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You said that you smashed your spine too many times already and that you are "old". Don't know what old means these days but, from my examples injuries just don't heal and go away for older folks.
Yes, displacement hulls land softer than planing hulls. But, the real question I have is just what kind of drops are you planing to run, considering your injuries? Unless you are running drops over 10' and land in hard water, the difference between hull shapes would be so minimal as not even noticable.
Thus, I would recommend that you pick your boat shape according to your personal style and liking, not so much on potential landing characteristics. Planing hull boats tend to give you higher primary stability which is nice and confidence inspiring. Displacement hulled boats roll easier, which is also nice and I, personally, prefer them in creekers because I can control much better the amounts of "tilt" or "lean" coming and going through currents and eddies.
For size, I am a strong advocate for volume when running steeper class IV or V. Once the boat submerges in bigger hydraulics or drops, the river has control over your destiny. If, on the other hand, you stay on the surface, you have the control. Simple as that. I prefer a small 7'7" creeker (Mafia) that I call my "play-creeker) on everything up to class V. With my 190 lbs this boat will dive too deeply in heavy waters so, for those, I use the 8'11" Critical Mass. Compared to the smaller boat the CM appears "invincible". The smaller boat has much higher fun factor generally, the larger has far more stability. Thus, if you can not have both, take your pick according to your preferences.
To be specific, for your weight of 170 lbs, you need 75 gallons to stay on the surface in bigger and steeper waters. Too much volume will rarely hurt you but, too little will definitely punish you in places.
Albert
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Advice... New 
BoaterTalk 
