Help Needed - Broken Back!

[[old] Marko]

I am recovering from a T9 fractured vertbrae, I should make a full recovery although there will be some residual pain<br /><br />Advice please on how to train back up. I am 49, 6 ft 3 and 110 kg. I was good for 7 minutes at best on the machine and I also did some gig rowing, windsurfing and canoeing. I am in week 10 from the accident and am not allowed to do anything except walking and swimming until week 12. All suggestions gratefully received.<br /><br />many thanks Marko

[[old] Xeno]

Hi Marko<br />If you dare to sit down on a rowing machine, don't row hard OF COURSE.<br />What have your doctors said about rowing?<br />Rowing with the slide from concept2 is far gentler on the body than keeping the rowing machine imobile.<br />How did you hurt your back?<br />Where do you live. You are using the GIG word which is not used here in the US.<br />Remember, that I AM NOT A DOCOTOR. I have NO degree in medecine. The only other sports/olympics related doctors I know (personally and by one degree of separation) are Thomas Lange gold 88-92 in the single scull, and Eric Hayden several Olympic gold medal winner in speed skating.<br />Toy toy toy, which means good luck in German.<br />XENO

[[old] Marko]

<!--QuoteBegin-Xeno+Nov 14 2005, 08:23 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Xeno @ Nov 14 2005, 08:23 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hi Marko<br />If you dare to sit down on a rowing machine, don't row hard OF COURSE.<br />What have your doctors said about rowing?<br />Rowing with the slide from concept2 is far gentler on the body than keeping the rowing machine imobile.<br />How did you hurt your back?<br />Where do you live.  You are using the GIG word which is not used here  in the US.<br />Remember, that I AM NOT A DOCOTOR.  I have NO degree in medecine.  The only other sports/olympics related doctors I know (personally and by one degree of separation) are Thomas Lange gold 88-92 in the single scull, and Eric Hayden several Olympic gold medal winner in speed skating.<br />Toy toy toy, which means good luck in German.<br />XENO <br /> </td></tr></table><br />

[[old] Marko]

<!--QuoteBegin-Xeno+Nov 14 2005, 08:23 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Xeno @ Nov 14 2005, 08:23 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Hi Marko<br />If you dare to sit down on a rowing machine, don't row hard OF COURSE.<br />What have your doctors said about rowing?<br />Rowing with the slide from concept2 is far gentler on the body than keeping the rowing machine imobile.<br />How did you hurt your back?<br />Where do you live.  You are using the GIG word which is not used here  in the US.<br />Remember, that I AM NOT A DOCOTOR.  I have NO degree in medecine.  The only other sports/olympics related doctors I know (personally and by one degree of separation) are Thomas Lange gold 88-92 in the single scull, and Eric Hayden several Olympic gold medal winner in speed skating.<br />Toy toy toy, which means good luck in German.<br />XENO <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /><br />Hi Xeno<br /><br />I intend to start VERY gently, I hurt my back surf canoeing.<br />I live in Cornwall UK and a Gig is a 6 oared offshore coxed rowing boat used 100's of years ago to put pilots on sailing ships coming in to harbour. There is currently a big racing scene over here for them, (there are I believe some in north east USA).<br /><br />Most of us use the concept rower quite a bit during the winter season when there isn't much racing. Thanks for your replyand your best wishes.<br />If there is anybody else out there with any helpful info please keep the suggestions coming

[[old] Yukon John]

I feel for you Marco, I broke my C2 (not concept2!) and C7 in a mountaineering accident some years back (along with other breaks, callapsed lung, frostbite, and other challenges. My sanity savior during recovery was a knowledgable trainer at a gym and a stationary bike. Since by break was up high, biking didn't bother it any. I'm not sure if that will be the case with T9. I question rowing until the break is fully knitted since there is a lot of movement and pressure on the back, like Xeno said, get it approved by the doc., better yet, if you have access to a physio-therapist you're really in business. Best wishes on a speedy recovery! John.

[[old] rowan]

Hi Marko,<br /><br />I also broke a couple of vertebrae (T3 + 4) plus a couple of ribs etc in a car crash 3 years ago.<br />I agree with what the other guys said about being guided by the doc, and being careful. The main thing is to come back slowly but surely and not risk anything.<br />On the other hand, you have to rehabilitate that back and sitting around doing nothing is the worst thing you could do. Just be careful, and ask a professional if you need to know something. Make them take the time to explain and answer all your questions, or find someone else.<br />I used yoga (carefully and with an experienced teacher) to strengthen and rehab my back. Now my spine is much stronger than it ever was before the accident.<br />Good luck with it all, hang in there! You can make a great recovery, many of us have and you can too! <br /><br />Rowan

[[old] jamesg]

Swimming freestyle is excellent no-stress exercise I think. There's not many sports you can do lying down. A mile or two a day of energetic front-quadrant, head under, eyes on the bottom and rolling to breathe can't do any harm, and if you're not already a swimmer it'd be a new trick learnt.

[[old] ljwagner]

I broke my wrist April 2004. My Chinese manager said her culture says bones take 100 days to heal. I took another hundred days so my wrist curls and bicep work were 40% above where they were when I broke it. I had to start with a 1 pound weight. My orthopedist said "If it hurts, its too heavy." I think you can use that simple formula too.<br /><br />Three months off will result in up to 40% loss of strength. When healthy, it can be regained about 5% every 2-3 weeks. Don't be in a rush. Work on first gaining pain free range of motion, then increasing strength really slowly. Better to do slightly too little, and feel good, than a bit too much and need week(s) to recover again from a setback.<br /><br />Ask good questions from a PT, especially about how you could re-injure it. Be a real pest. You want to know everything that can be good to strengthen it, and everything possible to NOT do that could re-injure it.

[[old] drkcgoh]

<!--QuoteBegin-Marko+Nov 13 2005, 08:06 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Marko @ Nov 13 2005, 08:06 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I am recovering from a T9 fractured vertbrae, I should make a full recovery although there will be some residual pain<br /><br />Advice please on how to train back up.  I am 49, 6 ft 3 and 110 kg. I was good for 7 minutes at best on the machine and I also did some gig rowing, windsurfing and canoeing.  I am in week 10 from the accident and am not allowed to do anything except walking and swimming until week 12.  All suggestions gratefully received.<br /><br />many thanks  Marko <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /> I have worked with patients with fractured vertebrae, ankles, ribs , wrists, and also rowed thru a fractured wrist myself, with X'Rays showing only a healed fracture. Right now I am helping a frail 77 year old lady with several fractured vertebrae thru rowing alone. <br /> I do not believe swimming is a good form of rehabilitation for back injuries; and I come from a family of competitive swimmers, and have trained with them for more then half a decade. For the past few weeks I have been recovering from a sprained back from lifting 30Kg C2 boxes up a 4 ft high platform, and a gentle swim done last week was bad, as all the stabilizing muscles coming into play to stay afloat strained those muscles again. <br /> The site of the fracture is important, as fractures in the body of the vertebra in front will be aggravated by bending forwards, and this need will modification of the rowing stroke so that you cut off the forward bending component of the stroke. Then if the fracture is at the back, you do not want to extend your back, and this again cuts off the extension component of the stroke, and you do not want to lean back from the vertical at all. Movement of the spine puts the vertebral column and the outgoing nerves at risk of injury. So we row with a straight back, and the tractor seat certainly helps to maintain this.<br /> The next important point is to row very gently, and to back off if there is any pain at all. This needs patience, and many give up because they find it "boring", and complain that it is doing nothing for them. Well, it is better to get results slowly than to suffer permanent injury. One of the fastest recoveries I have had is a 76 yr old female with a displaced fracture of the ankle who recovered thru rowing for 2 months to run 100m in 24 seconds. Then there was a 60 year old female who recovered from a wrist caught in a sliding electronic gate on one occasion, and a door knob digging into the back of her wrist on another to win at indoor rowing a couple of months later.<br /> All PTs teach those suffering from any form of back injury back strengthening exercises. These range from simple static exercise that teach you how to recruit those muscles, such as the transversus abdominis and multifidus that assist the erector spinae to complex exercises that make you work on the fitball. These very same muscles are used at every rowing stroke. <br /> So all you need to do is to row gently with a straight back, and sit tall. Keep the damper setting low, at 1 or 2 as you improve thru the weeks. Watch the watts output, and slowly increase it. Don't be tempted to try to row at a faster pace, and try to stay away from the s/500m display. Don't try too hard, and don't try for pbs; just keep on increasing the distance. <br /> Keep on rowing everyday, and you will recover soon enough to compete again. I have to stay off rowing this week because my 10K racewalk will be on next Sunday.<br />KC64

[[old] drkcgoh]

<!--QuoteBegin-drkcgoh+Dec 4 2005, 08:02 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(drkcgoh @ Dec 4 2005, 08:02 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-Marko+Nov 13 2005, 08:06 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Marko @ Nov 13 2005, 08:06 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I am recovering from a T9 fractured vertbrae, I should make a full recovery although there will be some residual pain<br /><br />Advice please on how to train back up.  I am 49, 6 ft 3 and 110 kg. I was good for 7 minutes at best on the machine and I also did some gig rowing, windsurfing and canoeing.  I am in week 10 from the accident and am not allowed to do anything except walking and swimming until week 12.  All suggestions gratefully received.<br /><br />many thanks  Marko <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /> I have worked with patients with fractured vertebrae, ankles, ribs , wrists, and also rowed thru a fractured wrist myself, with X'Rays showing only a healed fracture. Right now I am helping a frail 77 year old lady with several fractured vertebrae thru rowing alone. <br /> I do not believe swimming is a good form of rehabilitation for back injuries; and I come from a family of competitive swimmers, and have trained with them for more then half a decade. For the past few weeks I have been recovering from a sprained back from lifting 30Kg C2 boxes up a 4 ft high platform, and a gentle swim done last week was bad, as all the stabilizing muscles coming into play to stay afloat strained those muscles again. <br /> The site of the fracture is important, as fractures in the body of the vertebra in front will be aggravated by bending forwards, and this need will modification of the rowing stroke so that you cut off the forward bending component of the stroke. Then if the fracture is at the back, you do not want to extend your back, and this again cuts off the extension component of the stroke, and you do not want to lean back from the vertical at all. Movement of the spine puts the vertebral column and the outgoing nerves at risk of injury. So we row with a straight back, and the tractor seat certainly helps to maintain this.<br /> The next important point is to row very gently, and to back off if there is any pain at all. This needs patience, and many give up because they find it "boring", and complain that it is doing nothing for them. Well, it is better to get results slowly than to suffer permanent injury. One of the fastest recoveries I have had is a 76 yr old female with a displaced fracture of the ankle who recovered thru rowing for 2 months to run 100m in 24 seconds. Then there was a 60 year old female who recovered from a wrist caught in a sliding electronic gate on one occasion, and a door knob digging into the back of her wrist on another to win at indoor rowing a couple of months later.<br /> All PTs teach those suffering from any form of back injury back strengthening exercises. These range from simple static exercise that teach you how to recruit those muscles, such as the transversus abdominis and multifidus that assist the erector spinae to complex exercises that make you work on the fitball. These very same muscles are used at every rowing stroke. <br /> So all you need to do is to row gently with a straight back, and sit tall. Keep the damper setting low, at 1 or 2 as you improve thru the weeks. Watch the watts output, and slowly increase it. Don't be tempted to try to row at a faster pace, and try to stay away from the s/500m display. Don't try too hard, and don't try for pbs; just keep on increasing the distance. <br /> Keep on rowing everyday, and you will recover soon enough to compete again. I have to stay off rowing this week because my 10K racewalk will be on next Sunday.<br />KC64 <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br /><br />Sorry, I meant I have trained with competitive swimmers for more than half a century. Not half a decade. <br />KC64

[[old] rhorva@hotmail.com]

Get Well SOON Marko... that sounds real painful. I am glad to read all of this good news about the healing effects of rowing, becuase as a beginner... 56-year old, heavyweight beginning rower, I just started rowing 4,000 meters a day to lose weight, but worry that iall this pulling will somehow "pull my bones apart" and cauase injuries. Still, I feel GREAT when I finish rowing.<br /><br />This sounds REALLY STUPID when I read about somebody like you, who has a serious injury and is STILL committed to rowing. <br /><br />Thanks for the inspiration, and take your calcium pills.