Spinal surgeries and hammocking

**Doc B** · 12-02-2010, 17:00

Hello Tribe,

I hope all of you are well! I lived an extremely active outdoor life until my last semester working on my Masters degree. Section hiking 1,500 miles of the AT, river guide on the Ocoee, generally living life to its fullest! While stopped at a red-light a guy comes flying over the hill from behind and hits me going 55 mph+. Lower back injuries REALLY slowed things down. Backpacking was out of the question as a Paco Pad was the thinnest thing I could sleep on and still get up, LOL! Five years later I was riding along on a highway and a guy turned right in front of us. We were going the speed limit 65 mph. (The guy tried to flee the scene!) I was unconscious in the passenger seat. My seat belt released tension shortly after impact and threw my head into the window. My wife was driving and sustained a broken rib and had stitches on her head. There was NOTHING left in front of the tires! (Hundai Elantra) I am thankful we are both alive!! I fractured some vertebrae in my lumbar region that were not caught until a MRI almost a year later. Needless to say I am going to have a spinal fusion sometime this summer. I have already had 3 less invasive spinal procedures to no avail. I live in pain more or less all the time and my camping all but ceased... until I stumbled across Just Jeff's Hammock page! (Thanks again Jeff!)

Needless to say, hammocks have given me a new lease on my camping life so to speak. I have a Hennessy Expedition and am about to purchase something bigger and perhaps even more comfortable, which is why I write this. Have any back surgery survivors and back pain sufferers had excellent success in a SPECIFIC HAMMOCK over another? Can some folks who have been this route already give me some advice as to what you found to help? i.e. A hammock with a flatter lay, a bridge hammock perhaps, something more roomy?

Collateral Information (Don't waste your time unless interested...)

-I have severe sciatica from a L4-L5 impingement. Several herniated disks in the lumbar region. S1 is broken. The sciatica is so severe that it feels like a hot electrical cord cutting through my legs from the waist down.
-I am a side sleeper and occasionally sleep on my stomach to get some sciatic relief.
-I have had to self pay for ALL my medical care even though neither accident was my fault. I hired an attorney just to get my medical expenses covered (I have never had any interest in suing anyone) the attorney screwed me and then just dropped the case after getting only $6,000 for my medical expenses.

Cheers,
Mac
Macgyver

**gargoyle** · 12-02-2010, 17:51

I have a bad back and prefer a wide hammock. Sleep there a lot and will continue to do so.
My hammocks are almost always made from 60" wide or wider material.

**GOLFER** · 12-02-2010, 17:58

Well Doc I suffer from lower back problems as well but nowhere near that extreme. Hurt back five times in 1998 and last time in that year doctors were talking surgery. But I preferred not to and wait been fine other than a dull ache thru the day but morning time is quit difficult to stand straight when I first get up. I have the warbonnets blackbird double 1.7 . And my problems for me anyway are when I've slept on my stomach. This hammock more or less in a way keeps me from turning all the way to my stomach even though I can if I want to . Back feels fine in the morning. But for you I think the bridge might be better so you can get on your stomach. Hopefully you'll hear from the grizz or other hammock engineers here that have a better answer . Hope you feel better in the future . I know kinda how you feel . Have a great holiday season.

**Sweeper** · 12-02-2010, 18:01

I'm fused in the c5-c6 area of my neck and have a bad L3 as well that will wind up being fused at some point (car wreck from when I was 17 has finally caught up with me). I have a Speer IIIc, HH, BMBH, WBBB, and WB Traveler. I haven't had a chance to use the Traveler enough yet, but I can say that the BB is the best of all so far. I started hanging about 6 years ago just for some of the same reasons you mention. I am a side sleeper as well, and can tell you that I spend most of my time on my back in the BB, something I can't do in any other hammock. I had high hopes for the BMBH for side sleeping, but it is just not wide enough for my shoulders in general.

Bottom line for me, BB all the way! It's kept me in the woods, and I average 200-300 miles of hiking a year. Also, drop the pack weight as much as possible...that makes a huge difference as well.

Sweeper

**MAD777** · 12-02-2010, 19:29

Here is my $0.02 worth. I have not had the horrible experiences you have had but, I will be turning 60 pretty soon, so just a lifetime of mild abuse has caught up with me, to a degree. I got into hammocking last year, simply because I couldn't sleep on the ground any more. Matter of fact, I wake up with back pain from hotel beds (no, I don't sleep in flea bags

). About once a year, my back "goes out" on me and I'm walking around like I'm looking for money on the ground for several days. I'm also strictly a side sleeper.

Now the hammock part. After discovering this amazing forum, I bought a Warbonnet Blackbird simply because it seemed to be one of the most popular on this site. It is the only hammock that I have slept in.

But, I sleep on my side in that thing better than I have slept since I was a baby! I sleep more soundly than I do at home, and I have a Temperpedic mattress! And, I wake up with no back pain at all.

I hope this helps you a little Doc. I'll be glad to show it to you at the FLorida Hang!

**Doc B** · 12-02-2010, 20:43

You guys are more than awesome!

What is it about the BlackBird that seems to help with the back issues? From the pictures it seems like a flatter lay than my Hennessy.

I understand about beds! I have a tempurpedic and we have a high end coil mattress in another bedroom. As far as beds are concerned, A simple piece of 5" foam rubber on a piece of 3/4" plywood atop my bed springs has been the most comfortable thing to sleep in so far apart from a hammock!

**Beast 71** · 12-02-2010, 21:09

Originally Posted by MAD777

But, I sleep on my side in that thing better than I have slept since I was a baby! I sleep more soundly than I do at home, and I have a Temperpedic mattress! And, I wake up with no back pain at all.

That mirrors my experience almost exactly. I'm a side sleeper at home with tons of pillows under and between my legs because of a work place injury that resulted in a fusion of my S1,L5,L4. In my Warbonnet Blackbird(WBBB) I mostly sleep on my back but, I sometimes sleep on my side, both work fine but somewhere in between works even better. I'm stubborn enough that I would have still camped if I hadn't discovered hammocks but, hammocks make sleeping in the woods enjoyable.

P.S. I don't know why the WBBB works so well for us gimps I just know it does, but in all fairness it's the only high end hammock that I've tried.

**2Questions** · 12-02-2010, 22:17

I'm fused L5-S1 with rods and pins as well. My HH ULBA has always been comfortable although my Explorer is more roomier for winter gear. I'm a backsleeper... mostly. Never had any problems sleeping 3/4 on my side though either. I'm not a gear junkie when it comes to hammocks and I sleep in my HH just fine, so until it needs replaced I'll just stay with it. Plus I like the open hammock our Mod 4 provides.

**hikinghombre7** · 12-02-2010, 22:18

Just another option to look at.....

http://helsdonoutdoors.com/chrysalis.aspx

**gunner76** · 12-02-2010, 22:26

Ouch.

While I have not had anywhere near the level of back problems you have, I do have some and while I own several hammocks, my BB is my go to hammock for overnight sleeping. I find it more comfortable than a regular bed.