[T.H.]

Listen up.

I've just been diagnosed with Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD) in my knee joint which basically means I've got bits of cartilage floating around in there.  It's the most f*cking painful thing I've ever experienced and I've broken a lot of bones, and dislocated a few too.

It's been caused by me jumping off boulder problems, obviously when I've been climbing indoors.  So from now on, if you don't want to suffer my fate, climb down once you've got to the top.

Treatment will be an arthroscopy where they stick a camera into my knee joint and pull out all the loose bodies.

Here's a great quote from one of my sports injuries books;

"An OCD in a weightbearing condyle will, within 20-30 years, progress to osteoarthritis of the knee in 80% of cases".  Great!

[squeek]

"An OCD in a weightbearing condyle will, within 20-30 years, progress to osteoarthritis of the knee in 80% of cases".  Great!

Don't worry I'm sure in 20-30 years they'll have some miracle cure for it   :D

I probably fall off problems more than drop off so I'll probably get it
in my arse.   :shock:

[dave]

time to take up deep water soloing perhaps?

[Pantontino]

What do you mean sack it at 50 - didn't Mark LeMenstral's dad climb 8b when he was 50?

I watched Dave Barton climb an E7 in Gordale when he was 51.

Joe Brown is in his mid 70s and still climbing at a respectable grade. Him and Davey Howard Jones (no spring chicken either!) put up a new E4 on Red Wall a few summers ago.

[T.H.]

I'm not taking up Deep Water Soloing Dave, have you seen the news about Damian Cook?  What a bummer.

I can't swim anyway.  I think this is more of an incentive for me to climb harder so I never fall off.

Anyway, look after your knees kids.

[mark]

Sorry to hear that, TH. What are the symptoms?

Great shame about Damian Cook.

[a dense loner]

jacques le menstral did 8a when he was 50. still not bad  

[dobbin]

shit. Are the mats where you climb very hard?

[Jim]

I remember when I used to climb at pex as a youth, before bouldering mats. It makes me cringe now just thinking of falling off near the top and landing on the hard ground. Can't go bouldering now without me metolius XXL (its getting a new lease of life soon with new foam hopefully). I think I've just turned into a pussy as I'm getting older

[SA Chris]

I can sympathise. In the first hour of day one of my US bouldering trip this year I totally fucked my ankle. We were at Joe's Valley in Utah and I did a highball V2 after carelessly just throwing my mat on the ground. Did the problem first go, with a minor wobble at the top. Showed my mate how to do the crux and then jumped off, straight onto a grapefruit sized boulder under the mat. Ankle swelled up almost instantly and basically screwed up the rest of the trip. I was stuck in Bishop doing either easy highballs or short bumstart problems. Its 5 weeks on now and it still isnt 100%. You want to go toproping?

[danielb]

I've sprained an ankle twice bouldering inside now, usually from falling off from about 2 feet and landing on the side of my foot. Its really annoying and one of the things that puts me off bouldering a bit is how likely I am to twist an ankle now....

Daniel

[dave]

most bouldering injuries i've ever seen was indoors, mainly at the berghaus wall in newcastle. numerous sprained ankles on mat edges, and also i showed a lad a horrendous briding problem, he fell off and managed to knock his kneecap round to the side of his knee.

[Johnny Brown]

Wouldn't worry too much. I had an arthroscopy a year ago  and things are pretty good now - was back to normal bouldering within a couple of months. Really deep rockovers are still a little scary though. There has even been a (rather dubious) benefit too - I got loads stronger through avoiding high stuff and not being able to use my foot faggotry as much. However end result of that has been a fucked finger - gonna go back to smearin now. Then once I've fucked the other knee it'll be back to steep sit-downs....

[the_dom]

A few years ago, I took a girl I was quite into climbing at an indoor wall. She fell off, landed between the mats, and broke her foot. I had to carry her to the car and into the hospital.

She was so impressed with my chivalry that we ended up going out for almost a year..