Coming back after an injury

[quesera 0]

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

I was injured in September, and have been out ever since. The accident was serious but not at all life threatening (pretty bad ankle break requiring some surgery).

I've talked to the DZ manager about it, and we discussed what could have gone wrong. No one saw me do anything wrong, but it could have been a weird spot in the field, me not planning to PLF, or possibly a last-minute stall due to some very short brake lines. Personally, I think it was planting into a bulge in the ground.

I'm getting the brake lines lengthened, will be practicing a lot of PLFs, going to Safety Day, and doing a tandem all before I jump again. When I jump again, I'm going to jump in a sport brace, and have a radio on, for a ground coach.

I feel like I'm doing what I can, but I'm wondering what other people have done when they've come back after an injury?

There's also the issue of my family thinking "well, now that you've been hurt, you understand this is stupid and will stop." But maybe that's a different topic

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

I too got hurt in Sept. I returned to jumping this month. I did a hop & pop as my first jump back to ease into things.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[shah269 0]

Pick up Brian Germains book.
If there is a canopy class take it.
Drink lots of milk, eat well, do what the doctor tells you.
And well.....if you can get on a bigger canopy it probably wouldn't hurt? But just "feel it". If it all looks good and feels good, get back in the air. And don't worry it will all come back to you fast!
Good luck, I hope you recover 100000% and have many soft safe landings.

Life through good thoughts, good words, and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay.

The only thing that falls from the sky is birdshit and fools!

[quesera 0]

Thanks :)

[PiLFy 0]

Quote

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

I was injured in September, and have been out ever since. The accident was serious but not at all life threatening (pretty bad ankle break requiring some surgery).

I've talked to the DZ manager about it, and we discussed what could have gone wrong. No one saw me do anything wrong, but it could have been a weird spot in the field, me not planning to PLF, or possibly a last-minute stall due to some very short brake lines. Personally, I think it was planting into a bulge in the ground.

I'm getting the brake lines lengthened, will be practicing a lot of PLFs, going to Safety Day, and doing a tandem all before I jump again. When I jump again, I'm going to jump in a sport brace, and have a radio on, for a ground coach.

I feel like I'm doing what I can, but I'm wondering what other people have done when they've come back after an injury?

There's also the issue of my family thinking "well, now that you've been hurt, you understand this is stupid and will stop." But maybe that's a different topic

Hi,
Sorry to read this. FWIW, I too got hurt late last season. More to the point. Someone I know @my DZ blew a landing, & ended up w/a Tib/Fib fracture. Some titanium & several months of rehab later? He's back jumping (& running out some landings) w/an air brace on. Do your PT. Make your ankle strong again. You'll be fine. As far as I'm concerned. There's nothing wrong w/being extra cautious coming back. I'll go back to a bigger canopy next Spring. Eight months being gimped out is quite long enough.

[DSE 3]

I did a few hop n' pops to be sure my back could take deployment. After a dozen or so hn'p's @subterminal, I took it a bit higher for 3 jumps til reaching full altitude.
I also upsized and followed an accelerated downsize progression until I had returned to the canopy size I was jumping prior to my accident.
Then again, I had nearly 1500 jumps when I was injured, so our situations are a bit different.

[Para5-0 0]

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I'm getting the brake lines lengthened

Just curious. Why would you do this? Did someone tell you they were too short, and contributed to the accident.

If you make them too long it could present some complications as well. Maybe have someone jump it with experience. i/e and instructor and see what he thinks first.

[Trae 1]

in reply to "I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

I was injured in September, and have been out ever since. The accident was serious but not at all life threatening (pretty bad ankle break requiring some surgery). "

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


Best advice ...brush up on those PLF's.... and go into cruise mode.

I've injured an ankle bad enough to put me out for a while. Jumped on it again when not fully healed and had to favour the other leg as much as possible.

Staying comfortable in the plane was just as important as during the jump/landing. Its easy to over stress a leg/ankle injury before you even get out the door.

I'd have to recommend staying on a larger canopy until you get totally bored and just have to downsize.
It won't hurt initially to wait for perfect conditions (light steady breeze) giving you the best chance of a perfect landing. If the conditions are messy take extra care. eg land in open clear area not packing area.

It would also be a good idea to only do one, max two jumps over a whole day.
Adrenalin can deceptively mask an injury and encourage you to over do it. So be happy with just a few jumps over a couple of days, gradually upping it as you gain confidence in your leg again.


AS to the family ?? invite them to the DZ to watch.

[Feeblemind 1]

I had 1200 jumps when I blew my neck apart at C6-C7. After my surgery and heal time my doctor cleared me to return to jumping. I waited an additional month as a precaution.

Even though I am an AFF-I I reviewed all EP's, Landing patterns, PLF, canopy malfunctions etc with my instructor.

I put a 188 in my rig (I jump a 150) then I then did a Cat. E2 with my instructor and was off and running. I did several jumps on the 188 then put a 168 in the rig. I made 5 more jumps with the 168 and then went back to my 150.


Phil

Fire Safety Tip: Don't fry bacon while naked

[skyjumpenfool 2]

I'm a believer, that as we get older, we should begin to UPSIZE our canopies because our bodies are no longer able to take the abuse they did when we were young. Larger canopies are more forgiving!

I think this may also hold true for injured bodies. Upsize for a while until your completly healed.

-added... By completely healed I mean 1-2 years depending on the injury.

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[baign32 0]

I was in a plane crash in '94 - a Cessna 206 shortly after take off - the engine failed. The plane nosed in at about 50ft off the ground and flipped. Lots of broken bones but no deaths. I had a broken back, right leg and neck crushed (C6 & C7). I was jumping again in 8 weeks. One reason I got back into jumping so soon was that my neck injury wasn't diagnosed until 6 months after the accident. If I had known about the neck problem at the time of the accident I may never have gone back into jumping!

[Toasted_Cracker 0]

I was also in a accident in September. I broke my femur, tib/fib and crushed my ankle. I have Titanium rod in my femur now and lots of hardware in and around my ankle.

I haven't started jumping again but really want to get back into it this summer. TBH I am very afraid of hitting the leg again. Not sure what would happen if I broke my femur again since I got that rod in it.

[PiLFy 0]

"Not sure what would happen if I broke my femur again since I got that rod in it."

They'd cut the rod, & remove the pieces separately. The subsequent repair might also include donor bone.

[pinkfairy 0]

Welcome to the Ankle fracture club! Fib or tib or both?

I broke my ankle as a low timer jumper too, at jump #80, missed out on most of the short norwegian skydiving season.

Just my thoughts on it:

1. Get your ankle working so you can walk and run with confidence. Good thing about fractures is that once they are healed you can start using them normally, as opposed to soft tissue that heals gradually over a long time. So work out as normal, or follow recommendation by your friendly physical therapist.

2. Do NOT blame equipment or terrain for your accident. Think about what you are doing when you think that way: You make yourself a victim, and if you're a victim, it means that the situation is hopeless and you can do nothing about it.

Why would the canopy stall out because of short brake lines? because you pulled them too far down. Why would you land on a "weird spot in the field"? Because your accuracy was poor and you didn't hit a nice, safe landing area. Sorry about being so direct, but don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that you're not any good, I'm just saying that these things will improve with experience. What can you do to avoid pulling the toggles too far down when you land? Practice flares higher up so you get a feeling for where the flare "takes" so you can time the flare better when you land. To avoid landing where you don't want to? Decide early where you want to land and learn to fly a proper pattern to get there. Talk to your favourite instructor about this.

My mistake when I broke my ankle was just as bad as yours, but I learned from it.

Now that you know what will happen if you mess up, even just a little, it can make you a safer skydiver. You know that there are certain things you have to do right, otherwise you'll get injured, and you don't like that. I got a lot better at judging wind conditions after I got injured, and there is still weather I won't fly in, even if I have a quite small canopy and some experience.

Even if you don't become a world champion 4-way skydiver or freeflyer, there's one thing that's gonna improve if you keep jumping, and that's your canopy skills. If you keep landing your canopy, you are gonna get better.

How I got back in the sport after my ankle fracture? I just signed up for a 4-way training camp and just got jumping again. It was scary, but fun.

You are gonna be hit by gusts of wind, equipment will not always be the way you want it, and the ground will keep being uneven, but you can handle it, you're a big, tough skydiver, remember?

Good luck, and I hope you get a lot of great skydives this season!

Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet.

I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

[Toasted_Cracker 0]

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"Not sure what would happen if I broke my femur again since I got that rod in it."

They'd cut the rod, & remove the pieces separately. The subsequent repair might also include donor bone.

How would they cut the rod if its inside the bone?

[PiLFy 0]

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"Not sure what would happen if I broke my femur again since I got that rod in it."

They'd cut the rod, & remove the pieces separately. The subsequent repair might also include donor bone.

How would they cut the rod if its inside the bone?

If the femur breaks again? You may have a bent rod in the middle of it. They would cut the rod @the break, & withdraw both ends. Then, they'd repair the bone. They may need to use a length of donor bone to do this. Barry Sheene won championships racing w/rods in his legs in the Seventies. He used to fear this, too (& he wasn't afraid of much). Orthopaedics have come a long way over the last 30yrs. If you do suffer such an injury. It can be repaired.

[Toasted_Cracker 0]

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Quote

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"Not sure what would happen if I broke my femur again since I got that rod in it."

They'd cut the rod, & remove the pieces separately. The subsequent repair might also include donor bone.

How would they cut the rod if its inside the bone?

If the femur breaks again? You may have a bent rod in the middle of it. They would cut the rod @the break, & withdraw both ends. Then, they'd repair the bone. They may need to use a length of donor bone to do this. Barry Sheene won championships racing w/rods in his legs in the Seventies. He used to fear this, too (& he wasn't afraid of much). Orthopaedics have come a long way over the last 30yrs. If you do suffer such an injury. It can be repaired.

Oh ok, some people have told me that it would have to be amputated which I kinda doubted that would be the case. I'll have to try to remember to ask my surgeon during my next appointment.

[PiLFy 0]

"...some people have told me that it would have to be amputated..."

Once upon a time. If the rod exploded a large section of the femur. That might have been the case. Now, injuries far worse than that can be repaired. I used to work in the ORs. I once asked this same question of an ortho surgeon. Ask your Doctor. He'll tell you.