Question- weak neck/spinal chord

[Borkel 0]

Hi, I'm an achondroplastic dwarf with a heavy interest in going skydiving. Now apparently I'm told this gives me a weaker spinal chord and neck, but it's nothing too bad to the point that it stops me from doing daily activities. I've been given an opportunity to go this sunday, and I wanted to know if this should stop me from going- maybe will cause a problem with the shock from the parachute first opening. Any responses as quick as possible woudl be appreciated. Thanks.

[lazerq3 0]

Doing daily activities is one thing ...going120mph to like 10-20mph is another.... one thing is to ask a doctor ,however most doc are probably not up to speed about the sport and will give you the default answer NO!!!! But if your doing a tandem , from what I've seen most of them are pretty soft openings...TM instructors plaese jump in to varify this!! So really I think only you can answer the question of whether you should go or not!! I mean if your pretty athletic and in decent health ...go for it but only you can determine that!!! Anyway I know I wasnt much help but good luck with what ever you decide and let us know if you jumped and hhow it was......Also it wouldnt hurt to ask the DZO and see what he/she feels about it!!!

jason

Freedom of speech includes volume

[Borkel 0]

thanks for the reply- I'm pretty sure it's a static one we're doing, I'm not sure, all I know is it's 6 hours of training, costs $150, and www.soyouwanna.com makes it sound like that's what it would be.

[lazerq3 0]

Well if its static line then your opening may not be so bad becuase you not opening at terminal speeds...but then again I never did a static jump but I wouldnt think the opening are too bad!! ANY STATIC LINERS WANNA CONFERM OR DENY??? But again talk with your DZO or S&TA !!

good luck!!

jason

Freedom of speech includes volume

[michaelflying 0]

Sounds like a static line jump sub terminal opening not too hard see a doc.. first Good Luck hope it works out for you

www.skydivekzn.co.za

[Casch 0]

I learned via static-line. I'm a large guy, 250lbs and my openings were beautifully soft. I can garuntee you that if you ask your normal doctor if it's ok, he'll give you a resounding "no!". Even if you can physically handle it, your still in a higher risk class and he's not going to want a lawsuit. In the end the decision is yours. The opening may be sweet as pie, but if you biffed it on landing (and some students can really biff it hard) you could easily break something. In the end, the decision is yours to make. And while I wish that EVERYONE could enjoy this sport at least for a day, I realise that just isn't possible...I guess this probably didn't help you at all sorry

[hookitt 0]

How long are your arms? I ask this question because to steer a parachute you have to reach up and grab some toggles that connect lines attached to the tail of the canopy.

Well, the risers are kinda long on most student rigs and it's entirely possible that an achondroplastic dwarf is unable to reach the toggles. I haven't a clue what you look like so this may or may not be an issue using the dropzones standard student equipment.

Now as far as how much opening shock your body can endure, who knows. None of us can make that type of determination. If it's static line, chances are the shock isn't too high. That is also subjective but generally it's not too abrubt. If you freefall, a hard opening can equal or surpass the impact of a car crash. That's not an exageration either.

You can pretty much count on having linetwists if you do a static line. Depending on how high above your head you can reach, that can be trouble as well. If you sit in a swing and spin yourself up, you'll get an ide what line twist are. You need to reach up to push the risers apart then kick your self out of the twists. Line twists are generally not a big deal but can be classified as a malfunction if you are unable to rectify them


Other types of malfunctions are another story. Cutaway and reserve handles must be reachable and you must be able to pull them easily if needed.

I'm not suggesting you can't skydive but depending on your body shape, a more custom solution may be required.

A tandem is a good way to try your first skydive. That may be your best first option.

Good luck Borkel. Skydiving is a blast and it would be very cool if you can try it.

-

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

[mr2mk1g 10]

Doing a static line jump the biggest risk to you would probably be on landing. The opening is usually very gentle, thats how I learned and I never had a hard opening.

You do have to take into account the risk of a poor landing though. Landings are supposed to be like stepping off the bottom step of a flight of stairs, (and many are), but many people dont get their first landing just right (understandable). Your first landing might therefore be more like jumping out of a tree as a kid.

If you think you can handle that sort of impact then I say go for it - but let the tandem master and DZ controlers know about your concerns before you jump - your their responsability while you're there.

[Tonto 1]

Wear a soft neck brace and ask the TM to hold your forehead back during deployment. Have fun!

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[hookitt 0]

Quote

Wear a soft neck brace and ask the TM to hold your forehead back during deployment.

Well Gee..... that was simple. Why didn't we all think of that?

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

[CLebsack 0]

When you speak of a "weaker spinal chord and neck"
what does that prevent you from doing? Can you go on a rollercoster? Would you be likely to do spinal damage if you fell down the stairs?

Ask questions not just about a regular parachute opening, but also about a reserve parachute opening, or a harder than normal opening and bad landings. In a very nonmedical opinion, I would liken these things to the types of forces you would experience on amusement park rides. A pretty bad landing can be like falling down stairs or jumping off of a high table.

If you go to the dropzone and talk to them they can surely put you in a suspended harness to see if you can reach everything.

Good luck and welcome to skydiving

~Cindy~

"I dont know what your problem is, but I'll bet its hard to pronounce."

[Borkel 0]

Thank you everyone, but after a bit of thinking I've decided to just not take the risk. I wish I could have gone, but no big deal. But I'd like to thank everyone for their tremendous amount of help. So thanks everyone.