Slipped Disc

[hixton]

Would a slipped disc affect an initial class one medical?
Its the famous Lower S1 / L5 causing sciatica.
Would they even be able to tell?

[Specaircrew]

I wouldn't worry about it, I had two slipped discs before I got my initial Class 1 medical!!

[Loose rivets]

I on the other hand would treat any symptoms caused by lower back problems very, very seriously. Statistically, most back problems get better, but for the minority that have worsening pain, it can alter their whole lives.

Quick action, prior to destructive irritation and its associated inflamation, has to be balanced by a cautious approach to manipulation. A diagnosis by an expert–with the aid of MRIs, is really the only sensible course of action for a patient with chronic or long term pain. Detailed record keeping of the exact areas of back or leg pain, will aid the diagnosis. Even slight tingling should be noted.

I have written quite a bit about the so-called slipped disc over the last 2+ years, and intend to patch my layman's observations together into one post when time permits. For now, a search back on this forum, should show quite a bit of varied opinion.

[Mary P.]

The answer to you question hixton is : it depends

If you don't mention anything and are able to bend forward during the medical then no, they wouldn't be able to tell. That's how I got through.

But what comes after can be pretty bad. Hours of sitting in a small cockpit, sometimes through turbulence is no good for anyone's back, let alone someone with a known back problem.I got really scared once when I thought my back was gonna go "in flight". I wore a back brace that day and transferred the controls to the person next to me. In another instance, my back went out during a layover and I got stuck in the hotel for two days while they had to send someone else to cover my trip.

I heard that they will pass you after successful back surgery. So far I have been able to do without it thanks to hanging upside down (on an inversion table which, incidentally loose rivets, does the same as traction) and swimming a lot.

After that one semi-pilot incapacitation scare, I would say today: be honest about your ailments. I bet 50% of pilot out there have bad backs anyway.

Mary

[Loose rivets]

Using an inversion table can be of benefit and be pleasantly relaxing...BUT, if there is a fault, causing "corrective feed-back telemetry", all goes wrong.

Firstly though, older people should be very wary about hanging upside down, especially if they are overweight and or have high blood pressure. You only have to see their faces to imagine what is happening to the blood vessels in their eyes and brains.

Secondly, do not for one moment, confuse hanging, in any shape or form, with controlled traction. Modern techniques use computers--fed by sensors--to find which level is being altered, and by how much. They also sense when the muscles relax, allowing the disc to be pulled further.

There is no possible gain in hanging, if a (exceedingly strong) muscle structure is holding the spine into a locked lump. Also, as you get older, you may feel one pleasing movement in the general area. The odds are that this will be the same one every time...the poor old level that is doing all the moving now that the others are jamming up.

One thing that I didn't take into account as I aged, was that while doing inverted ‘gut-busters' in the gym, the muscular structure is so strong that it will put tremendous compression loads on the lower vertebra as you raise you upper body. I was around sixty, when I first noticed that as I did these exercises, there was a clunking in my lower back. I for one, was naive about aging. I thought that if I was as fit as a 40 year old, all my bits would go along with my youthfulness. I was about as wrong as it is possible to be.

[adnams]

Hixton,

I can only tell you that I had exactly the same conditions and had an op on my L5/S1 disc. Just less than 3 months off work I regained my medical certificate and it has been great since.