it goes.[/QUOTE]

WoW!:eek: So glad you got a proper diagnosis - finally - and then such immediate treatment. ( No wonder they had to knock you out for the MRI! ) Good luck with your surgery and don’t push too hard, too fast - follow doctor’s orders, and you’ll be back riding real soon!

[Pretttywaste]

Wow, how ironic - I had just come on this thread to discuss back injuries and found this thread at the very top! I will start my own b/c I don’t want to hijack yours but I do wish you the best and quickest possible recovery! You will be riding again before you know it!

[Zu_Zu]

Good Luck tomorrow ~ Jingles & AO ~ Always Optimistic ~

Thank goodness you have a diagnosis and a plan ~ WOW ! Thinking of you tomorrow ~ Post your news when you are feeling better ~ :yes:

[Due_s_Mom]

I had a fusion in 2008 between L5-S1. I was better days after surgery. It was pretty incredible. I was allowed to ride after 3 months. He wanted to be sure that my fusion had some time to lay down some bone. More than likely I will need another fusion at L4- L5 in the future but am not concerned.

I have more mobility with the fusion than I did before and I was in chronic pain for well over ten years. My surgery drastically changed my life for the better. Also found out that I had been riding crooked for YEARS because of my back. That disappeared after surgery and am riding like I did in my 20’s

[HorseLuvr]

Glad you are getting the surgery! That is the best way to go and the quickest way to pain relief! I too, ruptured a disc in L5/S1, I have ruptured it two times now. The second time I was in horrible pain from a pinched sciatic nerve. It literally laid me up on the couch for a month. After my surgery, I felt so much better and took about 6 months off of riding, even though Dr. said only 3, just to be sure it was all healed. Now, I am riding full time again and feel so much better!!! You will heal and feel ALOT better after the surgery, but take your time and don’t rush getting back on the horse, make sure you are healed all the way before you ride again. You know your body better then anyone else so listen to it! Good luck to you!

[Catherine_Cullen]

I just had a discectomy/laminectomy two weeks ago after rupturing two discs in May. So far so good, fingers crossed.

If I could go back in time, I would remind myself that

1. Nerves are weird and slow, mostly weird, so try not to be alarmed by your changing symptoms. After the surgery I felt complete relief of the sciatica that had been basically crippling me (duh, I was on oxycontin). But within a few days (about the same time I went back to just advil), I started having a rotating set of nerve symptoms in both legs (sciatica, numbness, weakness, spasms, etc) that totally freaked me out. Apparently, they shouldn’t freak you out. So take the advice I couldn’t follow myself and don’t freak out. So far, everything seems to be slowly improving for me, and I am in a way different place about it mentally than I was a week ago.

2. Those grippy socks in the hospital look disposable, but they actually wash okay and are awesome.

I have no idea if/when I’ll get back to riding normally, but I will surely be able to trail ride eventually, and I will work towards some benchmark fitness goals in the meantime, once I’m allowed to start PT. Good luck with your surgery!! I hope it goes well and someone brings you chocolates.

[Bicoastal]

My fingers are crossed for surgery success! I completely know how you feel and understand the need to vent.

My own back saga continues with no riding in the foreseeable future as my doctors continue to fumble with solutions. I have muddled through depression, minor and major. I’m dragging myself back out with a new dog and a new hobby: agility! And there are tons of horse people!

[system]

Well, I had surgery 3 weeks ago and start back to work on half days for one week and then back to full time. I work from home on the computer so I don’t have to worry about a lot of bending, twisting, lifting…which I still have restrictions for. I will have to take a lot of breaks since sitting for long periods of time cause pain.

The pain relief after surgery was amazing. The Dr. said I had severe nerve compression from a major rupture of my L3-4 level. Before the surgery all I could do without pain is sit. After the surgery sitting is painful but walking and standing are much better. The sciatica and numbness was nearly gone after the surgery until Monday night when I had a fall on some stairs. Now that is back but the Dr. said my nerves are inflamed and he put me back on a steroid…again. I am up tonight with pain in my back and feel discouraged. I am concerned about starting work Monday but I am running out of sick time and have to get back. I go back to the surgeon in 6 weeks and if I still have pain they will do another MRI. I have 2 other levels of herniations which need monitoring also. I’m not sure when I’ll ride again. I still have a lot of weakness in my leg with foot drop and weak reflexes and start PT next week. Dr. said nerves can take months to regenerate and heal. There is a chance they might never get better. If my leg doesn’t get stronger I won’t be able to ride. I also can’t walk without a limp which is getting old.

Overall I am glad I had the surgery, didn’t really have a choice. I have to exercise patience but it’s running thin. I am tired of pain and not sleeping and sometimes wonder if I’ll ever feel “normal” again. I am doing a groundwork clinic with my horse in December which will be fun. For now all I can do is brush him and love on him. There is a girl riding him for me and friends have been great about helping me with him. I need to be positive, just having a rough night. Thanks for the encouragement and your stories of your situations. It helps to know you’re not alone in this sometimes although I don’t wish pain on anyone. Sorry this is a bit long but it helps to type it all out.

[citydog]

Hugs to you.

You’re only three weeks out. I know it probably seems like forever, but don’t get discouraged just yet–three weeks is nothing. You’ll get there, and you’ll ride. :yes:

[DressageGeek_Ribbon]

I know it is discouraging - the pain really wears on you, and you just feel you will never be normal again. I’m with citydog.

The good news is you can do groundwork, and you can still stay connected with your horse. The winter is coming and who knows? it might be too bad to be able to do much of anything anyway. Come spring, it will be so very different.

Here’s hoping you heal by leaps and bounds.

[whicker]

There is Hope and Riding ahead!

Another tale of back issues-

I broke my back and mashed a number of discs when a deer hit me while I was galloping a big DWB. It took 6 months for it to be diagnosed, and then I was told by the neuro-spinal surgeon that I would be in worse shape if I had spinal surgery, so go with PT. I have vertebrae in unusual positions that have been compression fractured and the spinal canal is about 1/4 the size it should be for the spinal cord.

I have had PRP stem cell procedures which helped enormously with the the many hyper-extended pelvic ligaments and stabilized my pelvis. I still do PRP to glue the new damage back in place.
I’m 5 years out from the accident, now.

I ride and train 2 green mares, one a hanovarian and the other a trakhener. They are both smaller, 15.2h or so, and have more normal sized gaits than the big time DWB. I started them in dressage and then put miles on them on small mountain trails. This Oct, I foxhunted with one of my greenies, the Hanovarian, for the first time for both of us. I was out for the whole hunt, about 3 hours on steep hills and a small river crossing 6 times and had a blast. You can read about it over on the hunting forum. We had 20 cothers join us for dinner that night to celebrate. I could tell I had pushed hard to play hard for a long hunt weekend, But I COULD DO IT!

One of my closest friends is a multiple world champion in endurance riding. She did that after her back was injured and she had prolotherapy stem cell. It lasted 15 years for her, until she got kicked by a horse. (She is a vet) She is still a top 10 finisher, having slowed down to mentor other riders. When I feel like I am miserable and frustrated, she is the one who reminds me that there is lots of hope and that I can improve and ride. She has plans for teaching me to endurance ride on my Trak mare, while I’m whimpering about 30 minutes of non-stop trotting on asphalt.

But she has different tack. Those endurance stirrups are fabulous for back pain! I’m going to ask about using them to foxhunt. Totally in- correct, but my hunt is so happy to have me out again, that I think it will be ok with them when I ask permission.

Another thing that has helped is getting some poron orthopedic foam and cutting it to fit the seat of the saddle. That has been a huge help with the shock that comes through the saddle. I use Mattes saddle pads to make life more comfortable for the horse. I also make sure that the mares have osteopathy to keep them comfortable, so they move smoothly.

Please P.M. me if you want to talk. I know what it feels like to wonder if the pain will ever stop, the foot will work, and most importantly, that I can ride with passion.

[Zu_Zu]

Sending Jingles for Rest & Recovery ~ AO ~

Sending some warm,sunny Jingles to you luvmy1horse

Glad to read you are on the other side of surgery and on the mend ~

Just being around your horse must help with your spirits some ~

Keep pushing through your recovery not easy ~in the" same boat" with that sleep and comfort and pain wearing you down BUT BUT WE WILL FEEL NORMAL AGAIN ~~~ with time and therapy ~

Thinking of you and sending some wishes for some rest & recovery ~ Jingle Jingle Jingle & AO ~ AO ~ AO ~