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Judah

Injury recovery and returning to jumping.

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I broke my ankle and calcaneus my first night time static line jump at Fort Benning in February, and the doctor just cleared me to return to regular duty. I ran 5 miles Sunday at about a 7:19 mile pace, and my ankle was really sore after.

With some ice and elevation (no drugs, unfortunately I have a bad liver due to a reaction to anti-malaria drugs while I was stationed in Africa) I pretty much felt fine the next day. I can do PLFs off a 2 foot box in the gym without too much discomfort, but I am looking into ankle brace options.

My question for everyone with some more experience is this: while I can wear an ankle brace, and I assume I should while I am actually jumping for the time being, would it be equally helpful to simply cut weight? I should be going back to do the final week of jump school over again in August, and will do 5 more static line jumps over 4 days. I am a bigger guy (6'2+ and 210 pounds), and from talking to a few folks more knowledgable than me it sounds like losing 15 or 20 pounds between now and jumping again would have a noticeable difference in perceived impact on landing.

Can anyone speak to that? I certainly don't want to re-break myself, and being in my thirties am already the "old man" to be just starting on military static line.

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Impact force is, in part, a function of weight + canopy size. Proper form is the biggest determinant, with others being terrain, direction, etc.
Practicing your PLF’s will, in fact, make a difference.

Wendy P.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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>it sounds like losing 15 or 20 pounds between now and jumping again would have a noticeable
>difference in perceived impact on landing.

Yes, it will, for two reasons.

One, even if you land at exactly the same speed, your ankle will have to handle less force due to the lower weight.

Two, assuming similar gear, you will land going more slowly, which is even more important. The energy your ankle has to deal with is 1/2MV^2, where M is weight and V is speed. So reducing weight by 10% reduces the force you have to deal with by 10%, reducing speed by 10% helps you almost 20%.

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There are many long-time military jumpers on here of which I am one. So, the following is an opinion based on experience more so than a medical or physics perspective.

Over the years, we military jumpers have seen many ankle injuries from that of sprains to shatters that adios one from the school and airborne status. First, while losing some weight will help in the skydiving area; we have to keep that complimentary blend of strength & fat for those wonderfully long deployments. Losing weight will lose a bit of both. In addition, there's a multitude of weight variables that come with jump week. Everything from nice pretty daytime Hollywood jumps to the Night Combat Tactical Training jumps in full ruck, weapon, etc. jumps. From moonlit night jumps where you can see the horizon and ground well to overcast might-as-well-close-your-eyes-to-see-more pitch black night jumps.

So, let's focus on the ankle. My concern for you is two-fold. 1) you "may" be overdoing it a bit to strengthen the ankle in preparation for August. Ankles need time and tenderness to heal. 2) We've all seen the ones with ankle injuries who will tend to favor their weak ankle on a jump and inadvertently/unconsciously raise up the bad ankle slightly right before the PLF and wind up injuring the other ankle.

Recommendations:
1) _Jog_ 2.5 miles no more than three times a week while recovering - if you can do 2.5 - you can do the 5 miles with a dose of intestinal fortitude.
2) Jump rope - nice, easy, light-skipping-type rope jumping will strengthen the ankle without a high impact (really don't need more than a few minutes on the off days of jogging).
3) Feel free to use the ankle brace - but on a somewhat every other day regime. One day off to strengthen it; one day on to secure it.
4) Infantry Candy (aspirin) -with respect to your liver, Aspirin does not generally have negative effects on the liver - but check with a medical professional.
5) While practicing your PLF's - "Balls of your feet" is the chant for a reason. When doing the 2 foot PLF platform - try doing them without ever touching your ankle to the ground and focus on bending your knees to use those God-given hydraulic leg muscles to absorb the energy into the calves, quads, rectus, sartorius, adductors and gluteus. (as if doing squats while on the balls of your feet)

Best of luck... let us know when you get your wings.
Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

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I can't speak to static-line/round, but I did break my fibula and dislocate my ankle requiring open reduction and fixation. Getting back to jumping took about 6 months. I PT'd very hard but avoided running due to the impact (hello elliptical machine). Lots of other stuff you can do too, pronation/supination and dorsiflexion/plantar flexion with resistance bands or weights, also Bosu ball and ladder drills to get the strength and stability back.

Anyway, I practiced PLFs by running off of a picnic table, when I was ok with that I decided to jump again.

The stiffness I experienced too, it continued to improve for 2-3 years and now seems to have stabilized (it use to be every morning for more than a year). I don't even notice it most days now, but after a long hike I pay for it the next day. My only other lasting effect (unless I develop arthritis early) is reduced range of motion, climbing up a steep grade I have to hike on the balls of my feet, I can't make my heel touch the ground.

I won't say don't jump, but from everything I've seen and heard, static-line/round is brutal, especially for bigger guys. I've had the opportunity but after watching a 150lb girl land like a bag of rocks decided it probably wasn't a good idea. Airborne has destroyed a lot of knees and ankles, and the VA isn't the best once you get out; so take the long term implications into account in your decision to continue static line jumping with a round or (square T11).

Also, the implications for another break are not good, then the docs start talking about fixing the ankle, which means zero movement, I've known one person who had it and he talked, not jokingly, about having his foot amputated; he said everything but a stroll was painful and awkward. And everything I've read online from people who say they've had an ankle fixed is not good.

If you want to chat about recovery and whatnot feel free to send me a PM.

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OldGregg

I can't speak to static-line/round, but I did break my fibula and dislocate my ankle requiring open reduction and fixation. Getting back to jumping took about 6 months. I PT'd very hard but avoided running due to the impact (hello elliptical machine). Lots of other stuff you can do too, pronation/supination and dorsiflexion/plantar flexion with resistance bands or weights, also Bosu ball and ladder drills to get the strength and stability back.

Anyway, I practiced PLFs by running off of a picnic table, when I was ok with that I decided to jump again.

The stiffness I experienced too, it continued to improve for 2-3 years and now seems to have stabilized (it use to be every morning for more than a year). I don't even notice it most days now, but after a long hike I pay for it the next day. My only other lasting effect (unless I develop arthritis early) is reduced range of motion, climbing up a steep grade I have to hike on the balls of my feet, I can't make my heel touch the ground.

I won't say don't jump, but from everything I've seen and heard, static-line/round is brutal, especially for bigger guys. I've had the opportunity but after watching a 150lb girl land like a bag of rocks decided it probably wasn't a good idea. Airborne has destroyed a lot of knees and ankles, and the VA isn't the best once you get out; so take the long term implications into account in your decision to continue static line jumping with a round or (square T11).

Also, the implications for another break are not good, then the docs start talking about fixing the ankle, which means zero movement, I've known one person who had it and he talked, not jokingly, about having his foot amputated; he said everything but a stroll was painful and awkward. And everything I've read online from people who say they've had an ankle fixed is not good.

If you want to chat about recovery and whatnot feel free to send me a PM.



I also broke my fibula and had an ORIF - six screws in the fibula, one screwing my tibia and fibula together, above 2 inches above the joint.

That was almost three years ago.

I can't run for shit without an enormous amount of pain, and it's not near the actual break, it's the front of my foot mostly. Physiotherapy has helped but there's only so much it can do. The problem, as my PT explained, is that a lot of the muscles that atrophy during the recovery are hard to ever get back - the major stuff rebuilds easily, but not everything.

What's helped a bit is running barefoot (I had a flat foot already), and doing a lot of elliptical and hills - but I can't run a 5K in less than half an hour, because of the level of pain that comes with it. I don't even do so well walking a lot if I can't set the pace I want.

That said, there is constant very slow progress by keeping at it.

And I slide most of my landings now!

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Hi Judah,

Last summer August 1st I broke my left ankle on Jump 56. I started jumping in June. I made 56 jumps that summer and was way to confident and downsized a bit to fast. My last 6 jumps where on a 190 and I weigh the same as you. I was 6.2 - 210 lbs at the time.

After getting surgery I did a lot of PT. Last July I did my first jump again. So almost a year later. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing and did not have a lot of confidence in my ankle. A buddy of mine advised me to buy a Trilok brace. Not cheap but it helped a lot because it gave me the confidence I needed. I did lose some weight but not a lot. I was 200 lbs on the day of my jump. I also did my first jump on a 260 sqft canopy, did some good practice flares and got my feet and knees together for a good PLF. The ride was not that smooth and turbulence turned me crosswind on my final. I landed on my feet with no problems. This jump gave me back the confidence I needed and in some weird way my ankle feels like it is improving even better now because of the jump.

I hope my experience gives you the confidence to go up there.

If you have any questions please let me know. I'm happy to help.

Blue skies

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