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Untreated Broken Back for 18 Months

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ryan47977
ryan47977

3 weeks ago I started with some back pain. Doc did xray and said I have "loss of height" in my T9 vertebrae. My research tells me that means a compression fracture. They said its looks to be from an injury.  The only event that it could be from took place 18 months ago. It was a grappling hook incident. I couldnt sleep for 2 weeks and didnt feel great again for about 3 months. I never had it checked out and eventually the pain went away. 

Now all this time later it just randomly started hurting. Why would it start hurting now? What treatments could I be looking forward to after all this time? Will the bones have already healed, possibly improperly by this point? Everything else I see online talks about treatments received right after the injury happens... what will they do with such a large gap in time between injury and now? 

I was just given this news this morning. I have an MRI scheduled in 3 days.  After that I am sure I will have a follow-up with the doc, then probably have to see a specialist, then probably more tests... just seems so far away, hoping to fill my brain with speculation by then.    wink

Ryan..

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • iellen32
    iellen32 ryan47977

    Posted

    Hi Ryan let's keep our Hope alive!!!

    A positive attitude without fear with an expectation for the best!!

    Please, let's know how things evolve....the diagnosis and the prognosis.

    Hope hearing from you soon.

    • ryan47977
      ryan47977 iellen32

      Posted

      Hey Iellen32,

      Just figured I would fill you in on the results. The MRI confirmed the broken back. They said I have "loss of height" in my T9. They said it looks like an older injury and was indeed probably caused by my incident 18 months ago. The problem is  that the bones have likely fused back together by now just in the wrong position. There doesnt seem to be much they can do so they sent me to Physical Therapy.  They feel if I loosen and strengthen the muscles around the area maybe it can help releive some of the pain. So far physical therapy only makes it hurt worse but we will see how it does over time.

      smile

      Ryan

    • iellen32
      iellen32 ryan47977

      Posted

      Thank you Ryan for the update. Hope the Physical T will bring a relief to your discomfort , a positive result!

      😊

  • Spindles
    Spindles ryan47977

    Posted

    I'm a 70 year old female and two years ago I had a CT scan done for an abdominal problem and when I received the letter with the results, normal thankfully, they said that they had found an old compression fracture of the L4 vertebrae, but I might already know that ( I didn't).  The only time I could think of that I did it was about a year or so before when I slipped at the top of our wooden, non-carpeted staircase and fell down four stairs on my bottom.  It hurt a lot for several weeks and gradually went off.  As I am always having accidents like falling off chairs etc. I have got an "oh it hurts but I'll soldier on" attitude so I don't usually bother getting it looked at, apart from when I slipped over in the garden and broke my femur clean in half.  I do have osteoporosis so I should be much more careful about what I do these days as I could break something again but I'm afraid I never learn!

    The pain you are getting may mean there's a bit of arthritis around that area and now you know you've had that compression fracture you're concentrating on the pain which makes it seem worse.  I don't think there can be any treatment for it after all this time and I was never offered any but perhaps the MRI scan might put your mind at rest. 

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