[Roughrr]

#9366

March 28,1998 i sustained a 65 foot fall, so many things were broken i was not expected to live, my sacrum and coccyx were seperated from both hips, my L5 vertebra powdered and L4 had 23 fractures. I was placed in a drug induced coma, bones were set in other parts of my body, surgeries attended to to repair what they could in other parts of my body. My lumbar spine was left to absorb the L5 vertebra and for L4 to fuse naturally to my hips. iI was laid in a hospital bed for several months, supposedely stationary, however i was in and out of surgeries, moved from hospital to hospital, beds changed, so whatever may have at one time been put into place moved. This definately did not work as expected, i have pain, loss of motion, balance factors, spine is starting to show curvature and i have protruding discs due to the curvature, i have lost grip in my feet and toes have not worked properly for 15 years, i cannot run or jump more than 2 inches high unless i am bent forward approximately 5-10 degrees leading me to believe i need this cut loose and realigned. What are my options? Am i just stuck with a deteriorating debilitating defect or is this fixable?.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#9378

Much depends upon how your skeleton “healed”. The nerve roots (probably L5 and S1) were more likely permanently injured. See the section under “Conditions”-“Nerve Injuries and recovery”-both “nerve damage and healing” and “Symptoms of lumbar nerve injuries” to understand why these nerve will probably not heal and what symptoms you can have from these nerve injuries.

In regards to your lower back and sacrum, you might have healed in malalignment or might not have healed and currently have instability. The spine and pelvis needs to be scanned with a CT scanner and you need standing X-rays with flexion/extension series. A standing lateral scoliogram (full spine view) would also be helpful.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

[Roughrr]

#9398

it this misalignment fixable and what are my chances of paralasis of my lower extremity

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#9408

All misalignments are fixable. It is much easier to fix a non healed misalignment than a healed misalignment. You already have some paralysis of the lower lumbar nerve roots; “i have lost grip in my feet and toes have not worked properly for 15 years”.

Could further loss still occur. Yes, but it would be unlikely.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

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