Spine Fracture Qs

Anyone suffered a spinal fracture?

On sunday, i landed badly, likely head first then hard onto my back.  I couldnt get up for several minutes and couldnt walk for quite a while. v. basic first aid demonstrated that im not paralysed and no unusual lumps/bumps in the painful lumbar region, rightly or wrongly, i decided to keep it all moving gently.  buprofen and paracetamol alternating on sunday, then  a codeine in the hope that would allow me to sleep. yesterday it took me about an hour to get out of bed, once up and moving the pain reduces significantly.  last night was pretty bad, if i lie flat on my back it seizes up and is then really painful to get moving.

im on hold with 101..

anyone had a spinal fracture and walked about before it was properly diagnosed?

I would be at somewhere for a proper check up with all that, just in case. Have you got a walk-in hospital nearby or someone to take you to one?

I broke my C2 vertebra after landing on the top of my head during an OTB.  I was out on my own, not sure if I’d been unconscious (think I prob had been), got up and rode my bike home.

Moaned about my neck hurting and feeling stiff for an hour or so before I was eventually persuaded to go to A&E.  They x-rayed me and managed to miss the fracture, then sent me home with suspected whiplash.  A consultant rechecked the x-rays a day or 2 later and called me back to hospital where I was fitted with a halo brace for the next 3 months.

Afterwards the surgeon made it very clear to me how close I’d been to not being able to walk again.

GET IT CHECKED OUT!

Get it checked out.

I had no bruising or bumps on my spine, but my side went black – see injuries below.

There was no-way I could walk or move when I broke mine – car vs bike. Split the L1 and T12 from front to back and broke 4 ribs. Took a shed load of morphine before they could move me. 6 1/2 weeks flat on my back in hospital and 3 months in a TLSO brace. Now only have half my L1 left.

i ticked the boxes with 111 and clinical consultant – im not paralysed, internally bleeding or have cancer, so nothing else to do for now.  “if no change in symptoms by Friday, call your GP”

no walk in option round here, if i call my GP on Friday i could probably get a call back a week later..(private isnt an option)

i figure absolute worst case is ive cracked a vertabrea or two, but not so bad that ive damaged the nerve – so continue with mild anti inflammatory/painkillers and keep it gently moving

Yep, got a drop badly wrong and ended up falling several feet onto my back. It took me a while to get back up again, rode the mile or so back to the car and made it home. Mrs Scape triaged me(!)  and sent me to A&E because by then the pain had got so bad I simply didn’t know what to do with myself.  Turns out I had crush-fractured T11 and T12.

Go and get it checked/X-rayed etc. There are so many different ways to damage your spine, and pretending it isn’t too bad is a potentially life-changing error……

I came off my bike, onto my head and flipped onto my back in summer 2022.  I had two chipped vertebrae and fractured ribs at the rear (the latter from a tupperware in my backpack).  I daren’t think about what my head would have looked like if my helmet was anything to go by.

I was in huge pain and for the first few moments I was worried about movement in my limbs, and though I had movement in my digits quite quickly I was strapped up on a mobile stretcher while the category 1 pathway was activated!

After about 12 hours of scans to check various things I was discharged from ED with very strong painkillers, not least because the hospital was on black escalation and I wasn’t dying.  The post-injury pathway these days is commonly further review of images, and if there are no further concerns then it was up to me to come back to an open access outpatient clinic if I wanted.  In the past this injury might have been managed with bed rest and a brace, but these days the advice is to keep moving.

I quickly came off the stronger painkillers quickly and onto the ibuprofen, while keeping as mobile as possible.  I was up and walking on day 2-3, then back on an indoor bike within 2 weeks.  I was back to road riding and gentle MTB within 4 weeks.  Muscular pain was acute for some months, and my core muscles at the front (surprisingly) seemed most affected by loss of movement.  I did a short course of physio and now use a standing desk.

Longer term…. my confidence on the road bike is still a bit low and I get muscular pain in my right shoulder and across the front of my body, especially when doing things like cooking.  I am also conscious of pain if I sit, so I tend to move about the house or office a lot – no bad thing I suppose.

Compared to what I was thinking in those first few moments, though, I’ll take it!

Absolutley get it checked (scan/x-ray)… I discovered I had a fractured c6 about 5 days after a car crash, I thought it was just a stiff neck until I bent over to put some clothes in the washer and felt a click/sensiation that was not right at all!

Ambulance out, strapped to a spinal board …to a&e

Very luckily the nature of the fracture only required a soft neck coller for a few weeks, don’t take any risks with something like that…get it checked!

Having been walking wounded myself, (until the surgeon phoned me whilst looking at my MRI scan and told me to get to the major trauma ward straight away where the surgical team would be waiting) I would recommend going to A&E. Even if you have to say you did it this morning.

After the op, the surgeon told me that one good sneeze would have consigned me to a lifetime of wearing a nappy.

Just a flip side to this , I found out I had crushed vertebrae in my spine in 2009 following a Dexa scan that also diagnosed Osteoporosis. Came as news to me as I hadn’t had an accident or had any trauma at all 🤔

Slightly similarly to @oldfart I had been experiencing back ache/pain for several months (worst at night, I had to ask my now husband to roll me over) and even moved house twice before deciding I’d finally go to my GP and say I was suffering with back ache. Had an xray and then CT scan to discover an already healed compression fracture of my T5. Had the dexa scan because other than one accident which I rode away from and one which I wouldn’t have said I was ‘unable to walk after’ showed that I’m border line in my spine for osteopenia. We’re probably two years down the line from being told it had already healed now and I’m having issues with back/neck pain on and off and I believe that its because of inadequate care/knowledge while the bone was healing because it was ‘just back pain’.

No experience but I hope you heal up pal

T12 here but from a car accident.

Pain was worse at night or 1st thing as it’d seize up.  20yrs later I’m beginning to suffer. However I’m my own worst enemy so…

But go get an xray

Compression fracture of T12 due to an awkward fall climbing and some ripping gear. Most excruciating pain ever, but primarily muscular. Got carted off by mountain rescue.  A&E consultant was quite surprised I couldn’t get up as x-ray showed nothing. CT scan caused some consternation as I’d done something previously apparently. Took a couple of days to walk again, whole ward needed earplugs when the physios tried the first time.

Get it checked out, but suspect they’ll send you home after the x-ray.

@GolfChick The follow up Dexa showed an overall improvement in my bone density of 10% after regular doses of Calcium tablets and Alendronic Acid , they said anything over 4% was significant and the bone density in my spine had improved by 27% something they’d never heard of . Made me question if the initial diagnosis was right ? I’m now considered Osteopaenic. What’s odd is that the Alendronic Acid was considered vital for the Calcium to work but they stopped me taking it after 10 years because they’d discovered it can increase the risks of fractures 🙄

I think my condition was connected to having curvature of the spine as a kid but they aren’t convinced. I went through what felt like torture at the time and had to wear special insoles in my shoes .

My GP said as a postie with all the walking I did and exposure to sun I’d be the last person he’d expect to have Osteoporosis 🙄

Lastly when I asked the specialist about MTBing he told me I couldn’t ever do that again because of the impact and instead I should take up jogging especially on hard surfaces 🤔🤔🤔🤔

So glad I didn’t listen to him .