PDA

View Full Version : May miss 2011 thru hike



RETCW4
01-14-2011, 22:28
In November I fell hiking down Weaverton Cliffs. Everything was good until Christmas weeken when I coudn't put my socks on by myself. Spent New Years Eve in the hospital with a pain shooting down my left leg. The MRI revealed a bulging disc in my lower back. I will know if I can continue my dream after my appt with the neurosurgeon on the 28th.

Was planning on an April 1st start, but might have to wait until 2012. Anyone need maps, The AT Guide (just received it last week) or MH food?

Sorry to vent, just a little disappointed after planning for a year.

Good luck to all this year.

Tumbleweed

Megapixel
01-14-2011, 22:54
Don't give up. Like you said, you will know more on the 28th. No need to throw in the towel, or the maps, book, and food just yet. Stay positive, and keep us posted my friend.

Speer Carrier
01-14-2011, 23:00
I know you're no longer high school age, so this may not apply.

The quarterback on our high school football team suffered an injury in the third game of the season that resulted in a bulging disc. He was back playing by the sixth game.

I wouldn't give up the dream yet. You may find that a couple of months will be enough to get you well enough to do the hike.

RETCW4
01-14-2011, 23:08
Thanks for the encouraging words less and Speer Carrier. Hopefully all of my training will help me bounce back. Will update when I know more.

Tumbleweed

Don H
01-14-2011, 23:32
RET,
Sorry to hear about your injury. Did you fall going down the switchbacks coming off Weaverton? I was there in October and coming down with my Scout troop I was a little concerned.

Stay positive, maybe it means just a later start or a SB starting in June.

Helios
01-14-2011, 23:49
I am glad to hear a bit of positivness in your last post. Hope is a good thing. Overcoming this injury will be just one more step in the process of you becoming a thru hiker!

I don't live too far from Harpers Ferry. When you are healed up and if you feel like heading out for a shake down hike just to see, send me a PM and I'll hike with you.

I've hiked down Weaverton cliffs a few times. To know that the JFK 50 is run on this part of the trail, and the runners come down that amazes me.

hobbs
01-14-2011, 23:56
In November I fell hiking down Weaverton Cliffs. Everything was good until Christmas weeken when I coudn't put my socks on by myself. Spent New Years Eve in the hospital with a pain shooting down my left leg. The MRI revealed a bulging disc in my lower back. I will know if I can continue my dream after my appt with the neurosurgeon on the 28th.

Was planning on an April 1st start, but might have to wait until 2012. Anyone need maps, The AT Guide (just received it last week) or MH food?

Sorry to vent, just a little disappointed after planning for a year.

Good luck to all this year.

Tumbleweed
Chief hope you get good news from the doc...Read a post of your awhile back..Hope it goes your way. you deserve a break and then some in my book...Good thoughts coming your way..

FritztheCat
01-15-2011, 00:24
Hope it all works out! Looking forward to meeting you as we share the same start date!

Fog Horn
01-15-2011, 00:25
I just got diagnosed with a protruding disc in my lower back and even with physical therapy the pain is intense. They're doing traction right now (where they pull the spine apart to give the disc more room) and I'm hoping that will work out.

I cannot imagine the pain you're feeling with a bulging disc when the protruding one hurts this bad. I hope you get good news from the doc. Maybe you'll just have to push back your date instead. Hang in there, and deal with your pain and your injury first and foremost.

randyg45
01-15-2011, 00:28
Add me to the chorus urging you to keep a good thought. I've had back surgery twice (not sure i think there's always a lot of diference, but my bad discs were described as "ruptured") and I still hike, etc.

There's a new surgical technique, too, involving a heated needle that "cooks" the problematic tissue. Recovery time is supposed to be days... might have to find a sports doc; it was developed in Atlanta for football players and the like.

4eyedbuzzard
01-15-2011, 00:31
I've had three herniated / bulged disks at different levels, L3-L4, L4-L5, L5-S1 in 2003, 2006, 2007.

Realistically, you probably (um, almost definitely) aren't going to be able to thru-hike this year. You should be able to do some hiking by summer including with a light pack. I don't know how severe your injury is, but given the radicular pain, you are going to at minimum be in for a lot of physical therapy.

In fact, you should probably already be doing physical therapy (hydrotherapy in a pool if still in acute / severe pain stage to facilitate movement while reducing the strain using buoyancy) using prescribed pain meds if needed to accomplish PT, and taking anti-inflammatories and/or receiving steroid injections. I consulted with my orthopaedist very early on (he does sports medicine and surgery) and ultimately didn't have surgery with any of my injuries but instead underwent numerous LESI's (lumbar epidural steroid injection) and months of PT each time. Surgery was always the final option if conservative treatment didn't work. If you are considering surgery, also consult with the Physical Therapist who will be handling your post-op PT. Ask them their opinion as well. Just remember that surgery has its risks. Make sure the risk / reward equation balances. In my case, I was never going to be able to lift 50 or 70 lbs again and work off ladders and such and return to my prior job even with surgery, so the determining factors became pain management and quality of life. Surgery just didn't make sense as I kept making good progress with PT and steroid treatments.

I do have some permanent nerve damage resulting in a little numbness in my lower left leg, some muscle atrophy in the left thigh, and slight symptoms of drop foot (dorsiflexion), most from the first and third injuries, though the dorsiflexion problem is more just a slight weakening. As to pain, well, I hate to bear bad news but it is likely your back will never be the same again, as in 100% pain free. It will get stiff more easily, muscle strain will be more evident, and you'll want a lumbar pad for driving, etc. But it definitely isn't an end to things you enjoy - it'll just slow you down a bit.

In my case, which was pretty severe (I had some paralysis at some points), I am still able to play golf (I'm a 9 hc and still hit it 250+), hike / backpack, play some basketball, work around the yard and house, etc. - just not as much as I used to. I can't run as fast as I used to, but I can still run. I have to be very careful lifting anything over 30 to 40 lbs or so and especially bending over or kneeling - any position that puts the spine in flexion.

Ask LOTS of questions of your doctor and surgeon and therapist. Good luck with your recovery. And work hard during PT! It's the key to getting better surgery or not.

Fog Horn
01-15-2011, 00:40
4EB, mind if I ask a weird question?

With your full pack weight on your back, does hiking with poles help?

Also my doc gave me PT to do at home and so far the only PT I have to do with them is the traction (mine is a lot less severe than OP), but I'm planning on doing the stretches and strengthening exercises on the trail when I thru (hopefully in 2012). Do you do anything of this nature when you hike? I'm betting I'll look goofy but I'll get a better chance of completion.

4eyedbuzzard
01-15-2011, 01:02
4EB, mind if I ask a weird question?

With your full pack weight on your back, does hiking with poles help?

Also my doc gave me PT to do at home and so far the only PT I have to do with them is the traction (mine is a lot less severe than OP), but I'm planning on doing the stretches and strengthening exercises on the trail when I thru (hopefully in 2012). Do you do anything of this nature when you hike? I'm betting I'll look goofy but I'll get a better chance of completion.

I didn't originally use poles, but have always hiked with a staff, one of those Tracks ones. But I don't carry more than 25 lbs (usually less) including food and water, so I can't compare it to the old days when I carried 40 sometimes. I'm trying poles for the first time this year. I do think they'll help though, least I hope so.

I have mostly followed McKenzie methods (http://www.mckenziemdt.org/approach.cfm?section=int) regarding therapy, along with some weight training / exercise, anti-inflammatories, etc. We tried to use the best of what was out there and apply it to my specific situation. I do lots of stretching (30 minutes each morning) and often do upper body push ups keeping my pelvis on the ground to extend (curve back) the lower spine as much as possible. I'll even lay there for 10 or 15 minutes in that position (chest / shoulders elevated using elbows, pillows, a pack, whatever is available where I am if my back is acting up.

Who cares even if you do look goofy doing exercises. Besides, most hikers (especially thru-hikers) look pretty goofy a lot of the time anyway. It'll give 'em some ammo for a trail name. ;)

Torch09
01-15-2011, 01:53
Did anyone else read this as "Miss May 2011 thru hike"? haha. I thought this thread was about a centerfold.

Sorry.

4eyedbuzzard
01-15-2011, 01:55
Did anyone else read this as "Miss May 2011 thru hike"? haha. I thought this thread was about a centerfold.

Sorry.
Nah - but I'd definitely respond to that one too. Maybe not verbally, but I'd respond alright. :D :banana

paradoxnomad
01-15-2011, 02:03
Sorry to hear about your back, injuries can be tough, i know from experience. Just keep persevering and don't give up. I'm planning on SOBO starting on Katahdin on June 16th. If you can't go NOBO and are feeling up to it still in June I'll be there.

writeronthestorm
01-15-2011, 02:22
I suffered 3 herniated disks about 5 years back. It was a pretty devastating injury for me at the time. I had terrible hip pain and numbness in my left leg. I could barely walk at times.. BUT I went to physical therapy and they fixed it. So don't just assume you need surgery. Try physical therapy first, it worked for me...

On a side note. I've been having sciatic pain in my hips/legs lately, which has me really worried about my thru-hike as well. With a March 27 start I'm praying I didn't re-injure my back. So yeah, I know what your going through. Just try stay positive man.

futureatwalker
01-15-2011, 04:50
I had a prolapsed disc about two years ago. I'm not entirely clear what caused it - but I had been having back pain after basketball in the months leading up to the disc problem. I had shooting pain and numbness down my left leg - possibly an L5 problem.

My doctor advocated conservative treatment as a start. Anti-inflammatories and pain killers. Could I still go running I asked. No way he said. You don't want to make the injury worse at this point. The bottom line was that, after 6 weeks or so, it would either be better or it wouldn't. Then he'd look at other options.

My doctor was right. After a few weeks the pain began to ease, and after 6 weeks it was gone. I've resumed running and backpacking then, and have been fine since.

So, two points:

Obviously, different injuries might require different treatments, but based on my experience, I wouldn't choose surgery as my first option.

You may well recover in a month or two.

mweinstone
01-15-2011, 06:02
ask your doctor about gravity inversionboots or tables or bars. hanging upsidedown 15 min a day can heal this way way way quicker. and its fun. these are the injuries this was invented for.

Ladytrekker
01-15-2011, 06:44
Isn't it funny how we think. July 4th I stepped on a nail in the ball of my foot working in the yard. Cellulitis, two surgeries, Iv drips, massive swelling and still left with a very sore foot today. My first thought was all the hiking I was not going to get to do. Terrified I would miss the Florida hiking season which is now. However, sore foot and all I am hiking a 15 mile overnight this weekend just hoping the 800 mg Ibuprofen will get me thru. LOL....I may not be able to walk on Monday but I'm doing it.

Hope all works out well for you but I know how you feel we find something we like to doing its hard to sit on the sidelines. So get better soon.

valiweva
01-15-2011, 06:59
hang in there brother! I am a roofer and I wont bore you with my old used parts list.I do have a bulging disc and a degenerate disc in in L4 and L5 respectively.Sciatica is the thing to watch out for.All the suggestions so far have been terrific.I had a steroidal injection which is only a temporary solution.I am going anyways this year,(nobo) and let the chips fall as they come.

RETCW4
01-15-2011, 09:07
RET,
Sorry to hear about your injury. Did you fall going down the switchbacks coming off Weaverton? I was there in October and coming down with my Scout troop I was a little concerned.

Stay positive, maybe it means just a later start or a SB starting in June.

Don
No, actually it was about 100 feet from the road near the big sign. I saw a couple of big rocks and decided to step around them and slipped on some leaves.

Tumbleweed

RETCW4
01-15-2011, 09:22
Again, Thanks to all for the encouraging and uplifting words. words. The good news is T'm only taking pain meds as i need them, still going to work, so surgery will be my LAST option.

I'll tey to find a May centerfold for Torch.

Tumbleweed

Awol2003
01-15-2011, 13:00
If you learn that this year is out, feel free to return The A.T. Guide. You can have a refund or I'll put you down for a 2012 book. Just had knee surgery myself.

Diatribe
01-15-2011, 16:01
I feel for you RETCW4
I learned all to soon about back pain by age 23. After a series of injuries, I found out that my L4 Vertebrae is herniated.
I have yet to have surgery, and hope that I will never need it.

I want to share some advice my father, who has had a myriad of back problems leading up to his spinal fusion surgery, gave to me some great advice direct from his doctor:
exercise & stretch your back at least once a day. strengthen those muscles around the disk. I must reiterate a good stretching routine. And I must advocate swimming.
Swimming is a great workout, but also provides a workout unlike any other: in a near-weightless environment, relieving your back of all pressure put upon it from standing/sitting.

I used to have back spasms that would leave me in bed. Thanks to simple exercise, daily stretches, and surfing three seasons, I have not had spasms in over three years.
I am also a young buck; and you've got some years with god knows how much more wear & tear than I, but getting into a pool and doing some laps will make you feel that much better.

Hope all goes well with your prognosis; a speedy recovery and less seething pain in time, and you'll be on Springer next year with a smile & no pain!!

RETCW4
01-18-2011, 21:23
I am glad to hear a bit of positivness in your last post. Hope is a good thing. Overcoming this injury will be just one more step in the process of you becoming a thru hiker!

I don't live too far from Harpers Ferry. When you are healed up and if you feel like heading out for a shake down hike just to see, send me a PM and I'll hike with you.

I've hiked down Weaverton cliffs a few times. To know that the JFK 50 is run on this part of the trail, and the runners come down that amazes me.

Thanks Joe.

When I start hiking again I'll PM you. I've done all of MD and southern PA to Pine Grove Furnace.

Tumbleweed

RETCW4
01-28-2011, 18:22
Well, I went to the neurousurgeon today and it looks like I'll be in the Class of 2012. Good news is after checking me out there will be no cutting. . Since I went from not being able to put on my socks at Xmas to going to the emergency room on New Years Eve to being fairly mobile he said it should heal by itself from 6 wks to 3 mos.

the bad news is that will be around my start date. Sooo, I will heal until May, then start training for next year. All my gear and food is bought, packed and ready to ship, so I can focus on my getting well.

Godspeed and happy trails for the Class of 2011.

Tumbleweed out.

N9ZSY
01-28-2011, 18:49
That's good and bad news... Congrats on not having to have surgery.. Bummer on not hitting Springer for your walk this year... Looks like I won't be doing my week of section hiking from Springer north this year... I'm really down about that...

But I WILL get there as quick as I can... I was worried at one point about a spring at a Scout Camp that I used to go to... Legend had that if you drank from the spring every time you were there, you would return... If you didn't, you would never go there again... The last time I was there (1993) I hadn't drank from the spring... Fixed that mistake by taking a two hour detour on my last vacation just to drink from the spring and lay a green branch on a grave... I feel much better now... That was one reason I decided to start hike the Trail again... Being out in the woods just felt right... I think The Hermit whispered it too me...

So if I can fix that wrong of the universe, you'll be able to fix your missing the Trail this year..

JC

Speakeasy TN
02-05-2011, 19:05
Best of luck getting the pieces back together. Time to focus on the silver lining in that cloud!

Ashevillian
02-05-2011, 19:34
RETCW4
I certainly wouldn’t want to give false hope, but here’s my story. In 1992 while waterskiing I completely ruptured my L4/L5 disc. I was laid up for 3 weeks prior to surgery with unbelievable hip and left leg sciatic nerve pain. I spent 10 days in the hospital after surgery, 3 months recuperation afterwards. Two years ago, I was hiking and stepped in a hole hidden by leaves. I completely ruptured my L3/L4 disk. I knew as soon as it happened, what happened. That night I had to be taken to the hospital via an ambulance because I couldn’t move. The next day I had a neurosurgeon operate on the L3/L4 as well as cleaned up the L4/L5 disc that had some bone spurs, etc. I when home that afternoon, two weeks of physical therapy, and actually golfed three weeks later. I was amazed at the advancements in procedures. Good luck, listen to what your doctor tells you, and keep hope.

One Half
02-05-2011, 20:53
In November I fell hiking down Weaverton Cliffs. Everything was good until Christmas weeken when I coudn't put my socks on by myself. Spent New Years Eve in the hospital with a pain shooting down my left leg. The MRI revealed a bulging disc in my lower back. I will know if I can continue my dream after my appt with the neurosurgeon on the 28th.

Was planning on an April 1st start, but might have to wait until 2012. Anyone need maps, The AT Guide (just received it last week) or MH food?

Sorry to vent, just a little disappointed after planning for a year.

Good luck to all this year.

Tumbleweed


I would suggest that after you talk with the neurosurgeon you seek out a coorective exercise specialist. PM me and I can give you some resources.