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I was just diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. I had a hard opening on my Blackjack on a skydive a couple weeks ago, and my back seemed to be getting worse each day. So I went for some X-rays, and that is what the radiologist reported.

From what I have read and understand (which is not much) it is a condition usually caused by trauma to a disc. A crack is formed on the outside of the disc. It heals, but the scar tissue is not as strong as the disc was before. As a result is is weaker and more susceptible to re-injury. This happens for a while and then eventually the cracks/scar tissue gets to the core of the disc, and when it does, the whole disc collapses. After that happens, the vertebrae are not aligned properly and rub, causing bone spurs. All of which cause pain.

My question is, are there other BASE jumpers out there that have this? If so, how does it affect your jumping?

And do you think is was caused by repeated hard openings?

Edited to ad: I am 27 years old.

Thanks,
Andrew

Dude i feel your pain. In high school i cracked my L5 three times, have fluid buildup, slightly compressed disk and minor arthritis and im only 22. My back hurts pretty much every day. I have 570 skydives and 72 base jumps since then. It hurts bad sometimes and doesn't hurt at all other times. I had the option of surgery or physical therapy. I choose PT because i don't like the idea of people cutting things around my spinal cord. With PT and back strengthening exercises you can protect and strengthen the damaged part of your back by building muscle around it. It feels fine whenever i do actually do some PT.

When i was 19, i broke my back, compression fracture of t-12. I'm fine, but if I don't stay in shape, my back starts hurting. Doctors said that keeping a good muscle structure in my back will help to support the spine, and as long as I stay in decent shape, i shouldnt have any problems. i definitely notice the pain if i haven't excercised in a few months. I was a D1 college athlete, and still compete in triathlon, grappling / mma, climbing, etc.

I was diagnosed with degenerative joint disease in all three sections of my spine, and when he had a look at my x-rays, a buddy of mine who is a Chirpractor asked ..."What the fuck have you been doing?"

I was raised in the family scrap metal business, and was taught at 16 years old to unload V8 engines from trucks by hand, with one other person.

I went on later to have an automobile towing biz, and it wasn't unusual for me to be pushing vehicles around all day long. Sometimes they pushed back!

Throw in 32 years as an active skydiver, plus another 21 years of BASE, and it's all really taken a toll on my 56 year old body.

I'd like a more natural remedy for the pain, but must rely on Fentanyl patches and MMJ for the present time.

359

Get in good resistance training program, supervised strenghthening exercises. Degenerative disc disease starts early, even fourth decade very common. By age, 30 the average person has at least two bulging discs. Xray results and pain also do not always correlate. Take thousand people off the street, good chance those with the worst MRI's are relatively asymptomatic. Rehab it, certainly don't let some asshole doctor sideline you with speculation. Radicular pain, persistent, could indicate extrusion of a disc, nerve impingement which can be corrected by surgery...but, degenerative disc disease is like a saggy ball sac, everyone eventually gets one...cept those sexy base chicks whose shit stays tight forever!

Thanks for the comments and all the PM's.

Sounds like it's not the end of the world, and is a lot more common than I thought.

 
http://bouldermeds.com/

http://www.bikramyoga.com/

Ha Ha...... Cover=Blown

I had some x-rays done while trying to find the cause of chronic low back and hip/leg pain. These showed minor L5-S1 degenerative disc disease and early right SI joint osteoarthritis. However, my doctor commented that for someone my age (32), this is completely normal.

In my case, problems started showing up when I began working from home, and stopped walking to/from work. Simply making a habit of taking two half-hour walks a day has made a huge difference in the impact this pain has on my day-to-day life. It's still there, but at a much lower level.

I figure I've put a lot of hard miles on my body, and at this point it just won't work right unless I keep it in better than average shape.

Michael

don't worry, it's not all bad news...in some states like CA I heard you can get a medical marijuana card for that

Kevin is also a incredible hulk stand