Gotta Skip Space Mountain This Time Around

[jhaig]

My tale of woe started two months ago when a supposed hamstring injury sustained during softball season actually turned out to be a bulging disc in my lower back, hitting a nerve and giving me sciatic pain down my leg. It's doing better now, thankfully, thanks to pain meds and steroid injections. However, due to my physical situation, my wife has banned me from riding Space Mountain on this year's Disney trip, which starts on September 7.

Since Space is out and Big Thunder is closed, are there any other rides or attractions at Disney World that somebody with a sketchy back should probably not ride? I figure Everest and RNRC would be OK because they don't bounce you around very much.

 

[Princesca]

I would avoid Star Tours. I adore that ride, but my ex rode it once with a torn rotator cuff, and he suffered quite a bit. It jostles you around a lot. I would definitely also skip Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. And honestly you have to be careful on Kilamanjaro Safaris, too. I found that ride to be really bouncy.

 

[CAS239]

Safari will definitely bounce you around, possibly test track

 

[IrishNYC]

Tower of Terror.

Honestly, you shouldn't ride any coasters. It may not be bouncy, but the jarring motions will aggravate the issue.

 

[BrianL]

Well, for what it's worth I've had a herniated disc in my back for 15 years now and I still ride all of the rides at Disney. I know I shouldn't, but I do it, sometimes only once though. A lot of the rides have warnings about back problems you should avoid them all, but if you want to try a few I won't tell.

The one ride that bothers my back the most is Mission: SPACE - Orange Team. You pull several Gs on that ride and that can be pretty hard on your back. I have done it a couple of times, but my back was screaming at me for the rest of the day. If you stick to Green Team you should be okay. Also, Tower of Terror can compress your spine at the bottom of the drops (though I could argue that the first part of the drops are good for you since they decompress your spine). I can usually handle this just fine though.

I am not sure what kind of drugs you have been prescribed but make sure to take them. If you are done with the prescription stuff, take Ibuprofen or another anti-inflammatory drug, even preemptively. It will help. Good luck!

 

[linzbear]

Dinosaur. Stay far away, it's incredibly jerky and rough.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Just had surgery for the exact same thing a week ago. Going at end of Sept. I plan to skip all
Coasters and probably safari. I might ride Splash though because it is my favorite. Also Tower of Terror has always been smooth to me so might ride that (a favorite too). Will have to see how my back does walking up to 10miles/day to decide what I am going to rise in the moment. Taking a rollator Walker so i can sit with a back to lean against. Watch seating for shows such as lion king and Fantasmic where there is no back support. That is worse on my back than any coaster

 

[Klayfish]

Well, for what it's worth I've had a herniated disc in my back for 15 years now and I still ride all of the rides at Disney. I know I shouldn't, but I do it, sometimes only once though. A lot of the rides have warnings about back problems you should avoid them all, but if you want to try a few I won't tell.

I'm with you on this one. I think that's more a matter of an individuals' tolerance for pain, as well as what the doctor would recommend. Did the doctor forbid you from riding, or just your wife (unless they're one and the same...). Without going into a crazy tale of woe, I've had surgery on both knees, one hip and have lower back disc issues. But I'm not medically forbidden to ride anything, so I do it. Do some of them hurt? Usually not, but sometimes it will. For me, it's all worth it. My advice is to listen to your doctor and then decide if you want to ride or not.

 

[areno79]

Another vote for Dinosaur...I was sore for the rest of the day after that ride.

 

[BrianL]

I'm with you on this one. I think that's more a matter of an individuals' tolerance for pain, as well as what the doctor would recommend. Did the doctor forbid you from riding, or just your wife (unless they're one and the same...). Without going into a crazy tale of woe, I've had surgery on both knees, one hip and have lower back disc issues. But I'm not medically forbidden to ride anything, so I do it. Do some of them hurt? Usually not, but sometimes it will. For me, it's all worth it. My advice is to listen to your doctor and then decide if you want to ride or not.

I'm not married, but I'd sure like to marry a doctor! No, the doctor never specifically forbade me from riding anything, but the signs posted do advise against anyone with back issues from riding. My issue actually causes no pain for the most part, just a numbness in my toes. It can get better or worse depending on how much PT I am doing and if I am subjecting myself to rides and stuff. Anything that compresses my back isn't too good, and anything that decompresses it is. I have had zero change in my condition for 15 years now so I figure I'm safe for the most part. If it one day changes, we'll address it at that time (after they wheel me off of Space Mountian, haha!).

 

[klmall]

I have always ridden anything I wanted to at WDW including all the coasters and Mission Space etc. and never had a problem until 2011. Three weeks after my December '11 trip I woke up in excruciating neck pain. It was unbearable and resulted in a disk replacement which did cure the problem. I never put two and two together though since I hadn't been diagnosed with any disk problems before this incident. I'm still not sure if riding something at Disney caused my herniated disk but I'm sure it didn't help.

In December 2014 I again rode everything except Rock n Roller coaster which I have never really enjoyed and had no issues but I am a bit wary of throwing my neck around now!

 

[jhaig]

Another vote for Dinosaur...I was sore for the rest of the day after that ride.

Thankfully that one is down for rehab so I don't have to worry!

 

[BrianL]

I have always ridden anything I wanted to at WDW including all the coasters and Mission Space etc. and never had a problem until 2011. Three weeks after my December '11 trip I woke up in excruciating neck pain. It was unbearable and resulted in a disk replacement which did cure the problem. I never put two and two together though since I hadn't been diagnosed with any disk problems before this incident. I'm still not sure if riding something at Disney caused my herniated disk but I'm sure it didn't help.

In December 2014 I again rode everything except Rock n Roller coaster which I have never really enjoyed and had no issues but I am a bit wary of throwing my neck around now!

It is unlikely that a ride caused your neck issues. They may have exacerbated it, but they will not induce disc bulges and hernias in otherwise healthy spines. I was told the number one factor was genetics.

 

[klmall]

It is unlikely that a ride caused your neck issues. They may have exacerbated it, but they will not induce disc bulges and hernias in otherwise healthy spines. I was told the number one factor was genetics.

I agree. I probably had some undiagnosed problems and the rides just aggravated my neck even more.

 

[BobC]

The thing is with a lot of the rides with motion is the starting and stopping of the ride.

Test Track for one slams on the brakes and throws you forward once you stop. Same with EE. Although a very smooth coaster, the stopping at the station throws you forward pretty roughly.

Sad to hear.... I couldn't imagine skipping those

You're a smarter person than me! I'd still ride them and then be in traction the rest of my trip in an Orlando hospital!

 

[BrianL]

You're a smarter person than me! I'd still ride them and then be in traction the rest of my trip in an Orlando hospital!

That's how I feel about it!

My number one advice to anyone with back issues is do your physical therapy. The exercises really help. I try to do extra if I am leading up to a Disney trip and continue while there. It's so easy to slack off (I know I do it from time to time) but if you keep up on it you can minimize pain and future problems.

 

[BobC]

That's how I feel about it!

My number one advice to anyone with back issues is do your physical therapy. The exercises really help. I try to do extra if I am leading up to a Disney trip and continue while there. It's so easy to slack off (I know I do it from time to time) but if you keep up on it you can minimize pain and future problems.

My mom a few trips ago had a BAD pinched nerve in her leg/hip and could barely walk. Almost cancelled trip over this.

She went to the chiropractor religiously for 2 months before the trip and was 110% better. She's not a rollercoaster person, but she was able to walk 7-10 miles per day at a regular pace.

May I suggest that to you?

 

[BrianL]

My mom a few trips ago had a BAD pinched nerve in her leg/hip and could barely walk. Almost cancelled trip over this.

She went to the chiropractor religiously for 2 months before the trip and was 110% better. She's not a rollercoaster person, but she was able to walk 7-10 miles per day at a regular pace.

May I suggest that to you?

I did try a chiropractor a while back thinking it could help. He promised me he could fix it, which was a red flag. He never could, though I will admit that the rest of my back felt like a million bucks while I was seeing him. I don't think it works on fully herniated discs like I have, but for a minor pinched nerve I could definitely see it. You still gotta do the PT though.

 

[loves to dive]

My son has permanent nerve damage to his spinal cord due to a viral infection he got at work (Navy Corpsman). He had a hard time on Safari, we didn't ride Space Mountain or RNRC. We don't ride the rides like Star Tours or Mission Space because he can't be in enclosed spaces either. He said he did o.k. on SDMT because he could brace both arms, thus not moving him a lot and oddly enough ToT didn't bother him at all. He was able to brace pretty well on EE and BTMR but only rode both once because he said the act of bracing was a little hard. We stopped riding Dinosaur years ago because it hurts me, osteoporosis in my neck and back. The hard seats on all the rides were a little bit of a problem but since he can't sit or stand for any length of time he would just keep moving. Hot tubs were our friend.

 

[jhaig]

Doesn't RNRC hold you in tight enough to support your back? Same with Everest?