Skydiving Injuries: Truthfully...Do You...

[airtwardo 7]

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I didn't vote because I've done all of the above.

Only you are going to know.

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Ditto!

Then again...
the older I get, the longer it takes to heal...
so I do a lot less things that might get me hurt
in the first place.

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

[elfanie 0]

When I broke my ankle..first estimations I was told were 3-6 months before I could jump again.

4 weeks after surgery...doctor said he was amazed at how well I had healed and that he wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't back to jumping within the next month.
He also gave me a specific goal of when I could jump...ie. 'when you can stand on that one foot and jump up and down without pain, you can jump again.'

I did exactly that...waited until I could jump up and down on that one foot without pain, and I jumped. That was 6 weeks after surgery...so I jumped 6 weeks after surgery.

I voted give it adaquate time to heal...and did not vote to allow it to get to 100%, because I don't know if it will ever be "100%"...I'll always always always have to be careful about twisting it...and according to my doctor and physical therapist, I gave it adaquate time to heal.

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Elfanie
My Skydiving Page
Fly Safe - Soft Landings

[tbrown 26]

I'm down with a pin in my ankle from twisting my foot 10 days ago. There are some fractures in the fib as well, but the doctor says they'll heal all by themselves without any help. I'm waiting for a lot of ligaments to grow back and will also have to have the pin removed. Optimistically I'm looking at September or October. Hard as it may be, I'm going to wait on it. I'm 48, got a family, got a job, all that happy shit. I'm already embarrassed enough to be going through this, the only thing worse that I can think of is having to do it again because I got antsy.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[bozo 0]

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I'm curious about those of you that have had minor or major injuries..what were they, did you allow yourself to heal back to 100% or not.
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If I had followed Drs orders I woudnt be writing this.
It would have all been over.
I fractured a couple of my L vertebrae and crushed another. When the Dr took the metalfixators out of my spine , after a year, I was back in the air ten days later.....48 staples and all. I had no idea a new incision could bleed that much.
As it is...i've done 1300 jumps since my accident.

You do what you have to do...to remain you.

bozo

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.

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[crutch 0]

Two years ago I finally hurt myself in this sport (but that is another story). Two surguries put a plate and six screws in my ankle. A week after the second one, I snuck out tto the DZ with my cast on, made a jump. Not the most noteworthy thing I ever did, but anyhow, I didn't miss out on the helicopter the next weekend and that is how I also eneded up with my name on here. The hard part was explaining to AFF students why their instructor had a brace/cast on his leg.

blue skies,

art

[smellysue 0]

i would do the ground myself one either the 100% or the other one that said ground untill adequatly better because:

my injury may cause injury to another person if not fully recovered or may cause even more injury to me
and forse me to stop for an even longer period of time and id expect the same form my other half...

Id also like to think even though ive been stopped by my doc from jumping that if i was then fellow skydivers would show the same consideration...

[Designer 0]

Humm,this is a tuffy?Twice I took myself out of jumping for a week to ten days to heal.Smacked the ground pretty hard outside the pit at Deland.(my own dumb stupid mistake.)Started walking on bruised foot after three days of rest.Got on the bicycle as soon as possible even though it hurt like hell!After ten days raped the foot and ankle and continued on with my Accuracy practice jumps.Bruised a kidney on my"Last" hook turn ever and stayed on the ground a week at Z-hills until it was no longer painful.This is a judgment call.

[loflyer 0]

Well, to answer your questions, 5 yrs ago, on my 30th jump, I was practicing flying with my rear risers after one of my first 4 ways. The jump was awesome, but the landing wasn't. Because of high winds, I landed a little off the landing area, and my left foot went into a Kitfox hole, and the rest of me kept going! Compound Fracture Tib/Fib! 8 months of having an external fixture on my leg, the only thing I could think of, was getting back in the air. As soon as the External fixture was removed, they put me in a walking cast,(since I had to learn to walk again)! And I convinced one of our Tandem Instructors to take me for a jump! Well, after that I thought, no big deal I can handle it, but I ended up causing myself more pain than anything! Every jump I would make, my left leg from my knee to my ankle would double in size. It has been 5 years & I'm still having problems with it swelling & severe joint pain. I now know, to give a injury sufficient time to heal properly & to do some rehabilitation on it, to make sure it is 100%! The way i look at it, there is always "next week" but causing severe damage to bones & joints, will cause you problems the rest of your life!

[happythoughts 0]

I have grounded myself in non-injury situations.

My scuba-buddy once told "If you ever run out of air, put your gear in a closet for a month and figure out why you weren't paying attention."

In skydiving, if you run out of air, that's not an option.

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

He also gave me a specific goal of when I could jump...ie. 'when you can stand on that one foot and jump up and down without pain, you can jump again.'

I did exactly that...waited until I could jump up and down on that one foot without pain, and I jumped. That was 6 weeks after surgery...so I jumped 6 weeks after surgery.

I voted give it adaquate time to heal...and did not vote to allow it to get to 100%, because I don't know if it will ever be "100%"...I'll always always always have to be careful about twisting it...and according to my doctor and physical therapist, I gave it adaquate time to heal.

[cloud_monkey 0]

Well, be happy it was only a few weeks. I snapped my Tib/Fib in several places and ended up with a four compartment syndrome - not skydiving mind you - but skiing over 3 months ago. Not only did it require 3 surgeries and 10 days in the hospital but I'm told I shouldn't skydive for at least another 2 to 3 months. I'm limpin' around now but I don't think I'll be jumpin' until I can at least run at a decent pace.

[hukturn 0]

Totally depends on the injury. If I don't believe the injury will impair my ability to fly my slot and control my canopy, I would manifest. But, if I thought that the injury could be easily worsened, no way would I go up.

[elfanie 0]

AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

MY EYES!! That leg looks N A S T Y!!! Yegads.....*shudders* Blech!

I'm so sorry to hear about your leg...that just looks...ICK!

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Elfanie
My Skydiving Page
Fly Safe - Soft Landings

[scottjaco 0]

That picture is really hard to look at!

Why does your leg look like that? I thought the scar would just be a straight line of stitches.

Your leg looks like they opened it up and forgot to sew it back shut.

I don't mean to sound harsh! I'm just interested in knowing why it looks so bad!!

Does it hurt? will it alway look like a gapping wound?

Sorry!

scott

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

OMG..that pic makes my owie tickle. I have nothing to whine about anymore

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[bodypilot1 0]

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that pic makes my owie tickle

Whats an owie?

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www.WestCoastWingsuits.com
www.PrecisionSkydiving.com

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

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that pic makes my owie tickle

Whats an owie?

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my owie is a sprained ankle

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[GroundZero 0]

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had a hard opening two years ago that screwed up my neck and spine pretty good. I was jumping right away. Took no time off at all. I was back at the chiropractor yesterday trying to get rid of the pinching pains in my upper back.

Me too...
gotta have more BASE... what's wrong with us?

3...2...1... CYA!


Chris

oh my freakin neck!

[TribalTalon 0]

i'm used to playing through injuries so unless there's something sticking out or that will actually hinder my landings (broken foot, leg) i'm jumping. I'm actually jumping with a cracked rib now, i made 2 jumps today and it didnt really bother me that much. hurt to go head down tho, but not in my sit. i just packed my rig to open reaaaaaaaal slow and its not that bad. *shrugs*

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

I have an ankle stabilizer, and the swelling and bruising has gone down considerably. I can actually see an ankle bone resurfacing AND because this is my last weekend at my home dz, I HAVE TO JUMP the Otter (our new jumpship for the summer). I just got an awesome opportunity in Jax, FL and my mom is giving me shit about the potential of showing up at an interview in crutches, if I reinjure myself bc of jumping too soon..but I feel that I'll be good to go. We'll see..

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[cloud_monkey 0]

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That picture is really hard to look at!

Why does your leg look like that? I thought the scar would just be a straight line of stitches.

Your leg looks like they opened it up and forgot to sew it back shut.

I don't mean to sound harsh! I'm just interested in knowing why it looks so bad!!

Does it hurt? will it alway look like a gapping wound?

Sorry!

scott

It's doesn't hurt that bad any more. The nasty scar is actually a skin graft measuring 12x3. My leg was so swollen that they couldn't close the surgical cuts without the skin graft. There's another Frankenstein sized scar on the inside of my calf as well.

[cloud_monkey 0]

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AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

MY EYES!! That leg looks N A S T Y!!! Yegads.....*shudders* Blech!

I'm so sorry to hear about your leg...that just looks...ICK!

I thought chicks were supposed to dig scars?

[cloud_monkey 0]

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AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

MY EYES!! That leg looks N A S T Y!!! Yegads.....*shudders* Blech!

I'm so sorry to hear about your leg...that just looks...ICK!

I almost forgot - if you thought that one looks bad, consider this; that was taken over threee weeks after the surgery - this one was what they sent me home with - Parental discretion is advised

[hookitt 1]

You probably won't get this untill you've jumped already

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have an ankle stabilizer, and the swelling and bruising has gone down considerably.

So.. can you run? Can you take an impact?

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

[DisasterInc 0]

could monkey, man thats NICE. I was beginning to think I was the only one with a scar like that. I had a coupound tib fib due to a low CRW wrap, very similar, but they had to cut out part of my lat(back) muscle to cover the hole on my leg. required a skin graft over that. Looks damn near identical but on the inside of my shin... also, due to the lat it bulges out like a piece of meat.. This happened in 2000, I was up one year later and put 400 jumps on what I found out was a still fractured leg(XRAYS did not reveal, it took an MRI) landing on my good leg. Bottom line, 30 surgeries and 3 rods later Ive managed to put close to 2500 more jumps on it. No longer limp, but I sure feel like an OLD man at 30 in the morning. Good luck on recovery, and remember, MOST docs will play it WAY to the safe side. Mine told me I probably shouldnt jump anymore. Jump when you feel like it.....Ive learned only you know your limitations...

"Bad spot...High winds...No outs..."
DisasterInc