[pct-l] The benefits of wearing pack for a neck injury

[Jeffrey Olson]

In 1992 my girlfriend and were near the end of an intense three months 
of gearing up, looking at maps, sewing fleece, organizing food and 
dreaming about our 75 day trip from Lassen to Whitney.  A week before 
she left her job at a youth crisis shelter a resident opened up his door 
into Jane's face and bounced her head around.  Luckily it hit her in the 
forehead and not nose.  The trip was in jeopardy, but she troopered on.

When we started at Hat Creek on June 7, 1992, her neck was very stiff 
and very sore.  When she turned it it hurt.  Her doctor had given her 
permission to attempt the trip but to stop if the pain got too intense.

Over the course of the first stretch - about 10 days - she started at 54 
pounds or so - her neck had minor soreness.  AFter three weeks the pain 
was gone.  She'd regained 100% mobility.

We had to end the trip because I blew out an ACL - I started with 72 
pounds of gear and that just broke my body down - the ligament being the 
weak point apparently.

When she got back and visited the doc, he was amazed.  He questioned her 
for a half hour about her experience and concluded that wearing her 
Jansport D-5 was akin to being in traction - a constant weighted tension 
on supportive muscles that effectively accelerated the neck healing.  
She never had a neck problem after that.

Jeff...



On 2/26/2011 11:39 AM, Paul Robison wrote:
> thank you all so much for the advice and well wishes.
>
> im actually back to work, light duty,  not lifting any manholes.  my back
> started feeling better about 3 days ago and yesterday i was like "hey my back
> doesn't hurt"
> ... all the damage was just a torn muscle,  no spine damage or anything,  the
> muscle injury was fom my reaching to the side to stop the lid from hitting me,
> and it pulled funny.
>
> anyways guys i can't say enough how nice it was to have all the support and
> great advice...  lots of great stretches which i'm doing and are helping tons,
> as well as icing it frequently.
>
> i wore my pack around yesterday (with just a few sleeping bags in it),  and it
> actually felt very supportive and nice,  kept me in good posture.
>
> thanks again,
>
> ~Paul
>
>
>
>
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