Ok, I cant take it anymore, Im making a new thread.

[Mazz 0]

Im trying to find out some info on back injuries associated with skydiving. Every thread Ive read so far there are people that go into detail about their injuries and its making me cringe. I HATE sympathy pains.

So... without going into detail:

How common are back injuries from skydiving?

Are they preventable?

How common are hard openings?

What causes a hard opening?

Will staying big and not downsizing help?


Bonus, off topic question:

Does being in a skydiving club help or hurt insurance premiums? I was asked this question when looking for a quote and I said no.

In the Navy, you can't put your hands in your pockets but I was always told not to put my hands in my pockets by people with their hands in their pockets. Kinda funny huh?

[airtwardo 6]

How common are back injuries from skydiving?
~They happen, I've never had one.

Are they preventable?
~Yup, don't jump-no chance of a back injury from skydiving.

How common are hard openings?
~Lots of variables, what you jump and how you pack are two.

What causes a hard opening?
~Deployment

Will staying big and not downsizing help?
~Working for me.




Sorry, don't do extra credit.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[AggieDave 6]

Quote

How common are back injuries from skydiving?

Hit an miss. Most of the people I've met (myself included) who have back problems with skydiving its an aggravation from a previous non-jumping injury. TI work is a little rough on your back too.

Quote

Are they preventable?

Yes

Quote

How common are hard openings?

They happen.

Quote

What causes a hard opening?

Poor packing (not keeping the slider against the stops), bad decision while deploying (still tracking or falling too fast), not keeping your maintenance up (line sets in trim) and then sometimes they just happen. If you pack for yourself always, pack well, keep your gear maintained and deploy correctly, then you will be less likely to have a hard opening.

Quote

Will staying big and not downsizing help?

For what aspect? For overall injury, yes. Going faster makes it easier to hurt yourself. For opening problems, well, depends. I have a highly loaded Velocity 111 that opens nicer then a lightly loaded Laser9 288 I started on.

Quote

Does being in a skydiving club help or hurt insurance premiums?

That's how the insurance company knows how to ask if you're a skydiver. Admitting your a skydiver will let you know if you're covered from a skydiving injury. Lying about it will get you denied coverage. You will pay more for insurance.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[riggerrob 558]

"How common are back injuries from skydiving?"

Back injuries are a function of aging and sports. The only way to prevent back injuries is to stay in bed.
Spinal compressions are the most common injury, For example, I herniated a disc in my lower back while landing first generation tandem mains, then last year I herniated a second disc while crashing an airplane.
The leading cause of compression fractures is hard landings. Modern parachutes consistently land softly when flown conservatively. However, you cannot use the words "conservative" and "young skydiver" in the same sentence, so most modern skydivers hurt their spines by flying their canopies like fools.

"Are they preventable?"

Yes. Hard openings can be prevented by packing neatly. For example, while I have heard dozens of people grumble about hard openings on Sabre 1, I have hundreds of comfortable openings on Sabre 1-170, 150 and 135. Sabre 1s only slammed me when I rushed packing - the canopy into the d-bag - and lsot rack of the slider.


"How common are hard openings?"

Not often with modern canopies.

"What causes a hard opening?"

Sloppy packing or neglecting maintenance.



"Bonus, off topic question:

Does being in a skydiving club help or hurt insurance premiums? I was asked this question when looking for a quote and I said no.

[BIGUN 1,053]

Without going into detail, there's those skydivers that have had major injuries, those that will probably have major injuries, those that have had minor injuries, those that will have minor injuries, those that have had no injuries, those that will never have injuries.

How common are injuries from motorcycle crashes?

Are they preventable?

How common are motorcycle crashes?

What causes a motorcycle crash?

Will staying on a big Gold Wing and not getting on a superbike help?

Bonus Answer:

Being in an HMO or PPO _may_ result in a higher premium and/or they may exclude skydiving accidents (mine does not, nor does it affect my rates), HOWEVER, there is a high-risk activity clause in _most_ life insurance policies that will exclude payment if one has a fatality while engaging in these activities.

So if you go in... have your mates take off your gear and drag you to the highway and let a couple of tractor trailers run over you a couple of times...

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[sxc 0]

I can't answer any of the injury questions, but can talk to the insurance quote question...

I am currently in the process of getting a life insurance policy and I specifically want it to cover skydiving and scuba diving. One companay told me that the "adventure sports" rider adds about $2.50 per $1000 of insurance to the base rate. I am looking about about $80 a month for the policy.

[airtwardo 6]

Quote

I can't answer any of the injury questions, but can talk to the insurance quote question...

I am currently in the process of getting a life insurance policy and I specifically want it to cover skydiving and scuba diving. One companay told me that the "adventure sports" rider adds about $2.50 per $1000 of insurance to the base rate. I am looking about about $80 a month for the policy.

For Term?!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[sxc 0]

Yep, term. That's what it says on the quote.

[JohnDeere 0]

how much is the policy for and who is it through?

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[sxc 0]

I am currently shopping for a policy.
The only quote I have in so far is
$34/month for $100k for 10 years.
$49/month for $100k for 30 years.
They quoted for $250k, $500k and $1m too.

The company is West Coast Life Insurance Company.

I also have a life policy through my employer but it does not cover skydiving or scuba diving. These ones do.

So if I get one of these and I die in a car crash, they both pay out and my husband gets all the money! I think I better check the brakes on the car regularly!!

[JohnDeere 0]

Quote

So if I get one of these and I die in a car crash, they both pay out and my husband gets all the money! I think I better check the brakes on the car regularly!!

Thats one of those worth more dead than alive....and you sound better to. J/K

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

Quote

Are they preventable?

Yes

When you and Rob answer yes to this, did you mean absolutely preventable, or merely in frequency, as your later answers suggest?

Dacron has been suggested to avoid the really bad openings, but would it have any real effect on the more minor ones?

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

Dacron has been suggested to avoid the really bad openings, but would it have any real effect on the more minor ones?

My ejumacated guess is that, all other factors being equal, the cumulative effect of openings with Dacron might tend be kinder on the spine, over time, than with spectra.

[skybytch 259]

How common are back injuries from skydiving?

They happen, both lower back and neck. Happened to me; fused L4/L5/S1 in '01 and at least one disc in the neck is going out now.

If it will happen to you depends on how long you stay in the sport, how soft your openings and landings are, how old you are, how well you've taken care of yourself, and I'm sure genetics plays a role in disc related issues as well.

Are they preventable?

Sure. Don't jump.

How common are hard openings?

Depends on the canopy you jump. On the Spectre I jump, they are fairly rare - still could happen though.

What causes a hard opening?

Packing errors, poor body position on deployment, bad luck.

Will staying big and not downsizing help?

That'll reduce the risk of landing related injuries, as long as you ground yourself in higher wind conditions.

[mattsplat 0]

Smell like a lawyer

[pinkfairy 0]

Quote

"How common are back injuries from skydiving?"

Back injuries are a function of aging and sports. The only way to prevent back injuries is to stay in bed.

I have to disagree there, staying in bed 100% of the time will be pretty much guaranteed to mess up his back.

I don't have statistics, but I know someone who had a hard opening that he couldn't find a good reason for, he was fine, but the canopy was ripped apart.

We jump 0P canopies with micro lines, the fabric is designed to not let through air, and the lines stretch less than steel, it is only the design of the canopy and the way it is packed that prevents it from slamming every time. There will always be a risk of a hard opening no matter what you do.

But most skydiving back injuries that I've personally witnessed are from landings. Mostly compression fractures, often combined with injuries to other parts of the body. You will see "low turns" turn up with some regularity in the incident forum, where you read about the low turn fatalities, but most low turns cause injuries and not death.

I hope this was of any help!

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?

[pinkfairy 0]

Quote

Im trying to find out some info on back injuries associated with skydiving. Every thread Ive read so far there are people that go into detail about their injuries and its making me cringe. I HATE sympathy pains.

Skydiving is not safe, if you hang out at the DZ, you will not only hear people talk about their injuries, you will see them happen.

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?

[riggerrob 558]

I was being sarcastic!

After my first herniated disc (twenty-two years ago), doctors recommended six months bed rest.
Hah!
After three days my back was stating to cramp up, so I got out of bed and did some light exercises.

Since then doctors have changed their tune, now most doctors recommend exercise as a part of the cure for most skeletal-muscular injuries.

[pinkfairy 0]

Quote

I was being sarcastic!

I thought so, but I still had to comment!

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?