Fractured C-spine Vertebrae

[Barry Perkins]

ok...so I found out I may have a fractured neck vertebrae...had the MRI last night to see if it is fractured or not...(I am praying it isn't)
this is the result of my car accident on 10/23..

My question is...
has anyone have any experience with this? what is the healing process and how long..from the x-ray it appears to be a slight hairline fracture...

any information would be greatly appreciated...
I am totally sick about this....

thanks

[CharlesDMickey]

Oh s#!t..... cant offer any advice but I wish you the best.

[craig kruse]

Some fractures can take upwards of three months to completely heal in non-smokers. This is for a long bone like a tibia or femur.
What advice did your doctor give you? I would probably advise you against much ballistic type movements. cleans, snatches, push press, etc. I don't know if I would do much event work right now.
Depending on the level of the fracture I don't know if I would squat either.
I would do most of my strength training seated or lying. Leg press, leg curls, seated calf raise. you should be able to keep and build strength with these.
seated military- recommend dumbbel so you don't have to hyperextend, side laterals, tricep ext, tricep pushdown, bench press, close grip bench, all sorts of grip stuff.

don't do anything stupid. give your body time to heal. it will heal up and you will be back. train smart.

Craig

[Brandon Campbell]

yea dont go whipping your head around, A tiny fracture can easily become a shattered vert and death or nerve damage leading to paralaysis below the neck.

Vertabrae are nothing to play around with especially the cervical ones. Depending on the seriousness of hte fracture will determine on what you can do. Def dont do anything that will put stress on it. And If your not already in a neck brace im sure they will put u in one for safety.

Plus time to get some money from the car accident if it wasnt your fault :M:

[Barry Perkins]

thanks guys..for the info..

as I was saying..in the x-ray it "appeared" to be possibly fractured...that's why I did the MRI to confirm...so I see my doctor tomorrow to analyze the MRI ...I looked at the film..but have no idea what I'm looking at..

I just pray it is not fractured..although..I've never had a stiff..sore neck last for 3 weeks ...ever! ..

I will definitely take it easy..I haven't done a thing for 3 weeks..except spinning class and walks...one good thing...I'm down about 20lbs...lol..

I'll keep ya posted..

[Barry Perkins]

yea dont go whipping your head around, A tiny fracture can easily become a shattered vert and death or nerve damage leading to paralaysis below the neck.

Vertabrae are nothing to play around with especially the cervical ones. Depending on the seriousness of hte fracture will determine on what you can do. Def dont do anything that will put stress on it. And If your not already in a neck brace im sure they will put u in one for safety.

Plus time to get some money from the car accident if it wasnt your fault :M:

YEH...if my neck is "broken"...and I can't train....I'm gonna be one pissed off M-eff'er :EP: ...that insurance company better open up it's wallet..
it wasn't my fault..a 19yr old girl blew through a red light and "T"-boned me..flipping my car twice...I have some pics on here I posted a couple weeks ago....

[Jesse Marunde]

I fractured my neck when I was about 12. Hurt pretty bad for about a year. I still have some neck pain but nothing that would stop me from normal functioning. I don't have anything special to offer as far as advise. sorry...

[Barry Perkins]

I fractured my neck when I was about 12. Hurt pretty bad for about a year. I still have some neck pain but nothing that would stop me from normal functioning. I don't have anything special to offer as far as advise. sorry...

thanks anyway jesse...I will wait and see what the doc has to say tomorrow..hopefully it isn't fractured...

[Brendan Merchant]

I damaged a couple of vertebrae in my neck when I was 17 due to a car accident, although my injuries were no where near as serious as yours.

I don't want to get you down but it probably took the best part of 6 months to a year to to heal properly. For the first 3 months I used to get blinding headaches when I got tired.

Even to this day I have slightly reduced movement when looking over my left shoulder and get a stiff neck when I get tired.

Good luck with the doc.

[Kyle]

thanks anyway jesse...I will wait and see what the doc has to say tomorrow..hopefully it isn't fractured...


Any updates, man?

[Barry Perkins]

Any updates, man?

the neck is not broken!!!...
it's just some bulging..disc thingies...just need some massages and anti inflammatories...

I am soooo relieved...
thanks for all the info... :mag:

[Kyle]

the neck is not broken!!!...
it's just some bulging..disc thingies...just need some massages and anti inflammatories...

I am soooo relieved...
thanks for all the info... :mag:


That's really good to hear. Are the doctors going to make you wear a neck brace or are they just giving you the medications? C-collars have a tendency to suck.

[Barry Perkins]

That's really good to hear. Are the doctors going to make you wear a neck brace or are they just giving you the medications? C-collars have a tendency to suck.

they said I could get some massages and they will give me some anit inflammatories if I need them..but no collar thingy

[mattk]

Barry,

Holy crap man, didn't have a clue that you were going through that this weekend. So glad you are not cracked, just a bit tangled up. It would be terrible if two good strongmen went down with neck injuries(Mike being the other)

Rest up and get healthy. We're planning a pro-am in May (with Dione or Willie's blessing) and plan on running it just like Tony's, LW, HW and masters. So get healthy so you and Bud can go at it!!!

Later

Matt

[Brandon Campbell]

dam discs they dont do anything but get hurt, If someone wants to make billions invent a prosthetic vert disc :FF:

[Barry Perkins]

Barry,

Holy crap man, didn't have a clue that you were going through that this weekend. So glad you are not cracked, just a bit tangled up. It would be terrible if two good strongmen went down with neck injuries(Mike being the other)

Rest up and get healthy. We're planning a pro-am in May (with Dione or Willie's blessing) and plan on running it just like Tony's, LW, HW and masters. So get healthy so you and Bud can go at it!!!

Later

Matt

that sounds awesome ....although..I may just do the open heavies...and get my pro card..LOL...

awesome show as always..
thanks for the kind words..but I am all rested up and back to training...

[Mike Beyers]

Barry,
Glad to hear it's nothing broken!! Just make sure your discs aren't ruptured. I was told in July that my problem would go away with the same treatments. Here it is, almost December, and I'm going in for surgery soon to have a disc removed. It's impinging on some nerves, and my right side is not "firing" normally. Make sure your MRI is reviewed carefully, and was it open or closed, my doc sent me back for a closed one, as the resolutin on the open MRI was not good enough.

Best of luck, and Thanks for your help Saturday!

Mike

[Derek Williams]

Hey man, glad to hear your neck is not broken. I am a second year acupuncture student, and am also getting my degree in Asian bodywork therapy. I graduate in a year and a half. I work on injured people at the school clinic all the time.

If a chiropractor ok's you for chiropractic treatment (which may now be the case, since the neck is not broken), then chiropractic can help get the vertebrae back in alignment. Most car accidents leave people with whiplashes and / or other misalignments in the neck. The head is essentially a 10 lb. bowling ball sitting on top of 7 very small ring shaped bones (the cervical vertebrae). Any hard trauma such as a car accident will cause subluxations in your cervical spine. Getting the bones back in alignment will be critical to your recovery, and can help prevent bone spurs and other problems later on. It can also help to prevent pinched nerves, which can cut off the innervation to limbs, leading to weakness and muscular atrophy in the affected limbs.

In addition to Chiropractic, there are acupuncture points that will very likely be beneficial in healing this injury, and massage or asian bodywork therapy can help as well. Nutritionally, you can support the disc health by taking an enzyme such as bromelain, and also knox gelatin, which is a very inexpensive (but effective) alternative for the much more expensive glucosamine and chondroitin. Vitamin C should also be helpful.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you progress, and I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving.

Derek Williams

[Barry Perkins]

Hey man, glad to hear your neck is not broken. I am a second year acupuncture student, and am also getting my degree in Asian bodywork therapy. I graduate in a year and a half. I work on injured people at the school clinic all the time.

If a chiropractor ok's you for chiropractic treatment (which may now be the case, since the neck is not broken), then chiropractic can help get the vertebrae back in alignment. Most car accidents leave people with whiplashes and / or other misalignments in the neck. The head is essentially a 10 lb. bowling ball sitting on top of 7 very small ring shaped bones (the cervical vertebrae). Any hard trauma such as a car accident will cause subluxations in your cervical spine. Getting the bones back in alignment will be critical to your recovery, and can help prevent bone spurs and other problems later on. It can also help to prevent pinched nerves, which can cut off the innervation to limbs, leading to weakness and muscular atrophy in the affected limbs.

In addition to Chiropractic, there are acupuncture points that will very likely be beneficial in healing this injury, and massage or asian bodywork therapy can help as well. Nutritionally, you can support the disc health by taking an enzyme such as bromelain, and also knox gelatin, which is a very inexpensive (but effective) alternative for the much more expensive glucosamine and chondroitin. Vitamin C should also be helpful.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you progress, and I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving.

Derek Williams

thanks derek...I like your idea of the accupuncture..I might have to look into that..I'm at a point with my aches n pains that I am not biased about any kind of treatment..if it works...it works...

and MIKE...I will probably have my doc take a real good look at it..and yeh..it was an open MRI...my ortho doc is the best in the washington DC metro area and alot of his clients are athletes..but I will be sure to have him review closely as well as my chiro guy...
thanks again ever

[ChrisGrago]

I spent 4 years working in an ER and have seen a few c-spine injuries similar to yours. In 2 of the cases I was personally involved in the individuals had no idea they were even injured. They came to the ER seeking relief from headaches and "common" neck and shoulder pain. If I recall correctly, healing time for these relatively young and somewhat active patients was a neckbrace for about 2 weeks with close monitoring, after that they were allowed more mobility with limits for quite some time, possibly up to 3 or 4 months. A c-spine injury like this is absolutely NOT typical and is quite unusual! Needless to say you dodged a serious bullet with this injury, but I wont say you are lucky because if you were this probably would have never happened. Im am very pleased that it was not more severe! From what I understand the biggest danger from this type of injury comes from the possibility of worsening the breakage and also from any swelling that might occur. So, as a plea to all who may be involved in accidents in the future (Heaven forbid), ALWAYS get checked out!