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ral

By ral
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ral

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4tn pass of my set today, was running an uneventful 28 off. Looks like I did something stupid @ 4, and had an OTF at the wake. But instead of rolling over my back, my head dove into the water and my feet and ski went over it. Heard a crack in my neck amd then my right arm was numb and lifeless. Was pulled out of e water and put a neck stabilizer, then to the dock. Movement and feeling returned to my arm, but something was for sure not right.

 

ER, X rays did not show any fracture, but MRI did. Damage to ligaments and disc between c6 and c7, so right now at the hospital waitng 48 hours to get a plate in my neck...

 

Doctor said that I should be OK and should be able to ski again soon. Hope it is true.

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Gloersen Mentor

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Sorry to hear of your injury. Pursue all options (including non-surgical if viable!), multiple opinions, if I recall you have an ortho doc in the family to tap for detailed insight.

 

Keep in mind clinical studies have reported increased rates of disc degeneration in levels adjacent to fusion. It is believed that eliminating motion through fusion shifts the load to the adjacent levels thus causing earlier disc degeneration. It’s been shown cervical spine fusion causes intradiscal pressures to significantly increase during normal flexion motion, less during extension as adjacent level intradiscal pressures is reduced since the facet joints play a more active role, thus relieving some of the force transferred to the discs in extension. Overall though, increased intradiscal pressures may partially explain the accelerated breakdown of adjacent level discs following fusion.

 

If you run the risk of permanent neuropathy without stabilization/fusion, obviously options are limited.

 

Either way it can only lead to better practice, improved technique and running the 12m line…next season!

 

Godspeed.

 

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Gloersen Mentor

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Sorry to hear of your injury. Pursue all options (including non-surgical if viable!), multiple opinions, if I recall you have an ortho doc in the family to tap for detailed insight.

 

Keep in mind clinical studies have reported increased rates of disc degeneration in levels adjacent to fusion. It is believed that eliminating motion through fusion shifts the load to the adjacent levels thus causing earlier disc degeneration. It’s been shown cervical spine fusion causes intradiscal pressures to significantly increase during normal flexion motion, less during extension as adjacent level intradiscal pressures is reduced since the facet joints play a more active role, thus relieving some of the force transferred to the discs in extension. Overall though, increased intradiscal pressures may partially explain the accelerated breakdown of adjacent level discs following fusion.

 

If you run the risk of permanent neuropathy without stabilization/fusion, obviously options are limited.

 

Either way it can only lead to better practice, improved technique and running the 12m line…next season!

 

Godspeed.

 

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ral

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Thanks guys. My brother is in the evaluation team, with spinal surgeons and expert neurologists. Will have a stability exam on Monday, and surgery on Tue if unstability is confirmed. Doc told that, if I have the surgery, I should be skiing with no physical limitatilns in 3 months.
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Thanks guys. My brother is in the evaluation team, with spinal surgeons and expert neurologists. Will have a stability exam on Monday, and surgery on Tue if unstability is confirmed. Doc told that, if I have the surgery, I should be skiing with no physical limitatilns in 3 months.
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EricKelley Community Regular

EricKelley

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Had a similar incident @39 two years ago. Traumatic herniation of C5, hands went numb, shoulder weakness, mild cord compression. 2 opinions with multiple MRI follow ups at 2, 4, 6 month intervals. My disk resorbed instead of calcifying.. was lucky. No surgery necessary. Get a couple opinions like you are planning. Be thankful your not a quad.
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EricKelley Community Regular

EricKelley

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Had a similar incident @39 two years ago. Traumatic herniation of C5, hands went numb, shoulder weakness, mild cord compression. 2 opinions with multiple MRI follow ups at 2, 4, 6 month intervals. My disk resorbed instead of calcifying.. was lucky. No surgery necessary. Get a couple opinions like you are planning. Be thankful your not a quad.
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skidawg Grand Master

skidawg

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You will definately be able to overcome this, Example: My wife ruptured a disc in her lower back last may (racing mountain bikes), (foot drop, numbness, etc---very bad) She couldn't walk for a day or two. Dr. said surgery is a must. She decided to do some conservative treatment and forgo the surgery. She took her time getting back into shape and she just won the south central cross country mtb championship two weeks ago and will win the Lousiana state series two weeks from now. You will be able to ski again it that is what you want to do. You are in my family's prayers.
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skidawg Grand Master

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You will definately be able to overcome this, Example: My wife ruptured a disc in her lower back last may (racing mountain bikes), (foot drop, numbness, etc---very bad) She couldn't walk for a day or two. Dr. said surgery is a must. She decided to do some conservative treatment and forgo the surgery. She took her time getting back into shape and she just won the south central cross country mtb championship two weeks ago and will win the Lousiana state series two weeks from now. You will be able to ski again it that is what you want to do. You are in my family's prayers.
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ral

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Thanks guys for your nice words and prayers. They mean and help a lot. Surgery tomorrow, the main issue is the front ligament, not the disc. As it is ruptured, my neck is unstable, so it is actually dangerous even for sedentary life. I have full confidence in the medical team, and hope everything goes well and to be starting rehab in 2 weeks and be back in the water around the end of the season.

 

Is it my idea, or Jon Travers skis with something that looks intended to prevent this kind of injury?

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Thanks guys for your nice words and prayers. They mean and help a lot. Surgery tomorrow, the main issue is the front ligament, not the disc. As it is ruptured, my neck is unstable, so it is actually dangerous even for sedentary life. I have full confidence in the medical team, and hope everything goes well and to be starting rehab in 2 weeks and be back in the water around the end of the season.

 

Is it my idea, or Jon Travers skis with something that looks intended to prevent this kind of injury?

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Razorskier1 Grand Master

Razorskier1

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Good luck RAL. Glad that it can be repaired and you can get back to the water. As much as we all try to avoid injury, the nature of our sport is you go until you fail, which means we are frequently pushing our limits. Spines, shoulders, knees and ankles all seem to be common injuries.

 

All spine injuries are a little different. In my experience I ruptured a disc in the low back (c4-5) in August about 5 years ago. It was an odd injury. Came around 4 ball at 28 off in practice in good shape, hooked up to the handle and felt a little pinch. Skied the pass and then threw the handle. Told my wife it was just a precaution. A few days later the pain in my back and right leg got so bad it dropped me to the ground mid-stride several times. Then I started to get numb in the foot and lost about 75% of the strength in my right quad. Now I'm freaking. My regular physical therapist works at it, but it seems not to get better. See neurosurgeon. MRI with contrast plus an EMG. He basically told me that my entire spine was a mess, that I needed decompression surgery, and that I should never ski again. By this time 8 weeks had passed and I noticed my leg feeling slightly better. Talked to my physical therapist. He said (a) if you have this particular surgery, you will never ski again because it will create instability, and (b) if it is starting to feel better, it is extremely likely that it continues to feel better. He was right. End of the day, I have about 90% of the strength back in my right leg, some remaining numbness that probably never goes away, but I am still skiing, and better than ever before. I got lucky! Having some neck issues now for the 4th time -- twice on the right, twice on the left. Right arm/shoulder are weak and my right thumb is numb. Can't lay flat without pinching the nerve hard. MRI shot last week. Waiting for results and recommendations. With the repeated problems, at some point it will need fixing. Question is when, what type of fix, and what does it mean for activities. I'm not worried about not being able to ski -- just trying to get the process moving so that if it needs fixing I can get it done now and be ready for spring. I guess the message is evaluate each injury on its own merits -- no two are alike.

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Razorskier1 Grand Master

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Good luck RAL. Glad that it can be repaired and you can get back to the water. As much as we all try to avoid injury, the nature of our sport is you go until you fail, which means we are frequently pushing our limits. Spines, shoulders, knees and ankles all seem to be common injuries.

 

All spine injuries are a little different. In my experience I ruptured a disc in the low back (c4-5) in August about 5 years ago. It was an odd injury. Came around 4 ball at 28 off in practice in good shape, hooked up to the handle and felt a little pinch. Skied the pass and then threw the handle. Told my wife it was just a precaution. A few days later the pain in my back and right leg got so bad it dropped me to the ground mid-stride several times. Then I started to get numb in the foot and lost about 75% of the strength in my right quad. Now I'm freaking. My regular physical therapist works at it, but it seems not to get better. See neurosurgeon. MRI with contrast plus an EMG. He basically told me that my entire spine was a mess, that I needed decompression surgery, and that I should never ski again. By this time 8 weeks had passed and I noticed my leg feeling slightly better. Talked to my physical therapist. He said (a) if you have this particular surgery, you will never ski again because it will create instability, and (b) if it is starting to feel better, it is extremely likely that it continues to feel better. He was right. End of the day, I have about 90% of the strength back in my right leg, some remaining numbness that probably never goes away, but I am still skiing, and better than ever before. I got lucky! Having some neck issues now for the 4th time -- twice on the right, twice on the left. Right arm/shoulder are weak and my right thumb is numb. Can't lay flat without pinching the nerve hard. MRI shot last week. Waiting for results and recommendations. With the repeated problems, at some point it will need fixing. Question is when, what type of fix, and what does it mean for activities. I'm not worried about not being able to ski -- just trying to get the process moving so that if it needs fixing I can get it done now and be ready for spring. I guess the message is evaluate each injury on its own merits -- no two are alike.

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dvskiing Apprentice

dvskiing

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Good Luck Ral! I had neck surgery C7-T1 a year ago last month, the first couple weeks were the worst only because you are afraid that moving your head is going to mess up the work the docs have done. Don't push too hard too soon with your therapy, take care of yourself and you will be feeling good enough to put up the tree at Christmas and ready to ski come spring.
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dvskiing Apprentice

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Good Luck Ral! I had neck surgery C7-T1 a year ago last month, the first couple weeks were the worst only because you are afraid that moving your head is going to mess up the work the docs have done. Don't push too hard too soon with your therapy, take care of yourself and you will be feeling good enough to put up the tree at Christmas and ready to ski come spring.
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Thanks to all for your support and for taking the time to write. It means a lot.

 

Surgeon is very happy with the results, and he said everything went as planned.

 

I am feeling better now, much improvement 24 hours after the surgery. Probably it will be a while before hitting the water again, but I have the firm commitment to be in my best possible shape when back to get to that blue line soon.

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Thanks to all for your support and for taking the time to write. It means a lot.

 

Surgeon is very happy with the results, and he said everything went as planned.

 

I am feeling better now, much improvement 24 hours after the surgery. Probably it will be a while before hitting the water again, but I have the firm commitment to be in my best possible shape when back to get to that blue line soon.

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