 Poster: A snowHead
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I have a very dodgy back (discs, sciatic nerve etc.) as a legacy from my rugby days and have finally managed an appointment with my local hospital Neurosurgery. I just stretched to pick something up of the floor and my disc 'slipped' again, which has p$ssed me off but is good timing I suppose.
I started boarding after the dodgy back had healed a bit a few years ago and thankfully this is the beginning of my third winter snowboarding. It sounds strange but I have found the posture when riding helps to build up the lower back muscles etc. and does me general good (no air time and Flow bindings also help  )
I think I have (will be offered) two choices, either suffer generally and pop lots of pain pills or have surgery to fuse together the discs.
- The popping pills option is based on my dodgy back not having a material impact on my way of life at the moment i.e. 'live with it',
- The operation option is based upon my dodgy back having a material impact on my way of life at the moment - possibly no boarding but also lots of other impacts that are work related - with the outcome being that the pain/discomfort is resolved by surgery
My question really - what should I do if offered an operation to fuse together lower back discs which may/should resolve the back problems and allow a normal life (including boarding) but also has obvious risks of failure?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rayscoops, Ouch !
It really depends on what they say on the consultation as to what the risks are, percentage of success rate etc...
Then you have to decide whether the 'pill popping' route sounds more attractive then some intial painful surgery & full recovery.
Not a choice to make lightly but could you see yourself living in increasing pain for another 40,50 years without trying to cure it ?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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rayscoops, tricky one. Do you work on your core muscles?
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DebbiDoesSnow, not too sure in my own mind, saw the general doc and his view was if my way of life was beinging seriously hindered then it may be worth the operation, but he said there is not guarantee of solving the overall problem and also pointed out the possibility of failure, i.e. being paralysed.
To put it in to perspective I have had to stop rugby, then had to stop using the rowing machine at the gym, then had to stop using the (light) weights and all I use now is the silly cross trainer thingy with the girls . The back is 'popping' out on a more regular basis, and it seems to be getting increasingly worse.
I will see what this neurosurgeon chap says, so dashing off in a while to meet him
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Frosty the Snowman, snowboarding, cycling, walking, cross trainer (almost like skiing  ) to strengthen the muscles in the area around the discs
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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had my Disc op cancelled at last minute as my disc had effectivley died and not pushing on my nerve. how long you had the pain.
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rayscoops, good luck mate. hope all goes well and he's got good news for you 
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rayscoops, good luck!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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rayscoops, I doubt there're many (any?) on here who can really answer this all I can say is speak to the experts and ask them everything no matter how inane it seems at the time. Good luck.
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jase2472, since 2000 ish disc, 3 years the nerve, getting a bit chuffed off
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rayscoops, core stability work really helped me. A swiss ball was great for stretching and exercizes. Sadly I have lapsed, and boy can I feel it.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Swirly, more of a moral question really, be selfish and take the risk of an operation so i can board or just muddle on risk free and may be stop boarding (and other activities) in a few years.
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rayscoops, have you considered skiing (serious question)?
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You know it makes sense.
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had my pain for a while as well before they decided it was a disc prob it not funny!!!! then when they decided it needed an op it was to late 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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rayscoops, haven't had the op myself but a friend of mine did. virtually confined to bed before the op, and now 3 years later has set up his own business as a courier. says he has about 90-95%of the mobility he had before and is pain free. different bloke altogether.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Frosty the Snowman wrote: |
| rayscoops, have you considered skiing (serious question)? |
Have the op.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I guess there are a few things to think about.
1. Is the pain bearable? Will it get worse?
2. Does the current state of your back stop you doing things you want to do?
3. Is surgery the only answer? or only realistic answer?
4. What will happen if you do nothing?
For me I can deal with pain but if it stops me doing things I therefore need to do something about it.
Furthermore as a larger chap with a very healthy appetite I had always kept the weight off through exercise. However, as my kness weakened (and then my back) I was more limited in sport (gave up football, running etc) which meant I put weight on. I lack the willpower to eat less. At the end of last season I hurt my knee again and have not yet done anything about it a foolish mistake as I have put on a stone or so and am considerably less fit for this season and still have a sore knee...... so maybe you are better going under the knife sooner rather than later.
I'm going to wait until May.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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ashton parker,
I can live with it but is life worth living if I can not board, run, jump etc
If I have the option I will have an operation, but I do not think NHS will offer it becasue if I can walk/work for 80% of the year, then that is good enough for them.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Rootin' for you, whenever the op finally rolls around. As someone who is likely to suffer from skeletal problems later in life, you have my sympathy dude. Here's to many more happy years boarding for you
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rayscoops, fingers crossed for getting it sorted before the end of next season.
Someone at work has just had an op on his discs and literally from the moment he woke up the pain had gone, driving in 2 weeks (short distances) and is back at work 5 weeks later.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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rayscoops, here's hoping it gets delayed until about next May 
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operation, I've done a winter with a bad back and it isnt nice missing days just because you can't move.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rayscoops, Hope it goes well for you.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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actually I want the op as soon as possibe now, i reckon if I can have it at the end of August or Sept then with 4 - 6 weeks rehab I can be boarding in L2A before xmas
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You know it makes sense.
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cheers guys ..... bad news - pain, good news - better boarding and nurses !!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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rayscoops, good luck. Maybe you'll get an early cancellation appointment? You could maybe ask the right sort of physio about what you can do before the operation to hasten your rehab.
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Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, the consultant said there might be a cancellation and i could get the call at a day or so notice ! at this rate I may make the Tignes boot camp in Oct !!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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good luckrayscoops, sure you'll be storming the slopes soon enough. 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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a hard bed really helps when you are having back problems
youll be back on the snow in no time
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
a hard bed really helps when you are having back problems
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Not always. Too hard can be as bad as too soft. We just got a Tempur memory foam mattress; fantastic.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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rayscoops, I had a discectomy last August as a second prolapsed disc was compressing my sciatic nerve (first one stabilised leaving some right leg and numbness after 3 years). I paid to have it done straight away as the nerve damage was such that I was losing the ability to walk. I have been left with quite a bit of residual numbness in my right foot, a very weak right ankle, and severely weakened core muscles despite plenty of physio.
The good news though is that I was able to resume some skiing on the dry slope after 10 weeks, and had full week ski trips after 5 months, 6 months and 7 months. Thing that I did find though is that it seems to take much longer to get back to full fitness than I expected - even now after 11 months I am still improving but with a good way to go.
good luck!
Robin
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RobinS, ouch - sounds natsty !! and sounds like exactly what I will be having
how long was it before you were walking and driving and mobile generally? being a lardy git I am not too concerning about getting back to my ..err... peak fitness, but I do seem to have lost quite a bit of strength in my left leg (10-20% maybe?) and being able to build this up again is one of the benefits of the op!
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rayscoops, all this talk of lard and fitness . . . hmmmmm . . . is all this talk of a bad back just a smokescreen to hide the liposuction scars?
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Masque, good idea, i like the way you are thinking
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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rayscoops, Immediately after the op I was much more incapacitated than I expected, but it did improve. After 2 weeks I could potter around a bit. After 4 I could walk maybe 1 mile. After 2 months I managed to walk 6 miles in a day (with a stop at a pub halfway!). I started proper hillwalking and mountainbiking after 4 months, and first ski trip shortly after. I could drive short distances within a few days, but it was a couple of months before I drove a long way.
Before the op I had lost perhaps 50% of the strength in my right leg, and had virtually no control over my foot - it is this that is taking the time, apparently the longer you wait with the nerve being compressed the longer it takes to recover (if ever - mine will probably never come back fully). Now after 11 months, while my right ankle and foot is weak still, and I do still limp, by most peoples standards I am reasonably fit - did 100mile bike ride in 6hrs 45mins, and have just had a mountain walking and via ferrata trip to the Dolomites, though I know I will never get back to my previous standards (marathon running, rock climbing etc.) Because I went private I did get lots of very good physio included in the package which helped tremendously - I had about 20 sessions. A relative on the NHS had 1! - you really do need to work at rehabilitation every day for several months.
Robin
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RobinS, sounds like you had more trouble than I am experiencing at the moment (although when the sciatica first hit I was stumbling around like some one from the Walking Dead or Return of the Body Snatchers !), but I feel things are slowly getting worse with the disc (rather than the sciatica) so decided to have the op, even though I stumbled on to a medical forum that had a thread about disc operations and it worried the heck out of me (mental note - stay off medical web forums and do not google words like 'disectomy' ). My local NHS GP clinic has (i hope still has) a full time physio based there so hopefully the after op care may be better.
Have you had any achilles problems whilst exercising (walking/cycling) due to the difference in strength between each leg?
Looks like you are are well on the way to fitness !! well done!
Ray
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