Topic

Backpackers with back problems


Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Home Forums General Forums General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion Backpackers with back problems

Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #3386804
    Jeremy Price
    BPL Member

    @tacomajpp

    Locale: Great Smoky Mountains

    I hope this is the best forum for this question. If not, moderators, please feel free to move to a more appropriate sub-forum.

    I backpack mainly in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. I backpack  mainly in the winter and get to go about 1/2 dozen weekends per year (adulthood and being a new parent getting in the way :) ).

    I have a spinal condition and I’m most likely facing a spinal fusion (lumbar region) in the coming months. I understand I won’t be backpacking for at least six months to a year afterwards.

    However, long-term (>1 year) is what I’m most interested in understanding my limitations.

    Any backpackers here with a spinal fusion? Problems? Affects? Limitations?

     

    #3386817
    Jennifer Mitol
    Spectator

    @jenmitol

    Locale: In my dreams....

    Hey Jeremy, I really don’t want to get in between you and your doctor, but spinal fusions are WAY overprescribed and WAY overvalued.  There are only a select few cases where a fusion does better than something else: an unstable fracture, a gross spinal deformity causing organ failure, or progressive neurological deterioration.  Outside of that, you’ll find no one but spine surgeons who think fusions are a good idea.  Please read this: Surgery, the ultimate placebo and especially Never get fusion for plain back pain.

    I’d be more than happy to help you find a GOOD PT in your area – and several folks here at BPL can attest to the difference a GOOD PT makes in terms of recovering from back pain.

    Feel free to email me (jenmitol AT gmail DOT com) and I’d be more than happy to help you out.  You may hear a few success stories here and there, but honestly, I see FAR MORE people who say they regret having it done.  Good PT can really make a difference – not just crappy PT (and there’s unfortunately a TON of that out there.)

    Good luck mate.

    #3386820
    Peter H
    BPL Member

    @stickler64

    Locale: Sacramento

    As a PTA student with experience as a PT aide, I’d just like to echo what Jen said.

    #3386853
    Jeremy Price
    BPL Member

    @tacomajpp

    Locale: Great Smoky Mountains

    Thanks guys.

    I’m a skeptic by nature and not convinced that a fusion is the best option. I have “severe” spinal stenosis and I experience no back pain but varying levels of nerve pain and numbness in my legs. I’ve also had some spinal buckling issues as well.

    I have battled this for the last 12 years since age 22. I have tried PT (I’m unable to assess whether I had a good PT or not) but it didn’t help, Chiropractors, met with Orthopedic and Neurosurgeons to pretty much no avail.

    I’m actually assessing my situation from  a “most drastic” viewpoint and how such a surgery would affect my long-term lifestyle.

    I resonate with both articles posted and appreciate the food for thought.

    #3386868
    Bruce Tolley
    BPL Member

    @btolley

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    @ Jeremy

    There are more conservative and harder to do procedures than fusion.  Maybe you have already read about decompression (laminectomy) on the Mayo Clinic site.  That being said, the recovery is probably 6 to 12 months.

    #3386874
    Ken Thompson
    BPL Member

    @here

    Locale: Right there

    Since you are only 34 I, if it were me, would exhaust every other option before surgery. Hopefully you have a long road ahead of you still.

    #3386877
    Bruce Tolley
    BPL Member

    @btolley

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Yes surgery should be the last option.

    #3386907
    Jeremy Price
    BPL Member

    @tacomajpp

    Locale: Great Smoky Mountains

    Bruce,

    Yes, I have read about laminectomies and that procedure makes more sense to me as an engineer than does a fusion for my condition.

    Thanks.

    #3386930
    Bruce Tolley
    BPL Member

    @btolley

    Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

    Jeremy,

    There is a lot of garbage on the web about back surgery. I found some of the info on the UK national health sites useful, WebMD, the MayoClinic and some of the postings on various University medical schools. While some folks might need fusion surgery, I think Jennifer had some pointers a year or two ago to an article.. I followed some of the references in the article and there seems to be evidence based on medicare data that fusion surgery is growing at an explosive rate.//Bruce

    #3387319
    Hiker 816
    BPL Member

    @hiker816

    Locale: Denver

    Hey Jeremy,

    I also have chronic lower back problems, though it sounds like they are not quite as severe as yours.  I’ve found that with the exception of putting the pack on and taking it off (during which I need to be incredibly careful), backpacking actually helped my back.  The hipbelt kept the lumbar stabilized, while the hiking allowed all the supporting muscles in the hip area to strengthen up.  Of course, that wouldn’t work if you’re using a pack without a hip belt.

    #3774402
    Michael Karaman
    BPL Member

    @kerosene

    Locale: Upper Midwest

    I found this (now dated) thread after searching for “backpacking with spinal stenosis”, my recent diagnosis after two successful backpacking trips last fall covering 113 miles. Needless to say, I’m very concerned about what retirement will be like if I can no longer walk very far, let alone backpack (age 65).

    I was a healthcare informatics technologist in my career, and while I’m not a medical professional I would also echo Jen’s concerns about spinal fusion — it should only be considered as a last resort and the population healthcare data showed a relatively low success rate based on follow-up visits (< 50%).

    I’ve been doing PT for a month now and the symptoms are slowly improving, but I can only walk for half a mile before my hamstring starts to act up. Look for a PT who has a lot of experience working on car accident patients and older patients. Don’t use a PT who only gives you a set of exercises and says to come back if you don’t feel better in a month (the PT the ortho referred me to!). Get an MRI, if only to use as a baseline.

    #3774505
    jscott
    BPL Member

    @book

    Locale: Northern California

    There’s another thing. Without wishing to disparage anyone here…taking medical advice from strangers on the internet is generally a bad idea. Taking in the perspectives of others who may have had similar conditions is fine. There’s an astonishing number of folks posting on the internet who will come off as having all sorts of expertise and definitive answers for health issues. They often are horribly wrong. Jen is not one of those!! but Jen has a degree and a certificate and a lot of experience.

    Many assume that ‘your’ condition is the same as ‘their’ condition’ and dispense advice based on what worked for them. But neither of you know if you’re really talking about the same condition at all. Overruling a specialists advice because of what you’ve heard from folks who have never seen you…is, again, a bad idea. If your specialist doesn’t inspire trust, find another. But for heaven’s sake, at least take the advice of someone with a medical degree whose seen you in person and has your records in hand over some stranger who may turn out to be selling crystals to cure cancer.

Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting

A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!

Get the Newsletter

Get our free Handbook and Receive our weekly newsletter to see what's new at Backpacking Light!

Gear Research & Discovery Tools


Loading...