Diving after fractured vertebrae

[Ktankle]

Hi, My boyfriend is currently in hospital after fracturing 3 thoracic vertebrae and some ribs in a mountain biking accident. He hasn't had surgery, they are fitting him with a back brace on Tuesday which they said he will need for 8-12 weeks. 12 weeks takes us to our diving holiday in Indonesia so a long flight followed by 2 weeks of diving. Obviously we will follow the doctor's advice but just wondering if anyone else has had anything similar and how you felt when the brace came off/how soon you dived? Thanks for any replies.

 

[lowviz]

I'm nowhere near a doc, but I am an informed patient. Broke (compressional fracture) T2 years ago parachuting. No brace, promised to stare a hole in the ceiling all day (lying on hard floor) for two weeks. He broke three!? Wow.

Now for the bad news. 12 weeks sounds like the absolute shortest possible recovery period. Sitting upright for extended periods of time with any sort of vibration would slowly drive me into a state of profound agitation. Ignoring pain. Watch for that.

Sounds like there is no stopping the dude, but I would be seriously concerned about loading my spine with a tank.

Even I would take a pass on this one. Stay topside, not like there isn't anything to do there...

 

[Mrs. B]

The ribs will be the issue because you don’t get good expansion for quite awhile

I had those similiar injuries “seat belt injury” and compression injury

I am 100% fine but the “guarding” around rib fractures takes a long time

You don’t want to rupture an aveoli

 

[Zef]

The biggest issue with broken ribs will be the pain as ribs are always moving to one degree or another which prolongs discomfort along with healing.

I imagine the thought breathing off a regulator is the furthest thing from your boyfriends mind at the moment due to discomfort alone. Wait and see how he feels as the trip draws closer.

If you have boat dives planned and he does not have any problems with pain/discomfort when breathing then he can always don/doff a bc, tank, and weights, while in the water to avoid compressive forces on the spine.

The real question is, is he going to be able to get in and out of a wetsuit that soon after the injury...like I mentioned above, ribs take awhile to heal.

-Z

 

[Mrs. B]

If there is a waiver it could be an issue depending
Fwiw

 

[tomfcrist]

If I were him, I’d upgrade to first class for the flight and dive sidemount when I got there.

That being said It’s safer to cancel completely if that’s an option. If the trip isn’t refundable, he can always go and enjoy the beach while you are diving.

 

[lowviz]

If I were him, I’d upgrade to first class for the flight ...//...

Good point, I've broken ribs on several occasions and they can be mostly ignored until you need sleep. An overstuffed recliner at 45 degrees was my salvation.

 

[tomfcrist]

His ribs will be fine by then...broken spines suck for much longer.

 

[lowviz]

Agree, ribs will be fine by then.

But the spine, wow. Three. That's a lot. Even worse, comes back to haunt you in later life. Foraminal narrowing, pinched nerves, over-calcification, total PIA.

 

[JamesBon92007]

My girlfriend fell and cracked one vertebrae about five months ago and she seems to be OK to dive now, but that was only one vertebrae and nowhere near as serious and didn't require a brace. I had back surgery about a month ago and supposedly I'll be OK to dive in a couple more weeks but we are both considering doffing and donning our equipment in the water and avoiding heavy surf and surge etc for a while. I don't know how the dive ops are in Indonesia but in places like Cozumel I'd be surprised if they didn't let you put on your tank in the water, unless there's some very strong surface currents etc.