I recently had decompression surgery to remove a disc herniation and bone spurs at L4-L5. Fusion was not done, nor is there any metal in me. Has anyone out there had a similar surgery and returned to skydiving ? How long was your recovery and how are you coping with jumping ?
I recently had decompression surgery to remove a disc herniation and bone spurs at L4-L5. Fusion was not done, nor is there any metal in me. Has anyone out there had a similar surgery and returned to skydiving ? How long was your recovery and how are you coping with jumping ?
I crushed L2 fractured L1-3......a couple surgeries to stabilize and made my next jump almost a year to the day from my injury. I had 1500+ jumps when I was injured and made over 1400 more of which 400 were tandems. Today...13 years later I am totally disabled having had 4 more surgeries this year. Was it worth it ? I ponder that answer every day, The choice is yours. I probably would make the same choice but remember theres a lot of life to live after skydiving.....is it worth being a cripple ?
I recently had decompression surgery to remove a disc herniation and bone spurs at L4-L5. Fusion was not done, nor is there any metal in me. Has anyone out there had a similar surgery and returned to skydiving ? How long was your recovery and how are you coping with jumping ?
Hi, I am a spine surgeon and perform these procedures weekly. Did you have a 'microdiscectomy'? If you did not have a fusion then you likely had just the herniated portion of your disc removed. You would likely be fine returning to skydiving, you just have to keep in mind that you no longer have the same healthy disc as you once did. Studies have said that you are at a 3%-5% higher risk of re-herniation, but arguments could be made that you would hold the same risk regardless of the previous herniation or surgery.
Skydiving will put you in positions of spine loading and therefor create increased chances of a spinal injury in anyone. Yes, one could say you are at a higher risk.
As for recovery, I would recommend a minimum of 12 weeks, but the longer the better. The idea is to allow the weak part of the annulus or outer portion of the disc to scar over, lessening the chance of re-herniation.
This is in no way advice for you to return to skydiving or not.
Re: [ridestrong] Lumbar Spine Surgery
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Thank you for your input. It is very much appreciated. The surgery was not done with the aid of a microscope, however the incision is only about 2 1/4 inches in length. I had an L4-L5 right sided open decompression. While the surgeon was digging around in there he found some bone spurs pushing down on the nerve from the top, which he also removed as well as cleaning up some arthritis. He removed only the herniated portion of the disc from my understanding. I am having another MRI today and will see the surgeon next week which will be six weeks post op. As I live in Canada I won't be jumping again until the spring so I have plenty of time to fully heal.
I recently had decompression surgery to remove a disc herniation and bone spurs at L4-L5. Fusion was not done, nor is there any metal in me. Has anyone out there had a similar surgery and returned to skydiving ? How long was your recovery and how are you coping with jumping ?
Like my close friend Bozo, who also replied, I have been doing the back thing in the sport for a long time. It is an individual decision, but there is a lot you can do to help yourself if you decide to continue in the sport.
You can can go with a larger canopy than you might otherwise. You may be the best canopy pilot on earth, but when things go wrong, a bigger one is more forgiving. Select a canopy known to have less opening shock. Choose the days you jump carefully. Do you really need that jump so badly as to be out in high and changing winds? Your biggest protector will be use of judgement with each jump, but your physical condition helps too. Do the exercises they advise for your spine every day.
I elected to not become a tandem master because it simply is much harder on the spine. I quit S/L jumpmastering because doing so in a 182 puts a lot of stress on the spine. Cameras are getting lighter every day, and your problem is lumbar, not cervical, but still they complicate things. Personally I found packing harder on my lumbar spine than jumping, but know that if you let someone else do it, that you live with however they wadded it up and shoved it into the container.
Finally, I strongly recomend a book to anyone with back problems. It is "Do You Really Need Back Surgery" by Aaron Filler. He is a CA neurosurgeon who specializes in the most complicated cases. I realize you have alread had your surgery, but he does a great job of explaining things that can help avoidng more surgery in your future. It is something like $15 on Amazon.com.
(This post was edited by d16842 on Nov 15, 2009, 9:45 PM)
