BACK SURGERY AND SAIL ??

[Dallasron]

We are in a position to move the boat to the coast this spring and start enjoying some cruising 50-60% of the time.

I went out day before yesterday to button her up for winter and my back is out. I am looking into micro orthoscopic surgery to fix 3 bulging disc in my lower back that seem to act up more regularly now and lost longer.
My 38' Hunter is on Lake Dallas with just a few more mods needed this spring then move to the coast.

The question/concern: Has anybody had disc surgery and what was the impact on being able to cruise? I really want to take her up the east coast but sailing is a lot more demanding (and enjoyable) than a trawler.

I know there are lot of opinions out there but hopefully somebody has experience with their back.


Thanks in advance,
Ron

[S/V Illusion]

I know people who had disc surgery and played golf the next day and others who never fully recovered. Depends on the damage and extent of excision required.

[Dallasron]

Thanks,,,Crossing my fingers...I was reaching around behind me and there it went. Ill just have to see how the surgery goes. I sure hope i can still sail.

[jabrockert]

I had 4 major back/spine surgeries in the last 5 years.

I have 2 rods about 1 foot long bolted to the Sacrum coming up the spine and attached to L5, L4 , L3. Commonly referred to as the T-3 lift
I have a plate in the neck pining C7, C6, C5, C4.

I had a catamaran and moved to a trawler thinking it would be easier. It's not.
As I see it you have the same problems on a trawler.

- Lifting heavy things, over 35 lbs, seems to be about the same.
- trying to work in a limited space, seems to be about the same, remember I can't bend as much or move my neck as much
- Trawler seems to have more working parts that need maintenance that are hard to get to , strike 1 for trawler
- Biggest no, no for me is pulling on ropes, strike 1 for catamaran

As I see it, there isn't much difference. If you like sailing stay with it, as life didn't get that much easier on a trawler for me

jabrockert

[Scubaseas]

Like everything, it depends. You may get no relief from surgery; you may get 100% relief. I have had 4 surgeries, #2 was 5 level lumbar fusion and 5 level lumbar laminectomy. Screws, rods, cages, yada, yada, yada. #3 was to pull out some of the hardware because I loosened up a screw or two, #4 was to put more hardware back in. You can't fix backs, but you can make them hurt a bit less. It's a degenerative condition. Go sailing now while you can. Everyone is different but if you're getting micro discectomies, it may buy you 10 years relief. Or it may make it worse. Eventually you may have to go back in and fuse things. For me after surgery#1 &#4 things were better but still not good. Live with it and don't let it stop you. Hopefully you have tried everything else like ESI, Rf Ablation, crystals, aromatherapy, goat yoga, boat yoga, better living through chemicals (neurolytics and pain management) and good old slap therapy. Not sure what microdiscectomy is going to accomplish for you. Maybe look into ablation of medial branch nerves before surgery. For a fully blown out disc with impinged nerve, sure, have at it. A second opinion on surgery was hopefully obtained. You can't go back after surgery. Good rule for back surgery is unless you can't walk don't do it. Good luck.

I eventually had to give up working as an auto mechanic and as a divemaster mainly due to someone at the CDC, who has never met me and knows nothing about me decided that a 230lb person taking meds for 30 years needs the same level of medication as a 105lb person who is opioid naive. But sailing still has worked out OK for me. So the pain management end of the equation made me retire years before I wanted to, but sailing was still OK versus lifting 75lbs of wet dive gear in and out of skiffs.

[NorthCoastJoe]

I exploded a disk and shot the pulp up my spine. I have some nerve damage but otherwise I am normal. I had to go a few months of not doing anything at first. Now I go full power, the pain that fades away faster after bursting the disk.

Every injury is different and nobody can predict for you. Most people I know are much better after the surgery. The hardest part is taking it easy at first, then not being superman later helps too. I know a runner who had a 5 1/2 hour back surgery and is back to running trails in the hills.

Good luck with your treatment, the recovery going easy is hard. Too tempting to push it when you need to go easy still.

[thomm225]

Why are the discs bulging?

Have you seen a chiropractor?

Treatment Options for a Bulging Disc
To answer your question of “can a chiropractor help with a bulging disc?” Yes! In fact, chiropractic care provides an all-natural and effective solution to pain relief and treating a bulging disc in your spine. Chiropractors use safe and gentle chiropractic adjustments to resolve misalignments in the spine and restore your vertebrae and spinal discs to their proper position. Your chiropractor can also help alleviate pain and discomfort caused by weakened or damaged muscles and soft tissues caused by aging or an injury. Visit a chiropractor for a bulging disc in your lower back that may be negatively affecting you.

My story.

Last Memorial Day I was building a forestay with Sta-Lock Compression fittings and sawing the 1 x 19 cable with a hack saw. Problem was the vice wasn't bolted down so I had lots of strain on the old back holding the vice and sawing.

I had been having weird leg pain after my 3 miles runs.

Come to find out it was a pinched sciatic nerve. The doctors give me lots of pills (NSAIDS-non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and after 3 months talked surgery.

Many nights the pain was so bad I'd only get an hour or two of sleep.

I decided to give a chiropractor a try. He was able to fix the problem enough so that I just completed sanding the entire bottom of my boat along with the top side hull.

He found that my right leg was 1.5 inches shorter that my left. I was way out of alignment.

I can now walk 3 miles and work out on weights. I'm holding off on the running as I can see no benefit to it for my back. I'll have to replace it with cycling.

I have painted one top side so far and am waiting for warmer temps to continue.

I also drove to Southern Florida a few weeks back. (1550 miles) In the beginning, it hurt to drive the 7 miles to work before the chiropractor.

Also the NSAIDS did a number on my stomach and caused internal bleeding making me anemic. I believe I have corrected that with Omeprazole and getting off NSAIDS totally.

I was popping Advil there for a few months like candy. Plus the prescribed NSAIDS the doctors gave me.

I would advised just seeing what a chiropractor has to say. It's like $7.00/visit with Medicare for the first 20 visits

[Reeve21]

I agree with those who say try to exhaust all of your options before getting cut, especially if you have chronic low back pain.

Try a back brace when you have spasm.

Try a portable TENS unit, about 40 bucks online.

A fairly recent therapy mentioned above is ablation of medial branch nerves. I had one side done last year and am getting the other side done now. It has really helped me.

[Lepke]

In the military I compressed my spine twice and cracked 3 vertebrates. I never had surgery. In my late 70s and in my life have known many people that had back surgery. Only one says his back is better. Another can no longer twist his head more than a few degrees.

My best luck was with a chiropractor. I tried acupuncture. Didn't improve my back but did wonders for the knees.
I have a power boat I live aboard. My back still hurt when I had a house, and I like the boat better.

[Sail2Hawaii369]

Cannabis oil is the only thing that stops pain after back surgery. You can do anything afterwards, but not much without it. Different tinctures function differently. Don’t give up on the first try! The plant has millions of different strains. They are not medicinally the same!

[squarerigger]

I suffered for more than 30 years with an increasingly herniated disk compressing the sciatic nerve that occasionally made my back go out with excruciating pain debilitating me for a week or more each occurrance until I finally had an episode that rendered this a chronic condition. I did the full course of attempts at fixing the problem before surgery: physical therapy, acupuncture, steroid injection into the spine, etc. nothing worked. I had severe muscle spasms anywhere from 12 to 200 times daily, sending my blood pressure to extreme levels. My acupuncturist liked it to getting hit by a cattle prod full strength a dozen to 200 times a day and thought it life threatening. I have sailed all my life, but during this period, that proved impossible. I was surviving until surgery only through Vicodin until I became tolerant to that, and then the maximum dose of oxycontin, but even so every day was an excruciating ordeal. Finally I had surgery to remove the herniated portion of the disk and relieve compression of the sciatic nerve.

The sudden relative loss of pain, despite the surgery, seemed like itself a pain killing narcotic. I went off every form of pain killer immediately without any side effects. That was about four years ago and I have gotten my life totally back pain free. Unanticipated benefits were that chronic headaches I was having for years went away, and very oddly, pronation of my feet also went away. I'm pretty careful with lifting things, but mobility is better than what I had before and I have been living and sailing happily ever since. Really, I would not have wanted to continue the life I had as it was the six months before surgery but I have lived every day since with a newfound appreciation for the life I had taken for granted. I guess the message is that there are probably a lot of different courses you might sail to your destination, but of you keep at it, you'll make your landfall.

[MIRELOS]

I have a chronic back condition so I switched to a catamaran, crossed the Atlantic and 12 years later I'm still at it.....an easier platform.
Hope your back gets better.

[davil]

[QUOTE=squarerigger;3862013]......................................

The sudden relative loss of pain, despite the surgery, seemed like itself a pain killing narcotic. I ]
[/B]
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in your post,you had surgery and then not longer pain medication? right?

[deltaten]

For those of you above and elsewhere that have had successful spinal surgeries..... goodonya and blessings for that.
After 40 years in construction and my own train wreck of a back; of all the people I know personally and have had other contact with regarding the issue, I don't recall any that have had successful outcomes. Many had relief for a while after post-op recovery; then, after some time, had worse problems. Some had more surgeries, most had constant pain and one I met ended up in a wheel chair permanently.

When finally diagnosed in '96, the surgeon saw the MRI and immediately wanted to cut me.
Nope!
Heavy drugs?
Nope!
I simply learned how to move...or not and bore the pain. 50 yr after initial injury, I just learned to live with it.
Always get a second or even third opinion.

Just sayin'

[gregorybross]

I had a microdiscectomy for a bulging disc that was pressing on my sciatic nerve. It was very successful. I tried physical therapy for 2 months with no success. I do not recommend chiropractic treatment. I have found they are not able to effectively treat bulging discs. If a physical therapist can't fix it a chiropractor cannot. If you decide to get surgery go to a surgeon with vast experience with the procedure. The micro technique is minimally invasive and has a very high success rate. Again find a surgeon who has done the procedure many times. Best of luck.