Back troubles?

[bugchaser]

Wondering how many of you have had any back problems since you began flying for a regional? Have never had any kind of trouble till about 2 months ago, MRI showed a badly herniated disk. Pain was incredible. Tried physical therapy, epidural injections, chyropractor, etc., etc. Eventually came down to having surgery to repair. Currently recovering from that now. Can't really pinpoint what may have caused all this trouble other than bending and twisting while loading flight bag and/or luggage. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has had similiar trouble. ALPA doc says that this is very common among line pilots.

 

[miles otoole]

Wondering how many of you have had any back problems since you began flying for a regional? Have never had any kind of trouble till about 2 months ago, MRI showed a badly herniated disk. Pain was incredible. Tried physical therapy, epidural injections, chyropractor, etc., etc. Eventually came down to having surgery to repair. Currently recovering from that now. Can't really pinpoint what may have caused all this trouble other than bending and twisting while loading flight bag and/or luggage. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has had similiar trouble. ALPA doc says that this is very common among line pilots.

Sorry to hear that. Saw a CNN special program late night last night about back surgeries in this country. It said that the U.S. does 3-4X the number of back surgeries per capita than all other 1st world countries combined. It strongly suggested that it was an epidemic in this country fostered by overzealous orthopaedic surgeons who get paid by the procedure and pushy medical device companies much like the drug manufacturers and doctors prescribing pills for everything.
One mid 40s guy had $80K in back surgeries (4 times, 4 different doctors) and each doctor did something different. The guy can no longer work and takes some expensive narcotic pain medication everyday just to deal.
What advice did the doctor give you?

 

[bugchaser]

I have read those types of stories as well. Fortunately, it looks like they took care of the problem for me. So far, so good. Looks like about 6-8 wks recovery time till I can go back to work.

 

[wxman]

Yeah, I recently returned to flying (CRJ FO) after getting a lumbar strain in my back. Took three weeks to recover from that. I think that it has to do with a lot of sitting, followed by hurriedly dragging luggage from one concourse to another. Having to swing around a 35 pound flight bag doesn't help the matter any either. Best advise that I'd have (especially for someone who hasn't experienced this yet) is to keep yourself in good physical condition, and be careful about posture and body mechanics.

 

[Dave Benjamin]

I've had some back problems and found a chiropractor to be quite helpful. I'm not a big fan of manual adjustments so I chose a practitioner of Activator Methods.

http://activatormethods.com/actMethods.asp

 

[mrflier]

I had surgery as well, and returned to flying two months later. This was back in the days when they really opened you up. I understand that most back surgeries are done as an outpateient thing, and you could be back to work, medical in hand in a few weeks.

When I went back to the AME to get my medical, he made me do all kinds of tests, bending, stretching etc. Just be sure you are ready before you try to re-qualify...could cause a longer delay if you are not fully recovered.

By the way, look at Dr. John Sarno's books on back pain. Some people think he's a quack, but it worked for me post back surgery.

Good luck!

 

[jumppilot]

Aviation does lead itself to different types of illnesses, however working for a regional is not your reason for back pain. Many people, from varied walks of life, are just predisposed to these types of injuries. It happens. I would take a strong look at your family history and whatnot. I know many aviation professionals, many who are in bad health, yet don't have any back problems at all. (Now lung and liver problems are another story ;-))

 

[bugchaser]

Actually, they opened me up too. Got a nice long zipper back there now. Doc says that about 2 months should be the recovery time. Glad to hear that you had a positive outcome. I am hoping for the best. Still too early to be completly sure.

Thanks for the information, I'll check out Dr. Sarno's books. By the way, did you do lots of physical therapy after surgery? How long till you started and how long did that last?

Thanks again!!

 

[bugchaser]

jumppilot, I am not blaming this on airline flying, I am just trying to see if others have had a similiar experience. I do feel however, that some of the movements required with flight cases and such can cause anyone problems if you are not carefull about it. Maybe it's just a coincidence but as I said, I have never had any problems before and there is no real history of a problem in my family.

Thanks for you input

 

[boxjockey]

I had some pretty serious lower back problems a couple years back. Went to see a chiropractor. Took x-rays, found that I had a serious misalignment in my hips, and terrible bow in my spine from right to left. Said it was probably from playing sports such as football and soccer in school. Two months of adjustments at twice a week, and everything was as good as new. I was very apprehensive at first, but I swear by it now. Now just working out regularly to maintain muscle mass, as it helps tremendously to keep everything aligned.

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