Back surgery patient strong enough to ride trains?

[NE933]

My mother is the patient, one vertabrae and two discs were manually forced back into alignment by a back surgeon right before Hurricane Sandy. Steel rods and bolts hold everything in place. Surgery went well; chief complaint is soreness. Also needs more therapy.

Can she withstand the rocking and bouncing inevitable? I know this is in the realm of a medical opinion for the doctor. If anyone out there has or saw similar situations, as I'm sort of sizing up the chances for Amtrak vacationing next year.

 

[gn2276]

It depends on where you are wanting to go as at lest on the trains that are Superliner there is at time alot of side to side movement.

 

[Nathanael]

No way to know. I consider the bouncing to be less than in a car and less than in an airplane, but "your experience may vary".

 

[Old man vagabond]

No way to know. I consider the bouncing to be less than in a car and less than in an airplane, but "your experience may vary".

That's not how I recall my trip last December. A car ride would have been much smoother...IMHO

 

[Guest]

IMHO, this is really something she should discuss with her surgeon.

 

[Everydaymatters]

I agree with the Guest. This should be discussed with the surgeon.

Please keep in mind that if you are in an upper level room on Superliner, she will have to navigate a narrow, winding staircase to get to your room. A lower level room is doable and you can request the SCA to deliver her meals to her room.

 

[tricia]

FWIW: I traveled last year with my octogenarian dad cross-country and back on Amtrak. He's got a bad back, for which he's looking to have surgery early next year. The train ride didn't bother his back--possibly it's helpful that he could get up and move around.

Two bits of advice: Sleeping sitting up in coach would have been out of the question--your mom needs a roomette or bedroom. And if she walks with a cane, note that it'll only be in the way on the train--much easier to hold onto walls etc when walking through the train than to try to manage the cane.

Of course, your mom's condition is probably somewhat different from my dad's. She definitely should talk with her doctor about this--we did and got a go-ahead. Hope she does, too, and has a swell trip.

 

[VentureForth]

I'm not a doctor, but I will play on on forums. I agree with tricia. A room would be the best bet. How long has it been since the surgery? If it's been close to six weeks or longer, she should be ok. Otherwise....

Call a real doctor.

 

[dlagrua]

I have found that the tracks on the routes owned by CSX are rough and those owned by Norfolk Southern are much smoother. I find the Autotrain the roughest ride of any of the Eastern Routes, the Capitol Limited and Crescent better and the Lake Shore Ltd rough in spots. Except for the Autotrain none of the rides are "bone jarring" but check with your moms surgeon and ask if she could ride in a train sleeper. Train rides are never perfectly smooth but I manage to get some sleep on them. I have back problems and have had no bad experiences on a train so far but we always travel in a bedroom.

 

[George Harris]

East of Cleveland the Capital and Lakeshore are both on CSX.

 

[irv]

No way to know. I consider the bouncing to be less than in a car and less than in an airplane, but "your experience may vary".

As a former merchant mariner, I have to say

that my coast-to-coast Amtrak trip this week

was rougher than any of the ocean voyages.

Mostly because the pitching and tossing about

was random and unpredictable. You can't time

your movements to 'roll with the punches'.

 

[leemell]

I have found that the tracks on the routes owned by CSX are rough and those owned by Norfolk Southern are much smoother. I find the Autotrain the roughest ride of any of the Eastern Routes, the Capitol Limited and Crescent better and the Lake Shore Ltd rough in spots. Except for the Autotrain none of the rides are "bone jarring" but check with your moms surgeon and ask if she could ride in a train sleeper. Train rides are never perfectly smooth but I manage to get some sleep on them. I have back problems and have had no bad experiences on a train so far but we always travel in a bedroom.

The EB through the eastern parts of Montana are the worst we have ever seen, derailment seemed a real possibility although it probably was not.

 

[VentureForth]

Except for the Autotrain none of the rides are "bone jarring"

I dunno... I think that the Palmetto, Silver Star, and Silver Meteor are all candidates for that title... Of course, they are single level so perhaps not quite as jarring as the upper bunk of an upper Superliner room!

 

[Bob Dylan]

Dont forget the Rough Track in Western Kansas on the SWC Route, the worst that Ive experienced and Ive been on every LD Route that Amtrak runs!