Anyone sick or injured and came back?

[stillbill]

HI All, Anyone been injured or ill and was off trail and was able to make a comeback to hiking? I might have broken lumbar. Going for MRI to find out for sure.Take care, Bill

[Pedaling Fool]

Is this what you're talking about? http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/spra.../a/lowback.htm

There are worse injuries to have, if that's what you're talking about. I hiked in 2008 with a lower back injury after being hit by a pickup (I was on a bike) and now I think I'm suffering from exactly the same symptoms in the above link from a deadlift I did at the gym the other day. It's a pain, but still active, not at all sidelining injury, just go for it.

However, if you're talking about an injury related to the spine, that's a big deal and (IMO) more of a reason to start weight training, especially exercises centered around the back, both upper and lower.

[Pedaling Fool]

Sorry, some how I glazed over the word "broken", so you're probably talking about this http://www.apparelyzed.com/broken-back.html

That sounds very serious, but my recommendation on weight training is the same, but how you go about it will obviously be different and I'll leave to an expert.

I just hope you find an expert that sees the importance of weight training. Not all experts are created equal

[sbhikes]

My boyfriend sprained his ankle on the PCT last year. He ran out of time waiting for it to heal to get back on the trail. He wants to try again next year. I hurt my feet on the PCT a bit beyond the halfway mark. I returned a year later to finish.

There were 33 years between when I first heard of the PCT and actually finally hiked it. When they say the trail will always be there, they mean it.

[stillbill]

Sorry, some how I glazed over the word "broken", so you're probably talking about this http://www.apparelyzed.com/broken-back.html

That sounds very serious, but my recommendation on weight training is the same, but how you go about it will obviously be different and I'll leave to an expert.

I just hope you find an expert that sees the importance of weight training. Not all experts are created equal

Thanks John, Thats how Doc expressed it. I worked two weeks in pain. Im yard jockey. Constant moving! I took a fall. Probably how I did it.Instant pain. 24/7! Hard to take the pain ,so I broke down and saw orthopedic.Got a couple prescriptions for arthritis and pain. Will find out more after MRI. Take care,Bill

[Grampie]

On my first atempt to thru-hike I had to leave the trail with what turned out to be a bad stress fracture. Before I was able to hike again it was too late in the season to complete a thru-hike. I came back the next spring and did my thru-hike.

[ARambler]

...
There were 33 years between when I first heard of the PCT and actually finally hiked it. When they say the trail will always be there, they mean it.

Wow, those are the exact same years that I hiked: May 5, 1976 to August 9, 2009. Although I tried to take your picture in northern CA, something went wrong and you were one of the few I didn't get to post a picture.

I see many who get back on the trail after an injury. Some start where they left off and some hike the whole trail. Some pretty serious injuries still allow people to get back out the same year, especially guiardia, Lime, and some broken bones.

Rambler but toc on the pct.

[AUhiker90]

Got lymes along with many others and took the 28 days of doxy and skipped the rest of the way to Katahdin.

[maybe clem]

I was NOBO and developed severe plantar fascitis in PA. Left the trail for a month and finished SOBO from Katahdin.

[sbhikes]

ARambler, I'm not sure I follow what you are saying, but someone took my picture near Mt. Shasta and as far as I know, he reported no problems with it.

[lurpranger]

hi all, anyone been injured or ill and was off trail and was able to make a comeback to hiking? I might have broken lumbar. Going for mri to find out for sure.take care, bill

i broke mine between l3-l4 ,had fusion w/rods & screws.one leg has paralysis .i can hike 3-5 miles now carring water only;but not without my friend pain. I was told 3 weeks ago that i now have a break between l2-l3 and that one screw is broke.i hope this help, r.l.t.w 1-81

[fiddlehead]

I had a brown recluse spider bite on my thru in '95 (AT).
I let it go pretty long and it got serious.
I went to the hospital in Rutland and he told me I'd be layed up for a week to 10 days.
I went to a friends house nearby and watched old movies for a week.
Then hit the trail again.
Does that count?

[Blissful]

Plenty have gotten injured and came back. Also depends though on the severity. A fracture takes a long time to heal. I had a good ankle sprain in '07 on my AT hike and had to get off for 2 weeks but got back on.

[handlebar]

Developed severe tendonitis in my hip on my AT nobo near Mt. Rogers. It may have been linked to a severe jolt of the hip when I slipped on a rock with my knee locked and aggravated when my sleeping pad deflated (due to a very slow leak) on two subsequent below freezing nights in shelters. Tried to hike through it with the aid of ibuprofen, but after two days found I had to use my poles like crutches to get going in the morning until the ibuprofen kicked in. Got off the trail for three weeks of rehab (600 mg ibuprofen 3 times a day with meals; ice; stretching; moderate non-weight-bearing exercise (bicycling on flat terrain). After 2-1/2 weeks the pain went away and I resumed my hike where I left off at Partnership Shelter. Made it the rest of the way to Katahdin.

[JohnEbner]

I can't say that I was off trail due to an injury but I can say that an injury got me on trail. I was injured and started hiking as part of my ongoing recovery. I originally had 2 ruptured disc and a cracked vertebrae at L4-L5. I've had 2 surgeries and have a steel plate and screws in my spine. After the first surgery I almost immediately ruptured another disc. At one point I thought I'd never walk again and the only way I got around was by crawling. Long story short, I'm doing much better now. Occasionally my left leg quits wanting to work when I push myself to hard but I carry medicine that will have me back up and running in about 30 minutes.