Have you ever broken your back and people do not believe you?

[Unreasonabubble]

I broke my back a week ago. T7 wedge compression fracture. A&E GP told me I was definitely not a wimp.

Anyway, the treatment for this, as it is a wedge fracture is to go home, be as mobile as you can but to rest lots and it will heal in 3/4 months.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? I seem to have good days and bad days with regards to pain. I forget I am not Wonder Woman and then, after doing too much, the pain really hits.

Wow you really should resist doing too much! A broken back sounds dreadful, please rest well and heal OP.

Sorry! I put in my title about people not believing me and it is true, the amount of "funny" comments that I have received is upsetting. I must be lying because otherwise I would still be in hospital paralysed.

Sorry people don’t believe you - that must be demoralising.

You must be as strong as an ox OP which makes people doubt you. Why on earth would you lie about such a thing!

Tell them you have a T7 wedge fracture, not a severed spinal cord, and you are following your doctor’s advice/instructions.

Then ignore their future questions and comments.

Take care of yourself and as suggested by pp rest when you need to but keep mobile without over doing things like lifting/moving stuff and housework.

My son had a compression fracture in his spine (lots of other fractures in his heels and feet) as the result of an accident. People’s reactions were weird tbh. It took time to heal and it still cases him some pain occasionally several years on . Look after yourself, did they give you a brace?

My 17 year old son fractured his spine!
He has Kyphoscoliosis (curvature of the spine) and had spinal fusion surgery T4-L2 in August 2019. In October he bent forwards slightly to tie his lace and felt a popping sensation...that was his spine fracturing at L2 and the metal rods pulling away. The local A&E missed it and it wasn't spotted until a couple of weeks later at post op check up.
He was given a spinal brace, had to rest, not lift anything heavier than 1kg, no running/sport, not overdo things, etc.
Thanks to Covid his follow up surgery was delayed, he had his fusion extended to L4 August 2020.
Lots of people asked me if he should be in hospital or on bed rest!
He was in a lot of pain due to the fracture, was put on morphine for it and really knew about it if he had walked too far. He had nerve pains down both legs which made him walk with a limp. Hang in there though, everything is healing well now and he rarely has back pain now.
I hope you manage to get people to understand....my son has copies of his X-rays on his phone. That might help you?

MIL had an undiagnosed back fracture for months. She actually had to go private to get a second opinion to get it diagnosed. Once they agreed to X-ray that part of her spine it was very obvious.

I had a burst fracture L1 after a car accident. The only people that didn't believe me were the hospital. The paramedics put me on a spinal board but when admitted the hospital refused an xray. The doctor said they don't like to xray young women in that area.

I was about to leave the hospital and noticed blood in my urine so they finally agreed to an mri which showed up the burst fracture.

I was immediately told to lie down and not move and put in a back brace for 3 months. I was told that I would have likely have been paralised if I had left the hospital without the back brace.

The problem is the phrase “broken my back” for most people they imagine that this is a paralysing incident and they will think you’re just being dramatic if you can still walk about etc. If you explain you’ve a t7 compression wedge fracture, I’m sure people will believe you.

@Muddybuddy yes I think you are right. Broken back is quite dramatic and strange for people to comprehend. I think using fracture will be much better.

I broke my back, so will join the club and sending healing to your back right now

Mine was a strange experience:
Head on car crash going 60 mph. I’m passenger, turn around to check on young son in rear and see blood coming out of his mouth so jump out of car, open his door and then collapse and can’t move..... I fell over because I’d also broken my right foot so when I put that down, it made me collapse, I was then paralysed.

It took 6 days of being in hospital completely flat on my back before they discovered a fracture of T12 and L1 plus 2 minor ones either side.

It was a complete fracture meaning I shouldn’t have been able to stand and until they operated they had no idea of I’d severed my spinal cord.

Operation went ahead, sat up the next day, tried to stand (but foot wasn’t in a cast yet so that didn’t work!!)

Drs were astonished that I’d been able to stand and get out of the car with an unstable spinal fracture, but I guess the mother instinct and protectiveness is also a strong urge!

Recovery was the strangest - other than the stitches holding the 12 inch scar together when hopping on crutches the back was fine, but the god damn fractured foot took me years and years to completely heal from!

So in short yes, breaking your back sounds very dramatic and yes it can be, so many people have sadly been paralysed for life from these incidents however they can also be very quick and easy to recover from!

Best of luck for your swift recover :)

I broke my coxis as a child. Took a day before my DM called an ambulance. Had to spend 3 wks lying on the sofa after being discharged from hospital. Very painful!

@Namechangedforthisoct2 Wow!! Blimey, you had it really badly. I unfortunately did what hundreds have done over the years and slipped down the stairs whilst rushing. I did not realise I had broken it until I tried to get out of bed and realised that that was almost mission impossible.

What I am finding it that I am still trying to do too much and it is when I am breathing heavily that I realise my back is killing me again. Thank goodness for painkillers.

I have promised myself that I will lie on the sofa this afternoon and not move.

I fractured L3 and L4 getting out of a hot tub and slipping on the icy steps.
Had an x-ray which the A&E docs said was clear. 6 weeks later A&E contacted me and said I had chipped 2 bones.
Took no days off sick at work (was a nhs nurse) but my gosh it was painful.

My back has never been the same, unfortunately. Take things easy and make sure you have adequate analgesia.

I know 2 people, perfectly mobile that have had broken backs. One's a fitness instructor!

Tbf the only person I know who had broken their back was one of my teachers-who was in a wheelchair.
It wouldn't have occurred to me that you wouldn't be laid up with a broken back, as I've never come across someone, to my knowledge, who is walking round with one.

I wouldn't make a joke about it though.

A friend's mum, mid 70s, fit and active, slipped getting out of the bath back in August.
The doctor was concerned ( over the phone) about why she fell and whether she might have had concussion. She kept saying that her back and legs hurt more. FIVE telephone consultations and over six weeks later, her husband finally persuaded the doctor to refer her for a scan. Exactly the same injury as you, OP.
So, yes, it is definitely possible to have a broken back and for noone to believe you.

Not me, but my brother broke his back last year. He was very lucky it wasn't worse - when he went to A&E they were shocked and said he'd have to stay in, but he pointed out he'd been walking around for a while on it, and they accepted he could go home.

I agree with a PP that people confuse 'broken back' with 'severed spinal cord' and they're not the same thing.

It is very worrying, though. DB still doesn't know for sure if he'll end up in a wheelchair, though there's a lot more hope now than a few months ago.

I had an unstable fracture of my spine at C6/7, after a fall, and had to have surgery to have it fused. I also had to wear a neck brace for 4 months while the ligaments and tendons recovered.

It was a difficult time but I did make a really good recovery and life is pretty much as normal now. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to rest and recover. I have found Pilates, walking and swimming have helped hugely with back pain. I do definitely need to pace myself. Hope your recovery goes well.

I fell down a flight of stairs carrying something very heavy. I was knocked out briefly and taken to hospital. They ask a load of questions in A&E, which meant I had a pregnancy test. It was positive, so I couldn't have an x-ray. I was discharged, told to rest and the pain/bruising would go away.

The back pain I had was always put down to my pregnancy. The only thing that helped was walking, I did many miles a day. Couldn't really eat due to the pain, only put on just over a stone by the time I delivered DS naturally at 38 weeks. He weighed almost 8lbs. Giving birth wasn't as painful as my back.

I collapsed lifting DS out of his highchair when he was 6 months old. Finally had an MRI scan which showed that one of the discs in my lumbar spine had completely gone. The two lumbar vertebrae either side of the missing disc were now touching, and both were fractured. I wasn't allowed to get off the bed until I signed a release form. They didn't want me to move as they said there was a 'greater than 80%' chance I could be paralysed. I had to leave because DS was exclusively breastfed!

I love my family very much, but none of them believed how serious my condition was or how much pain I was in. I had corrective surgery and now have an impressive array of titanium rods and bolts holding me together.

I hope everyone with a broken/fractured backs is able to recover

I came off a horse 2 years ago and broke 7 vertebrae L1 -7. I was told to stand up by the people running the stables, drove myself home (all fuelled by adrenaline I think) I lasted 2 days until I convinced my then husband to take me to the local minor injuries unit ( he wouldn't go to A&E and basically dripped me outside and left me there.
They took one look at me, put me in head blocks and a back board and transported me by ambulance to a major trauma centre.
I was very very lucky not to be paralysed but to this day my (now ex) husband is convinced i wasn't that bad because I was walking around!
I'm fine now by the way but make sure you keep up any physio you are given.

Not L1 -lL7 C1-C7!

Don’t under estimate the time and recovery needed @Unreasonabubble, in fact I’d say because mine was so ‘dramatic’ I probably had lots more support and recovery assistance - you will also need this.
It could be that a less dramatic injury, especially one that may of been sustained over time will take a lot longer and more intense time to recover from so every day be kind to yourself.
Maybe try asking your back, what do you need today? Gentle stretching? Walking? Resting? Hot water bottle etc?
Hope you heal fast