Has anybody here ever had a fracture in L5 (Lumbar) of the spine?!
Question: Has anybody here ever had a fracture in L5 (Lumbar) of the spine!?
I am wondering how long it has taken people to heal from this!.I basically have been living my life in discomfort since it started!.I was working in a factory doingheavy lifting and I didn't quit when I should have and ended up working through the pain!. I was diagnosed with a stress fracture soon after leaving, then after 3 months was put in a big white brace that i stopped wearing after an additional 3 months and am now at 9-month point since having stopped the lifting and while i can feel my back has gotten a lot better it still hurts to sit or stand for long periods of time!.This injury has been/is destroying my life and at this point i just want to know if anyone has been through something like this before and if it healed/how long it took!?
BTW, i have been swimming a lot and doing excerises like pull ups and pushups and crunches to try to speed up the healing process!.I took physical therapy way back around the time this was diagnosed and it didnt help at all, but i'm thinking about wether to go back to give it another try since I'm being told that when i took the therapy, the fracture was in an acute stage that wouldn't have benefited from anything but rest at the time anyway!.
any help would be much appreciated!.thanksWww@Answer-Health@Com
BTW, i have been swimming a lot and doing excerises like pull ups and pushups and crunches to try to speed up the healing process!.I took physical therapy way back around the time this was diagnosed and it didnt help at all, but i'm thinking about wether to go back to give it another try since I'm being told that when i took the therapy, the fracture was in an acute stage that wouldn't have benefited from anything but rest at the time anyway!.
any help would be much appreciated!.thanksWww@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
Even though clinical healing of fractures occurs between 8-12 weeks, the bone continues to change and remodel throughout at least the next year!. Furthermore, immobilization (as in a brace), even though necessary for the healing of most fractures leads to degenerative processes, not of just the joint, but also of the tissues that surround the joint!.!.!.muscles, tendons, etc!. The good news is, much of this degeneration of the soft tissues can be reversed with the appropriate loading strategies (ie, exercises)!. This additional process could take at least another year!. It doesnt' mean you will need to be in therapy all this time or that you will have pain all this time, but that you will need to be doing an appropriately prescribed exercise program!. A short course of PT might be beneficial to learn the appropriate strategies!.!.!.just be prepared to not feel the results of the exercises for several months!. Good luck!.!.!.be patient!.!.!.you cannot "speed up" the healing process, only provide it with the best opportunity for healing!. Www@Answer-Health@Com