Dislocated shoulder on an 8 way linked exit

[erdnarob 1]

Recently, I was doing an 8 way linked exit from a tail gate airplane. We had a plan for a 16 way with several points. I had the leg strap grips on two guys doing the 4 way in the middle and was facing the tail. Immediately when leaving the ramp, I felt my right shoulder get dislocated. According the video, I was maybe a bit late but other things happened too. I have done that kind of exit several times, in almost all positions and this without any problem.

Anyway, I managed to fly the best I could do and came back and docked to the rest of the 8 way base. Soon we got almost the first point with some people missing. A lot of time has been lost and now, we started tracking away. So far so good but when came the time to reach my hackey, I couldn't put my arm behind me to pull. I tried another time then I pulled my reserve. The opening was fast, super clean and on heading. Immediately, I flew my reserve in order to land at the middle of a grassy area. But I realized that my flare will be partial since I couldn't lower my right arm further than the chest. Just before landing at the intended place, I put my legs together thinking about the best PLF possible. The landing was not very good at all and I tumbled forward a couple of times. Later on, friends of mine told me about taking my two toggles in a single hand for a better flare.

I would like to know if some of you have had a similar experience and what you have decided to do. Suggestions are also welcome. Thanks

There was a doctor on my jump and after, he tried to put back my shoulder in place. He couldn't even though I had a 25 pounds weight in my hands when laying flat on a table.
At the hospital they tried again without success. They finally had to put me asleep for an hour, while injecting me a substance to relax my muscles to finally having my shoulder back in place.
Note : the humerus dislocated outside or opposite to the collar bone. Do some readers know if in that configuration, it's harder to put back the humerus. OTOH I know that the shoulder muscles contract as a reaction and more you wait more difficult it is to solve the problem.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[hookitt 0]

Reach around the front of the risers before clearing the brakes so flaring is possible. Steering is opposite and minimal depending on the canopy.

I've had dislocations in the past so I have practiced this scenario in the air but have not put it to practical use. I Personally feel that everyone should see what it's like to steer and flare one handed.

Good luck with your rehab. Take your time.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[Zoso 2]

I can't answer your question, but I can tell you I've experienced almost the same injury in the exact same scenario. I was in the same slot with the same grips on an 8-way linked exit. I had been warned to not take "death grips" but I did it anyway. My justification to myself was that I'd never had a problem before with linked exits, and I didn't want to blow it.

As soon as the group left, it caught the prop blast and popped into position as a belly flying 8 way. At that precise moment, I knew I hurt my right shoulder. If I had done as advised and taken looser grips for the exit, my right hand would have slipped off the grip and I would have avoided injury. The rest of the jump was uneventful and the injury was bursitis.

I ended up getting a couple shots in the shoulder and rehab exercises. My recovery was 100% but it took around 4-5 months.

My lesson learned - do like they say and don't take death grips on linked 8-way exits out of a tailgate plane.

[dthames 0]

A couple of years ago that woman that did the skydiving duck cartoon broke her arm on exit and the landing broke her 3 leg bones on landing because, (as I recall) she couldn't hold one toggle in her teeth while reaching for the other because of a full face helmet that she couldn't open with one hand. As she became focused on what to do, she stopped paying attention to where she was. She got over some rough terrain and had basically a no flare landing. I don't recall if she had released the brakes. It all went to pot.

After reading her account I have carefully thought out how a one handed landing might be done. Without understanding (already stated) that you must reach around from in front to get both toggles, you could really put yourself in a pickle if you thought you could flare and found you could not bring your arms down unless your arm was around in front.

In such a situation, already hurting and most likely not 100% in the game, it could be a very difficult situation.

Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

[faulknerwn 36]

Assuming I recognized I had a dislocated shoulder before unstowing my toggles - I would leave both stowed, and steer using the rear riser of my good side and just PLF. Half braked landings aren't bad and they aren't as difficult to land as trying to flare with both toggles in one hand (harder than it looks - try it!) We teach this in our FJC ever since we had a student dislocate a shoulder on opening..

[riggerrob 558]

Good idea Wendy!
It is also a good idea to practice steering with one hand long before you need to do it for real.

As for rehabilitation, take your time. I dislocated a shoulder a few years ago - during an airplane crash. The insurance company paid for two rounds of physio-therapy. For the first month, I struggled to maintain range of motion. Three months later, lifting a 3 pound weight was exhausting. The second round of physio-therapy took 6 hours per day, 5 days per week for 6 weeks.
Five months later, my shoulder was not strong enough to close a main container, but I did a solo jump.
Hundreds more push-ups, chin-ups and stretches.
8 months after the accident, I returned to tandem jumping.
Despite all that exercise, my acromium-clavicular (sp?) ligament has never healed properly and I still have a "step" in my shoulder. Some days I still hear grating noises from my weak shoulder.

Caveat: If any lawyers object to this post, they should "A" remember that I am only repeating what was said during hearings for discovery and "B" lawyers are free to quote this post as long as they pay me $10,00 per word.

[flyhi 24]

I dislocated my shoulder on a 3-way hybrid jump. I was ignorant. They were unskilled. I had no idea what happened, but when I looked to where I thought my arm should be, it wasn't. I thought it came off.

It was my left shoulder, so I deployed my main easily. I was definitely not thinking straight. I thought that if I really put my mind to it, I could do one good flare with that arm. That was my plan for landing. It didn't work out well. Hit hard while turning, PLF'd, and rolled for a short distance.

Got a ride to the hospital, waited for about an hour, then they came in, gave me Propafol. I never went out, but I didn't care. Props to MJ on that one. It is wonderful stuff. Don't know how or what they did, but they put my arm back in.

Went to rehab for about three weeks and didn't get better. Went to a surgeon and he did MRIs. Everytime he saw me after that he said the same thing, "Massive tear of the rotator cuff." He loved the word massive. Surgery to repair.

Did supervised rehab for about 12 weeks. Continued after that on my own. Took a full year before I could jump again. I still see small improvements and doubt I will ever be at 100%, but I am good enough. I still jump every weekend.

Good luck with your rehab. The spider walk up the wall really does help.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[erdnarob 1]

Many thanks to all of you. It's like a relief for me to read you.

FYI, at the hospital, in the surgery room, I had 7 persons around me, the orthopedist, the anesthesiologist, an inhalotherapist and 4 other specialized nurses, all females but the orthopedist. I was sort of happy. But I started really feeling bad when a nurse told me that beside getting me asleep they will inject me curare to relax my muscles and added that that substance will stop my breathing. I ask them if I will get a tube for breathing and the answer was affirmative.
I have read about curare in some novels about Amazonian Indians using it in their blowpipe to kill their game. Nothing to reassure me. But the team around me did a fantastic job and when I was awaked, no pain and no nausea.

For Riggerob : I spoke to Marie-Eve B. She is originally from Sherbrooke. She has the best memories about you.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

[Amazon 7]

hookitt

Reach around the front of the risers before clearing the brakes so flaring is possible. Steering is opposite and minimal depending on the canopy.

I've had dislocations in the past so I have practiced this scenario in the air but have not put it to practical use. I Personally feel that everyone should see what it's like to steer and flare one handed.

Good luck with your rehab. Take your time.

Its all fun and games till you have to do a single handed flare with both toggles in your non dominant hand in hot weather at a high altitude DZ..... MAN that sucked.

And now I have a shoulder that dislocates when I lift a laptop bag the wrong way... and I grounded myself for good till I can get it repaired with a bionic shoulder

[riggerrob 558]

...

For Riggerob : I spoke to Marie-Eve B. She is originally from Sherbrooke. She has the best memories about you.

...............................................................................

Yes Andre,

Please4 reassure MEB that I have fond memories of her: beautiful blue eyes on one of our best PFF students.

[SmokeJumper 0]

About 25 years ago I was front float on a DC-3 with a high grip on the LO in the door, and Camera at the rear. LO gave the count, Camera and I dropped, LO didn't. Dislocated my right shoulder. So with Camera filming I managed to pop my shoulder back in by 9K and did a few practice pulls to make sure I could do it. Pulled at 3k for an uneventful canopy ride and landing. If the practice pulls did not go well I was ready to go to the reserve. Good times.