[mattgreen03]

Hey, i have recently (Sunday 30th March) broken and dislocated my ankle falling on the climb down from a problem on mothercap. Just wondering if anyone has had a similar injury, how long it took to get back climbing, any excercise i can do to keep my upper and core body strength up (with a cast). Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Matt

[GCW]

You had it fixed, or just in plaster?

[mattgreen03]

Its been fixed and pinned, it is bandaged and has frame work currently. ho hum.

[GCW]

frame work

If you mean an Ilizarov you clearly haven't got a straightforward ankle injury.  Expect it to take significantly longer than usual to improve.

[mattgreen03]

No, it is similar to a cast but is more elastic and allows a little leway for swelling. I cannot put weight on it for a further 4 weeks. HAPPY DAYS!

[Somebody's Fool]

In 2004 I dislocated my ankle in a fall at Gib Tor.  When I first went to casualty the doctor who saw me said it would be broken as well, but it wasn't.

In terms of recovery, I was given a cast like yours i.e not a pot, and was on crutches for seven weeks.  As soon as it came off I was climbing straight away.  Predominantly seconding and very easy soloing at first, I probably began tentative bouldering three months after the cast came off.

Physically there were few problems once I regained strength and some mobility.  To this day I have a lump of scar tissue that looks like a second ankle bone but it doesn't affect climbing at all.

Mentally, I was shitting it on landings which weren't flat for the best part of 18 months afterwards. Confidence is regained frightfully slowly in this respect I'm afraid.  Although a lob off the top of Pyscho at Caley after about a year was a big breakthrough for me.

In terms of exercise, I did nothing apart from operate on crutches and a bit of ping pong.

[mattgreen03]

great stuff! thanks allot, i realise it may be different for me, but hearing a story like that gives me some confidence, it is good to hear other climbers/boulderers experiences. woot!

[fatdoc]

frame work

If you mean an Ilizarov you clearly haven't got a straightforward ankle injury.  Expect it to take significantly longer than usual to improve.

I'm kinda guessing GCW will have some help for you here...

what us fracture guys  need to know is more detail...

but i can tell you that if it's even 1/2 as bad as it could be... forget 2008



seriously

[GCW]

I cannot put weight on it for a further 4 weeks.

Hmmm, that's a different scenario.  4 weeks post injury for weightbearing tends to be a lesser injury and may do better.
Post us a pic of your X-ray, otherwise we'll just have to randomly guess
3 months for a "standard" ankle injury would be average for walking fairly normally.

I'm kinda guessing GCW will have some help for you here...

Nah, I'm just a humble GP mate (well, from August......)   

[mattgreen03]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=501995&l=5eab2&id=289200461
there you go! Not sure if you were being serious or not, but there's the money shot.

[GCW]

Appears an isolated medial malleolus # from that, but we need the lateral too.
Because of the talar position you've obviously buggered your medial and lateral ligaments and this will be unstable.  I assume you had a couple of screws banged across the fracture?
Any joint disruption is a serious matter.  I'd guesss at 3 months plus before reasonable function, probably more for serious climbing.

[mattgreen03]

yes exactly right, had screws in the fractured section. 3 months at least, I was meant to be going to the philippines on the 3rd of may (it happened on the 28th march) for scuba diving and surveying. Happy Days.

[GCW]

You can still do upper body work, campusing etc 

[The Sausage]

my advice would be not to campus at this stage - you don't want to fall off awkwardly, and apprehension of this will stop you trying 100%, so it's pointless.

My advice would be dead hanging from a finger board and assisted 1-armers. If you can rig up a pulley system under a bar/finger board you can seriously improve your basic levels of strength. Marius Morstad wrote an article many moons ago, which basically advocated doing alternate days of 5 sets of 5 reps and 5 sets of 1 rep asssted 1-armers (with a pulley to assist the non-pulling arm).

You have time on your side, so take it slow and it will pay dividends. I have tinkered with the basic programme over the past few years and it really helps. My advice would be to spend a few sessions just getting used to the action and gradually reducing the amount of weight you need to complete the sets. The first few sessions shouldn't feel that hard, but make sure you are doing a full 1-armer from straight arm to full lock (twist in and get your other shoulder above the bar). The first few seesions are just about training the neural pathways, so really concentrate on getting a good action. Try not to swing your legs to generate movement. In terms of rest days/how often, that'll depend on how you feel. The main thing is you have to try HARD. When you do the 5x5 reps you should feel like you're going to pass out! I think fully completing each set is important (if you fail on the 5th one, have a few seconds rest, and then do it again).

I also used a finger board and pulley for dead hanging, it means you can systematically increase the load, and reduces the stability across the shoulder girdle compared to 2 hand hanging (make sure you stay front on). Ru mentioned doing 30 second hangs (which I did for a period this winter), and although any effect is difficult to quantify, my fingers definitely feel stronger this year. I think doing a half crimp and a 3 finger open hand hang are the way to go.

My only other advice would also relate to SF's comment about shitting it jumping/falling off. I fractured my heel bone a few years ago. I had a trip to Font' about 9 months after and really struggled to commit toanything. In the end I just took a pad and went off in my trainers jumping off successively higher things. It seemed to work.

[saltbeef]

i feel your pain. i dislocated my ankle in nov. I think i've been verry lucky, but i've also played the game and done ALOT of rehab work. i went to font about a month ago.
i did alot of one arm work and fingerboarding, loads of core work and i really haven't lost much, if anything my fingers are much stronger. look at the campus diagnostics thread and read what keith said, its good advice. I did an exam in the mean time cos i couldn't work, don't waste your time view it as a useful experience. falling off is a different matter now, i shit it outside, and if the landings aren't verdant green pasture then my ankle lets me know about it. good luck and seriously take it really steady.

[fatdoc]

i feel your pain. i dislocated my ankle in nov. I think i've been verry lucky, but i've also played the game and done ALOT of rehab work. i went to font about a month ago.
i did alot of one arm work and fingerboarding, loads of core work and i really haven't lost much, if anything my fingers are much stronger. look at the campus diagnostics thread and read what keith said, its good advice. I did an exam in the mean time cos i couldn't work, don't waste your time view it as a useful experience. falling off is a different matter now, i shit it outside, and if the landings aren't verdant green pasture then my ankle lets me know about it. good luck and seriously take it really steady.

that they are after your exploits on the wave yesterday i can vouch for that.

I would also seriously consider you getting a Ronin Air pad... they compress more, so you are less likely to turn the ankle... I swear by mine.

you'll still be doing proprioception exercises 18 months from now... I still am.

sorry mate.

[Drew]

Can you guys see this? This is after manipulation, but before surgery.

Alright Matt, how's it going?