FlyingJarhead 0 #1 October 26, 2006 Im sure this has been brought up but here it goes again, my friend who envy's my skydiving recently broke his back in a motorcycle accident. P12, L1, L2, and L4. Anyways hes getting like 7 figures as a settlement check (works for him) and he wants to know if anyone thinks he will be able to skydive. Sure i can understand a hard-opening being very threatening to his back, but maybe theres a shot? does anyone have any back problems? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #2 October 26, 2006 Caveat, I am not an orthopedic surgeon. Your friend will have to consult a doctor on the finer points of his injury and recovery. My experience is limited to a herniated disc. I needed two years to get back in the air. The first winter I lay around and moaned and took a lot of pills that did nothing. The second year, I swam three times a week. Swimming improved my morale and slowly rebuilt my torso muscles. The third winter, I attended aerobic dance classes two or three times a week. The third summer I was back in shape for skydiving. The good news is that bones tend to heal quicker than soft tissue (i.e. discs) and there are hundreds of active skydivers who bear the scars of broken bones that healed a long time ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #3 October 26, 2006 Quote P12 Whats a P-12? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,444 #4 October 26, 2006 Based on the order, I"ll bet it's a typo for T-12. And I completely agree that an individual assessment by an orthopedist who is familiar with the stresses of skydiving is essential. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedy 0 #5 October 26, 2006 Quote P12, L1, L2, and L4. That's a lot of broken bones The doctors must decide. I know that most doctors don't have much of a clue what sort of strain a good skydive has on the body, they mostly see the broken ones from a bad skydive. Even so, you get a good idea of what's possible by asking other questions, like should I avoid roller coasters, or can I jump of a 4ft high table. Always the hard opening problem crops up, but that can hurt any body. Getting fit is the main factor. Muscle wastes quickly but takes a lot of work to get back. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jwynne 0 #6 October 27, 2006 If you were to search broken back, I'm sure you'd find lot's of discussions. I exploded L1&L2 in a landing incident years ago. I had major surgery, was in a brace for 6 months, and down for a years. That was 8 years ago. I'm as fit and flexible now as I was before. I just now have to work much harder to maintain and I do frequently have back pain. None of it slows me down skydiving. It all depends on how recovery goes and how hard you work at it. At 8 months post op I started doing pillates and I've continued forever. It's helped a lot. Anything is possilbe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingJarhead 0 #7 October 27, 2006 its 12 above the L's possibly t-12. He says thanks for everyones imput, its gonna help him on the road to recovery. thanks -J and B Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
