P
PenguinLife
Guest
I am a 40ish year old male in average shape, maybe a bit over weight, last weekend had a fall, landed in a seated position. When I hit I felt something pop in my lower back, and much like the TV informercials, I had fallen and could not get up. A few hours later after a ride to the ER in an arabulance strapped to a back board, several x-rays and one CT scan later I was diagnosed with what the ER doctor called a non displaced or minimally displaced unusual compression fracture of the anterior part of my L2 vertebrae. The ER doc described it as having vertical cracks instead of the more common horizontal ones, and the Orthopaedic Surgeon I saw in the hospital said the bone had been completely cleaved in two. Now after 3 nights in the hospital I am at home with a TLSO brace and instructions to wear it at all times except when in bed flat on my back. (On one good note I bought a new mattress with good back support last month) I have been doing my best to follow these instructions as any attempt to move except barrel rolls without the brace causes extreme pain. Even with the brace I still have a fair amount of pain if I am not very careful to maintain good upright posture. It is sort of like having to do everything with a book balanced on my head, lots of deep knee benRAB and if the book wobbles someone reminRAB me with an electric cattle prod to the lower back.
Anyway now that the introduction is over with, I need some advice from those of you that may have faced similar injuries. I live in a small town, and was treated in the small town hospital, thankfully the hospital now has an Orthopaedic surgeon on staff, so while my initial care may have been limited, it was at least somewhat qualified. I have a follow up visit scheduled with the Orthopaedic Surgeon next week, she seems to feel that I will likely need to be in the TLSO brace for 4-10 weeks followed by physical therapy depending on how things go. Hopefully I will get a bit more information then, so far it has been a mix of conflicting written vs oral instructions, etc. She has also already said that she would like me to get a second opinion from another Surgeon that specializes in these types of back injuries (no details on that one yet).
So, what details do I need to ask for at this follow up visit, any advice on recovery, day to day dealing with the injury, etc? Do I need to get an MRI? so far I have had a full spinal x-ray set, and one CT scan the first night in the ER, followed by 2 sets of back and side x-rays after the TLSO brace was fitted, and then another after walking around for a few minutes wearing the brace. The hospital has an MRI, but it is only available 3 days per week due to limited demand and cost of operation
thanks
Anyway now that the introduction is over with, I need some advice from those of you that may have faced similar injuries. I live in a small town, and was treated in the small town hospital, thankfully the hospital now has an Orthopaedic surgeon on staff, so while my initial care may have been limited, it was at least somewhat qualified. I have a follow up visit scheduled with the Orthopaedic Surgeon next week, she seems to feel that I will likely need to be in the TLSO brace for 4-10 weeks followed by physical therapy depending on how things go. Hopefully I will get a bit more information then, so far it has been a mix of conflicting written vs oral instructions, etc. She has also already said that she would like me to get a second opinion from another Surgeon that specializes in these types of back injuries (no details on that one yet).
So, what details do I need to ask for at this follow up visit, any advice on recovery, day to day dealing with the injury, etc? Do I need to get an MRI? so far I have had a full spinal x-ray set, and one CT scan the first night in the ER, followed by 2 sets of back and side x-rays after the TLSO brace was fitted, and then another after walking around for a few minutes wearing the brace. The hospital has an MRI, but it is only available 3 days per week due to limited demand and cost of operation
thanks