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GideonY

Protection for ankle and tibia

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DanG


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After reading that study, I concluded that couch-potatoes are at greatest risk of weak bones.

Even a little weight-bearing exercise (e.g. walking) improves bone density. After a basic walking program, additional exercises contribute little to bone density.

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Long walks up steep hills are also a great way to curb my instinct to throttle the @&$)(?! out of lawyers!

WRONG!!! Without sidetracking this thread too much. Once you have a real experience in the courts you realize that lawyers are actors. That the courts are a Kabuki theater where stories or pantomimes are presented in the hopes that their story is accepted by the judge or jury.

Years from now you will still be thinking about how to deal with lawyers and your skepticism with any court decisions.

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Agreed!
The more I experience the legal process, the less I respect the court system.

You are correct that court trials are an exotic form of acting. Just last week, I watched a lawyer try to discredit a witness by asking the witness about bureaucratic decisions that were made 15 years ago. Some of those decisions were made above the witness' pay grade.
Then the lawyer tried to discredit the witness by asking him if he knew why inflight doors were installed in jump-planes ....
Mumbled answer from the whuffo bureaucrat.

The lawyer tried to explain why in-flight doors were installed, but the judge warned him about phrasing ....

Then the entertainment began as the lawyer asked the whuffo witness "What would you say if I told you that the door installed in the [crashed] King Air was the same roll-up door as was installed in a Beech 18?"
Mumbled response ....

The question was confusing to anyone who had not flown in that specific Beech 18. I made maybe a hundred jumps from said Beech 18 (summer 1999) and never saw a roll-up door or rails for a roll-up door. I do remember a simple # feet by 5 feet) sheet of clear plastic (Plexiglas?) that up-jumpers man-handled forward just before exit.
Hah!
Hah!

Questions became sillier after that ....
I do not know how the judge kept a straight face ...
I also do not know how the judge plans to stay awake for the entire 5 weeks of the trial?????????

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GideonY

What is the right method to protect the damaged ankle and tibia from repeated fracture ?

Background: I broke an ankle 8 years ago, on bicycle ride. Got several screws in tibia, and a plate on fibula. Ankle healed long time ago. A year ago I was involved in skydiving accident (not on landing) and broke the same leg again, tibia and fibula in several places. The most severe fracture was of tibia about 8 cm above the ankle joint. Ankle itself was not damaged. This time I got a titanium rod through the entire tibia, plus screws on both ends. This kind of injury healing very slowly, 12 months were needed for bone to reach normal strength. Now the leg more or least okay, although it is not good as it was before.

I consulted a doctor, he says that bone strength is the same as it was before the accident, so I can assume that it would not fail under normally allowed strain. However, he said, if I will be involved in another accident which will lead to bone fracture, the damage will be severe and unrecoverable. He said that in any circumstances I should not risk breaking the leg again.

Now, I’m about to start skydiving again. I upsized from Sabre 2 170 to Navigator 240 … :D
But I’m not sure how to protect the leg. Opinions expressed about similar subjects in the forum in past are confusing. Many people say that protection accessories should not be used. They say that stiffness of high boots or aircast will funnel the strain to the other parts of the leg (or the body) and will increase probability of fracture in case of accident. Other people are recommending support braces, hanwag boots (designated for paragliders) and military jump boots.

Please let me know what do you think.



I'm in the same boat as you, did my ankle in over 20 yrs on a 3-wheeler, the ankle went in the front of the fender tire sucked my leg in and got spit out the back, the end results was something similar to this http://www.medicalexhibits.com/medical_exhibits_image.php?exhibit=11214_01X although my fracture was open it was very similar. Now I have metal in it. Fast forward to last year and I did a hard PLF on a high density altitude day, I PLF'd R and my L compromised ankle got turned the same way that I had previously injured it. End result was some pretty bad tendon and ligament damage with no refracture and I had to sit at one of the most legendary boogies with a friggin boot on my ankle walking around on crutches for a week, one and done. I took 2-3 mos off. Doc tried to tell me to wait until this year to jump, so I got on top of a chair in the exam room and jump off of it and explained to that essentially when I land and do a proper flare that is the same type of forces I expose my ankle to. Most docs have absolutely no clue when it comes to skydiving.

I now use a brace on my ankle that prevents my ankle from turning in medially towards the center to keep the same injury from happening. Similar this one but without the hard plastic http://www.braceshop.com/donjoy-universal-ankle-stirrup.htm?gdftrk=gdfV28018_a_7c2568_a_7c10961_a_7c28999&gclid=CLWIr8ajkswCFQ1ahgodkeIIFw I may actually buy this one and try it out instead of my other one as I want the best brace I can get my hands on.

Anyways I learned a lot. The air their was completely different than at home that's no excuse though I should quite simply I'm pretty sure I fucked my flare up plain and simple, I just really was not expecting that at all my canopy just didn't seem to respond and basically I know I should have started the flare higher on a high density altitude day at least that how it felt to me. Since then I took a canopy course got my B and am working on knowing every damn characteristic my canopy has to perfect my flare. Its also making me question whether or not I should swap my canopy out for a canopy that is known for great flares, any ideas on this let me know and send me a PM.

Enough about my story though, in your case, I'm no bone specialist but I would find yourself the right brace that works for you and work with your doctor on it. Yes the brace may be expensive as ALL medical equipment is but I would NOT suggest going to the local sports store and picking up some rinky dink brace, get a brace specifically designed for your injury and wear it when you jump. In your case it sounds like you need a pretty extensive brace that is going to protect your entire lower leg and upper ankle, so you will need something that support the upper ankle and allow knee movement so you aren't restricted on your landings at all. I'm absolutely sure there is a proper brace out there for you, I'd talk with an orthopedic surgeon, P.A. or N.P. that is well versed on what is available to hook you up with the right medical supplier.

Another that I'm going to try to work on is figuring out my perfect PLF, I thought I did everything right and still got injured. I have the tendency to PLF towards my R (L ankle is injured) basically putting my good leg first however that's what caused my injury because the forces of that PLF bent my ankle the same direction as the old injury. I'm going to have to redo my PLF entirely and go the other way.

This all reminds me that I need to get some slick shoes as well.

Anyways sorry for the long post I hope this helps a little and that you find the right brace, you may need a combination of an ankle brace and a shin guard but there are tons of medical equipment manufacturers out there so you should be able to find the right one that works for you.

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Some good advise there.

Many years ago I had a student who was so uncoordinated it was a wonder he could run. I spent at least three hours one on one with him to try and get some sort of recognizable PLF.

He had one redeeming quality. He was a bodybuilder and built like a brick shithouse. He ended up making about 20 jumps, several of which included downwind landings. He just pounded into the ground. He would get up covered in dirt, grinning from ear to ear. Ready to do it again. Thankfully he quit because the cognitive skills didn't match the body or the sport.

Back to the post above. If you go into a football or hockey locker room. The sound of velcro ripping from custom braces is heard from one rend of the room to the other. They work.

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riggerrob


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After reading that study, I concluded that couch-potatoes are at greatest risk of weak bones.

Even a little weight-bearing exercise (e.g. walking) improves bone density. After a basic walking program, additional exercises contribute little to bone density.

I have not read thru this whole thing.. but what I did read I never saw a mention of DIET.... without the nutrients. no amount of exercise will strengthen those bones and you are in the same shape... welcome to cast after cast.
Broken bones heal.... the idea is to strengthen those bones so it does not happen again. Stressing them can help but the DIET has to match up....:(

Foods to eat

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