I have recently been in an ATV accident and was injured, I have a broken back, broke T7&t8, to correct this doctors put two rods and screwed them in and fused a part from my pelvis to reconstruct my back. Is there anyone on here who has been in the same situation, and can tell me what I can and cant' do as far as riding?? ANY help will be appreciated greatly!!!!

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] I sincerly hope you get better.

I don't have a broken back but my knee was shattered. 2 plates and 20 screws later, still waiting on the green light to ride from the Doc.

 

Sorry to hear about that. I have never been in your situation, but I work in the medical field and do see quite a few back injury clients. My advice is not to push it. It is very hard to come back 100% to where you were before the accident, but you really need to rehab it as fully as possible before doing things that risk injury. I take it you aren't happy with your docs advice?

 

Thanks to you all, don't worry about my name, it's my nickname from an ex b/f. haha

Thanks for all your thoughts, I am going to make a full recovery, it's been 4 weeks and 5 days since it happened, and I am up walking, and ALMOST off the pain medicine, and in decent condition (I can't complain). I just thank god cause it could of ended up worse, or better yet a lot worse. My doc says that I will be able to ride again, I just have to be a LOT more caucious, and watch how I ride, and the bumps I hit, and keep it slow. So I will probably no longer be riding doubles at the dunes, or drag racing [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] which is what I loved to do. I also have to wait about 4 months before I hop on it again. I think from now on I am only going to ride on the sand instead of yards and trails.

Any info is appreciated!!!!

 

Well let's see. I broke my back in the same area almost 30 years ago. I went through litterally 20 years of pain, therapy, pain killers etc. Nothing seemed to work. As I got older, the weight came on too, which made things worse. Been lucky though, I have spent the last 3+ years re-habbing a shattered knee. Just got that fixed, and in another senior moment, fell on the stairs on ice that my kid was supposed to get rid of... and yup, broke the ankle, shattered the Fibula, and broke about 2 inches off the bottom of the Tibia. That was Dec, and am still hobbling. Got the hardware and screws to prove it too...

Bad news is as you get older, it takes longer to heal. Good news is you do heal with time. I can't feel my back pain because I replaced it with the leg. Haven't had my quad out in 3 years now. I had just bought a new Rubicon about a month before the first Knee shattering event. 3 years and 8 surgeries later, it is coming back.

Just take things easy. You certainly cannot expect to jump, or flat track your way around any longer. You are one tipover or hard landing from being a parapalegic. You decide if it is worth it to have your wife or significant other have to wipe your *** and change your depends all the time.... I know that sounds harsh, but I sincerely hope you heal and are able to llive a somewhat normal life from now on. Just remember a bit of advice. When it comes to pain.. you are going to reach a plateau somewhere along the line. When you do, that is going to be the best you will ever feel. Remember that when you feel frisky. If you are young now... just wait until you turn 50... you feel every one of the incidents that your body endured over time. They may go away... but the effects of them stay with you forever. I can't kick start a bike. I can't lift my grandbaby, I can't carry groceries for my wife... I can't mow the yard.... Come to think of it.. there is an upside...

Seriously though.. I hope things work out for you. I know what you are going through, and at times you are going to think the bad times outweigh the good times. It is easy to get depressed. I am living proof, you can get through this. You will find a way if you are determined enough. Life as you knew it has changed... but you can find alternatives. Sounds like you have already begun to think about it and at least in your mind, you have changed your riding habits. I really hope you are able to get back on, but do not rush it.. You have had a serious injury.. and it is going to take time. It took me 25 years to be able to take a step without pain... but it does come.

Now you know why they call me dragginbutt. I don't move as fast as I used to. Living proof that white men and fat old bald guys with beards shouldn't even try... WOW now that is a nasty mental picture... Hope I didn't scar you for life.

DB

 

Oh man that sucks. I broke my wrist on 3/26/06 (On my wheeler) I broke a bone called the scaphoid or nevicular bone. Because of it's low blood flow it takes at least 3 months to heal. They have to keep x-raying then re-casting. I cut the last one off early because I am sooooo sick of being in a cast and not being able to ride <u>properly</u>. I did flip my throttle over so I can still pull the throttle with my pointy finger. I don't think I would ride with a broken back though. Even now, the really bumpy stuff still makes my wrist hurt. And at first, I had to let go right before I "landed" a wheelie because it hurt. (I broke it when I "landed" a wheelie into a piece of cordwood frozen into the ground-instant stop, I had to catch myself from going over on the bumper.)

So, sit tight and read a lot of atv mags, hang out here, whatever you can do to pass the time until you get the OK from the Doc. Before you start riding again, do some physical therapy and get your back strength up. The bigger the muscles, the more protection. And consider a tek vest. They are expensive, but in your case it's an expense that shouldn't be spared.

Good luck, hope you heal soon. Don't let this get you down or keep you down.

 

I'll tell you one thing though.... Doctors and everyone around you will at some point become deaf to whining. None of them can know what you are going through. Only YOU know what your body can handle.. so make your own choices based on how your body is doing.

Depression is the biggest deal. With nothing but apathy around you, it is hard to be motivated. I tried every therapy known to mankind. Acupuncture, chiropractor, Physical therapy, heat, cold, TIMS units, drugs (Legal) traction, surgery.. I did them all. The one thing I can honestly say that did show some improvement was a therapy class I took in a swimming pool. It alowed me to maintain function without placing weight stress during the healing process. If you get the opportunity, ask for it, do not be shy. It did wonders for me.

It will be easy to sit back and skip your regimine. You have to push beyond it, and do your work outs even when it hurts. Just take it slower than normal. But do your exercises. The more you train your body, the quicker you will recover function.

With the fusion and rods, you are going to have some limitations... Accept them, and use them to your advantage. Don't think for a moment you are indestructable... because you are not.

Surround yourself with positive people... it makes a world of difference.

 

Bitchy,

Yup, I broke my back & neck on a dirt bike motocross accident 3 1/2 years ago. I have fuses in the neck (c3-c5)) & fuses with rods in back (t2-t7). It took me about 9 1/2 months of intense physical therapy, before I could work full time again. After 2 1/2 years, pain, strength, & endurance leveled out. I work out daily. Caffeine and simple carbs tightens muscles and causes some pain. It seems to be critical to balance endurance weight lifting* (especial doing rows/rowing) and aerobic training. My job requires me to workout and pass a series of fitness tests and physical annually or I'm fired. My wife asked me to give up the dirt bike. But she was okay with me riding the quad. I now ride a Polaris Outlaw with Pro-IRS. Oddly enough the motocross riding (doing whoops, sand washes, some climbs, & tight trails) with a quad in an aggressive / attack stance improves my fitness and personal comfort level. Sitting on a quad and riding does little for me, accepts gives a rest between motocross workouts. After riding a long while sitting on a quad my back tires. I don't think sitting down and taking bumps while riding a quad is good for any back. Using your legs and arms as shock absorbers better for you both aerobically and your back.

What issues or problems do you have? Legal? Pain? Recovery? You stated you accident was recent, how recent? About how old are you, teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s? I'm in my 50s. I'm confused how the doctor went from t8 to pelvis? Skipping the lumbar?

LW.

*Endurance weight lifting: Lighter weighs & more reps.

 

I became nervous when I read the thread title. I was hoping it wasn't a cowboy thing.

 

Bigsam, Good humor!!! I'm surprised I didn't catch it earlier. LW.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]