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snowgypsy
Sep 2, 2008, 6:29 PM
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just a few words of wisdom about climbing injuries and the importance of NOT sucking it up, of seeing a doctor and taking the necessary precautions.
i was climbing the second flatiron last week, an easy 5.0-5.4 trad route with my partner, we'd done it a few times before and were extremely comfortable with the route. it's about six pitches, beautiful views, great things all around. on the third pitch the rock comes to a point, ends and there is a five foot jump onto a slanted ledge below . the jump is easy but when i landed, my feet were turned out. i rolled my ankle. the pain was unbelievable, but not wanting to end the climb and thinking i had only sprained it, i continued up three more pitches, including a crack, and walked two miles down the trail.
i then went to hospital, got xrays, was told it was a sprain and to well, suck it up.
walked on it, went to work, all that jazz only to go to a real doctor five days later, get an mri just to make sure and find out:
i fractured not only my ankle, but split my heel down the middle, and tore two ligaments around my ankle...i'll be out for the rest of season and came very close to permanently injuring my foot
damn...just goes to show you, don't ignore pain, don't be ashamed to bail out on a climb, and always get a follow up for any injury no matter how small it may seem.
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flipnfall
Sep 2, 2008, 6:33 PM
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Thanks for sharing.
I broke my ankle ice fishing and ignored it for 3 weeks. By that time it was too late for corrective surgery. It took me months to rehab my ankle so I hear what you're saying. It's always best to get checked out if you have doubts.
GT
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onceahardman
Sep 2, 2008, 7:52 PM
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In reply to: i fractured not only my ankle, but split my heel down the middle, and tore two ligaments around my ankle...i'll be out for the rest of season and came very close to permanently injuring my foot damn...just goes to show you, don't ignore pain, don't be ashamed to bail out on a climb, and always get a follow up for any injury no matter how small it may seem.
You make some good points, but to be accurate, the bolded area above IS an "ankle sprain"...Torn ligaments = sprained ligaments, and these are invisable to x-ray. It's not the x-rays fault it can't see something.
Depending upon the fracture site, a small avulsion fracture of the distal fibula is a very common "co-injury" to an ankle sprain, and if there is no displacement, the doc will sometimes blow it off, if he or she even sees it.
I'd bet most of your pain is coming from the calcaneus. That hurts like a SOB. Listen to the doc, don't walk around until it's healed enough.
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jeremyash
Sep 2, 2008, 8:07 PM
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I have had 3 serious ankle injuries in my life, with 2 of them being in the past year. one was what i call a supported twist, meaning my ankle slipped in between two crash pads that were tight to one another and rolled. it turned ridiculously black and blue, but the doc said it was just a sprain. i wish i had some one take a better look at it as i was out of pocket for 6 months trying to rehab it. you definitely hit the nail on the head about taking these things seriously.
For those who have sprained ankles in the past, as we all know it will never be as strong as it once was. but if you look around there are some stretching and strengthening routines out there that help. feel free to hit me with a PM if you're interested
stay safe
-Jeremy
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HeatherJagger1
Sep 2, 2008, 9:46 PM
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man you guys are freaking me out. I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago, about 5. I jumped off a route in the gym and landed on the bumpy floor (no pad, just mushy foor) and it sounded like a bag of chips being crushed. I was on crutches for 10 days but never got it checked out. I can climb and walk now but it's still swollen around the bone, do you think that's bad??
I'm super careful when I climb on it.
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snowgypsy
Sep 3, 2008, 1:10 AM
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im definitely not a doctor, but swelling, like pain, is usually your body's way of letting you know that something isn't right. i think the body has an amazing ability to fix itself over time, and, as long as u can walk without pain, it should be all right. soft tissue takes a long time to heal itself, longer than breaks or fractures, and hurt just as much. there's nothign u can really do for it except watch it and stay off it if there is any pain or discomfort at all... stay safe
kristi[
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skiclimb
Sep 3, 2008, 1:13 AM
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HeatherJagger1 wrote: man you guys are freaking me out. I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago, about 5. I jumped off a route in the gym and landed on the bumpy floor (no pad, just mushy foor) and it sounded like a bag of chips being crushed. I was on crutches for 10 days but never got it checked out. I can climb and walk now but it's still swollen around the bone, do you think that's bad?? I'm super careful when I climb on it.
Sure..it's fine..disabilities just add to the challenge and challenge is why we climb right?...and Hugh Herr does fine without feet
(This post was edited by skiclimb on Sep 3, 2008, 1:15 AM)
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pseudolith
Sep 3, 2008, 12:41 PM
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Isn't HeatherJagger the one who said "my arm is falling off" just the other day? With a smashed ankle, too, I think some rest days may be in order.
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timd
Sep 9, 2008, 8:35 AM
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onceahardman wrote: In reply to: i fractured not only my ankle, but split my heel down the middle, and tore two ligaments around my ankle...i'll be out for the rest of season and came very close to permanently injuring my foot damn...just goes to show you, don't ignore pain, don't be ashamed to bail out on a climb, and always get a follow up for any injury no matter how small it may seem. You make some good points, but to be accurate, the bolded area above IS an "ankle sprain"...Torn ligaments = sprained ligaments, and these are invisable to x-ray. It's not the x-rays fault it can't see something. Depending upon the fracture site, a small avulsion fracture of the distal fibula is a very common "co-injury" to an ankle sprain, and if there is no displacement, the doc will sometimes blow it off, if he or she even sees it. I'd bet most of your pain is coming from the calcaneus. That hurts like a SOB. Listen to the doc, don't walk around until it's healed enough.
You are an idiot. A torn ligament is not a sprain moron. A sprain is a hyperextension of the ligament. A torn ligament is much harder to do and a lot more serious. So, do not spout bullshit to people because they just might believe your dumbass bullshit and wind up with a serious permanent injury. So, SHUT THE FUCK UP you FUCKIN IDIOT!
(This post was edited by timd on Sep 9, 2008, 8:46 AM)
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seatbeltpants
Sep 9, 2008, 9:16 AM
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cripes!
steve
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lofstromc
Sep 9, 2008, 11:29 AM
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timd wrote: onceahardman wrote: In reply to: i fractured not only my ankle, but split my heel down the middle, and tore two ligaments around my ankle...i'll be out for the rest of season and came very close to permanently injuring my foot damn...just goes to show you, don't ignore pain, don't be ashamed to bail out on a climb, and always get a follow up for any injury no matter how small it may seem. You make some good points, but to be accurate, the bolded area above IS an "ankle sprain"...Torn ligaments = sprained ligaments, and these are invisable to x-ray. It's not the x-rays fault it can't see something. Depending upon the fracture site, a small avulsion fracture of the distal fibula is a very common "co-injury" to an ankle sprain, and if there is no displacement, the doc will sometimes blow it off, if he or she even sees it. I'd bet most of your pain is coming from the calcaneus. That hurts like a SOB. Listen to the doc, don't walk around until it's healed enough. You are an idiot. A torn ligament is not a sprain moron. A sprain is a hyperextension of the ligament. A torn ligament is much harder to do and a lot more serious. So, do not spout bullshit to people because they just might believe your dumbass bullshit and wind up with a serious permanent injury. So, SHUT THE FUCK UP you FUCKIN IDIOT!
Wow, almost every sentence had an insult in it!
Nice work, man! It probably felt real good.
I see you edited your work too.
While you were doing so, did you consider not being so nasty?
(This post was edited by lofstromc on Sep 9, 2008, 11:31 AM)
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jdefazio
Sep 9, 2008, 12:14 PM
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lofstromc wrote: timd wrote: You are an idiot. A torn ligament is not a sprain moron. A sprain is a hyperextension of the ligament. A torn ligament is much harder to do and a lot more serious. So, do not spout bullshit to people because they just might believe your dumbass bullshit and wind up with a serious permanent injury. So, SHUT THE FUCK UP you FUCKIN IDIOT! Wow, almost every sentence had an insult in it! Nice work, man! It probably felt real good. I see you edited your work too. While you were doing so, did you consider not being so nasty?
Or, perhaps, he could also consider not being wrong.
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onceahardman
Sep 9, 2008, 12:33 PM
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From Medline:
In reply to: A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament.
You can find more here:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/...rainsandstrains.html
Grade I sprain = no tearing of ligament fibers.
Grade II sprain = some tearing
Grade III sprain = complete tear.
See how easy that was? No need to get abusive. I'm just trying to help. If you have information contradicting the above, I'm willing to listen.
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onceahardman
Sep 9, 2008, 7:11 PM
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A couple other layperson misconceptions:
(BTW, timd, your profile says you are a medical lab tech, you should be able to do your own research before you start calling people names)
"My arm isn't broken, it's only fractured".
" I don't have a cold, I have an upper respiratory infection".
" Won't exercising my arthritic knee just wear out the cartilage faster?"
Also, I don't know if you have taken any physics...easy materials-science stuff. If so, you'd spend a lot of time studying something called a "stress-strain" curve.
When you talk about a material "stretching", most materials will return to their original length, UNLESS the amount of stress applied is sufficient to enter the zone of "plastic deformation", that is, enough to cause a "permanent" change in length.
For example, if you stretch a rubber band, then let it "snap" back, it will regain it's original length. UNLESS you either hold it stretched, so that the material "creeps", or put on enough tension to cause plastic deformation.
Plastic deformation of a ligament = ligament stretch. It really IS a material failure, even if the individual fibers are not torn.
Above, I put "permanent" in quotes, because unlike most materials, ligaments are living tissue. As they heal, they do shrink a bit.
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granite_grrl
Sep 9, 2008, 8:39 PM
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timd wrote: onceahardman wrote: In reply to: i fractured not only my ankle, but split my heel down the middle, and tore two ligaments around my ankle...i'll be out for the rest of season and came very close to permanently injuring my foot damn...just goes to show you, don't ignore pain, don't be ashamed to bail out on a climb, and always get a follow up for any injury no matter how small it may seem. You make some good points, but to be accurate, the bolded area above IS an "ankle sprain"...Torn ligaments = sprained ligaments, and these are invisable to x-ray. It's not the x-rays fault it can't see something. Depending upon the fracture site, a small avulsion fracture of the distal fibula is a very common "co-injury" to an ankle sprain, and if there is no displacement, the doc will sometimes blow it off, if he or she even sees it. I'd bet most of your pain is coming from the calcaneus. That hurts like a SOB. Listen to the doc, don't walk around until it's healed enough. You are an idiot. A torn ligament is not a sprain moron. A sprain is a hyperextension of the ligament. A torn ligament is much harder to do and a lot more serious. So, do not spout bullshit to people because they just might believe your dumbass bullshit and wind up with a serious permanent injury. So, SHUT THE FUCK UP you FUCKIN IDIOT!
Wow...did you just come in here to flame OHM? Impressive. Especially your use of caps.
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aerili
Sep 10, 2008, 1:20 AM
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Omg, LMFAO!!!
Can someone please free timd from his prison of higher learning now?!!
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