A couple of weeks ago I fell while highballing and now have a burst fracture of my L1 vertebrae. I saw the CT scan today and it looks quite thoroughly broken! Some bone fragments have been squished outwards, some have squashed inwards to crowd the cauda equina. I was in hospital for a few days and am now at home. No back brace, no serious painkillers (just ibuprofen and paracetamol as and when I need it. Mainly first thing in the morning). I'm managing to get about, albeit slowly using crutches (though these are just for assistance/support as opposed to necessary). Standing for more than a few minutes becomes quite achy.
I had my first appointment with orthopedic outpatients today and started asking questions about expected recovery. The advice was a 3-6 month recovery time, building up during that period. The consultant advised not to climb for a year, though he did say he didn't know anything about climbing.
I'm wondering if there's anybody with experience of an injury like this, or of treating an injury like this, who can advise on when some return to climbing activity might be sensible. Obviously I've no interest in risking any neurological damage and I'm totally relaxed about not bouldering or taking big falls onto mats for a year, but it would be nice to do some roped climbing sooner if recovery allows. I can't imagine top roping doing any damage after the 6 month period if x-rays show the bone is healing well?