Whomp whompSorry, can't seem to embed that any smaller.
It's been 4 weeks now since I went a-tumblin' at Attermire. I had a consultant appointment a couple of weeks ago which wasn't very informative (the guy didn't really listen and just said "don't do this, don't do that, now off you go"). He said he'd see me again in 3 months and I later received a text saying I'd been booked in for two weeks time, which was yesterday.
The new guy was much more conversational and explained that the reason they wanted to see me again so soon was that they were still debating among themselves whether I would need surgery, which is a running debate they'd been having in the Leeds spinal/neurosurgery department since they were first sent the scans by Airedale 4 weeks ago. He explained that all the signs were positive. From looking at my scans you'd think that I ought to be much less mobile and in more pain than I am - he was please to see me walking into the room straight-backed and without crutches. The scan I'd had just prior showed things looking as good as they could be looking at this stage. He was pleased that I'd been able to go swimming twice last week (50 lengths in 40 mins last Wednesday; 70 lengths in an hour last night - that's my Power Club entry, I guess). I think the only thing that could result in surgery now is if during the healing the bone fragments start to push outwards, which would result in a great deal of pain and a bend in the back; but apparently the fact that I appear to be recovering very well is a positive indication that this is unlikely.
He said that I should be able to get back to "normal activity" after about 3 months. When I mentioned climbing he did what the other bloke did which was to tell me off for thinking I was going to get back to falling off things so soon. That's not really what I meant - these guys aren't climbers so don't know that there's such a things as, for instance, top-roping and traversing Henry Price.
So I'm probably looking at at least 6 months before I can do anything meaningful or maybe a year. Or maybe more, we just don't know yet because bone remodelling (where the body gets the bones to look less like a shattered mess and more like
it's original shape) is not entirely predictable. That's OK, which might sound odd coming from a lifer, but it is what it is and there's more in life than just climbing. But I'm wondering what I ought to do (climbing-wise) in the meantime, which is the point of this post.
The last thing I crimped was some damp limestone near the top of Barrel Buttress and that was 4 weeks ago. I definitely can't be lifting up anything heavy and I'm not even sure if/when I should use a fingerboard. So after the 3 month mark I wonder what sort of climbing activity I should do to maintain some sort of strength/form for my glorious return, whenever that may be. I'm not expecting to return to climbing and immediately start trying to RP an 8a again, but I don't want to have completely deconditioned and at risk of finger injuries from a sudden return to sport climbing. I don't like fingerboarding, so the idea of doing 6 months of it isn't appealing, but that might be the only thing available to keep things ticking over?
I'm not expecting any definite answers or a planned training programme, I just thought it would help to write down my thoughts and see if anybody else has been in a similar position of not wanting/expecting improvements during a hiatus, but also not wanting a complete loss of strength.