Anybody else with a bad right shoulder? prcp issues?

[skivie77 0]

looking for tips or suggestions from others with shoulder problems.

The story is I broke my Humorous Dec 26th of 2007. Bounced myself of a Poplar tree snowboarding through the woods, and the Humorous split down the middle at the top of the ball joint ever so slightly and i took a roughly U.S Quarter sized chip to the outside off. Luckily no surgery required, they thumbed the chip back into place and 10 weeks later i was snowboarding Big Sky Montana in a motorcycle brace.

OK, so time has passed my shoulder felt great, I finally get the Money together to start my skydiving training and boom. The second I start practicing and performing prcp training I'm down for a week. After one jump my arm is useless for about 3 days. I was even Grounded all holiday weekend because the instructors felt my arm wasn't up to the task. The wife's on jump eight and I'm struggling to just get through prcp do to the shoulder.

Even practicing them in my living room blows my arm out, The drop zone has no rigs that offer left hand deployment, My doctor says live with it basically! as he doesn't believe surgery will help.

Anybody have any ideas remedies or past experience?

[marks 0]

get your own gear and have the pilotchute pouch sewn on backward so you use your other arm.

[skivie77 0]

Well, Can't afford to do that one right now..
Thats what I'd like to do, but its going to be a while.

[councilman24 37]

If your arm is that bad and your doctor doesn't think he can fix it get another opinion. If the next guy doesn't think they can fix it you'll have to figure out if skydiving is for you.

Issues with emergency procedures? Steering? Packing?

What kind of deployment are they using at Premier? You say PRCP which stands for "Practice Ripcord Pull" but my guess is that it's a BOC throw out.

If it is a ripcord you probably shouldn't be skydiving because that motion will be needed for cutaways and reserve pulls. Yes you can do them with your left arm but you need to be able to do them with either.

If it is a BOC (bottom of container) or ROL (rear of leg), that's not that uncommon of a motion. You don't have any problem getting something out of your back jeans pocket?

Almost nobody is going to have a left hand rig. I had one in the 80's for no good reason but it was the only one I've ever seen. The option other than fixing your arm is using a ripcord and spring loaded PC for student jumps. This isn't uncommon. In fact the student rigs at Hastings Skydivers may still have the ripcord pockets and housings on them.

Your personal rig could be a ripcord, or left handed. But you need to be sure you can do everything else you need to do besides pulling.

If you want me to check on the rigs at Hastings I can. I'm one of the S&TA's there. I'm not sure the owners would want to mess around with a ripcord rig but they're pretty accomidating.

PM me if you want to talk about it more offline.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[NickDG 23]

I was in freefall once and looked up to see another jumper coming right at my head. I stuck my arm out to protect myself and when the other jumper hit my hand it rotated my arm around and it really messed up my right shoulder.

The whole right side of my upper body was black and blue.

About four weeks later I made a couple of fun jumps and it went all right. Then I went to another DZ to help them with their tandems. And on the first one I couldn't get the drogue out of its pouch. I was pulling as hard as I could but I couldn't do it. I settled for budging it a bit, then resting, then budging it some more, then resting again until I finally got it out.

I sewed bigger spandex pouches on the gear that night and that got me through it. But instead of sitting around drinking beer at night I had to get some dumb bells and get my arm back into shape. I learned from that it's not enough to just heal, you have to rehabilitate yourself too.

NickD

[skivie77 0]

The rigs at premier are spring loaded pilots with a ripcord basically were the hackey would be located. As fare as spreading risers and getting to the cut and reserve handles I don't have any issues that i can tell, I can still do push-ups and pull-ups etc its just the chicken wing motion needed to pull that cord. The only way to practice and pull that cord for me when the shoulder is agitated is dig my elbow into my side and then pull using a bicep curl motion, then extend my arm slightly forward to allow it to rotate back into the hard arch.

well looks like I try to get some physical therapy when I get time. I have to figure something out because im not going back to being a wuffo.

[billvon 2,991]

>Even practicing them in my living room blows my arm out . . .

That's going to be a problem for you. It's the one action you have to be able to do on every jump, every time. As others have mentioned, you can go to a left-hand pull, but student gear won't be set up that way. You could buy your own, but we're talking a $2000 investment at least (and a cooperative rigger.)

[madhatter 0]

Hi Kyle,

I managed to shear the head of the humerus right off & left the joint in 7 big pieces & numerous little shards (Note: horseriding's WAY more painful than skydiving!) Popular opinion amongst the ortho's was I would never be able to lift my arm above my head again... I refused normal physio & just did mobility exercises the first 3 weeks, then started with very slight resistance exercises (pulling against a bungee/surgical tubing in all directions) & progressed to push- & pull-ups after 10 weeks.

The only thing that got my shoulder working again was sheer bloody mindedness. It still doesn't move the way it should (my arm swivels around the center of the joint, not in it), but I have full strength, RW's a breeze & I have no worries at pull time.

Best advice is lying on your back & practising lifting your hand above your head (perhaps raising your hand upwards & then lowering it behind your head). Once you can do that comfortably, try standing & lifting light weights above your head, whereafter you can start practising pulling something from behind you - trust me, even though this is what you want to accomplish right now, the mobility exercises will aid you here.

All the best & don't give up!

A VERY MERRY UNBIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!
D.S # 125

[jimmytavino 16]

had a bad right shoulder for a while,,2 or 3 semi-injuries, over the years, wear & tear..
when the double gripped 6 way out of a casa tumbled, my right shoulder dislocated and finished a bunch of tears...had to pull my reserve....

time is needed,, recovery is slow and if you did the bone damage which you've described,
i'd guess you also did alot of muscle and/or ligament damage....
the bone may well be fused back together, but's it's only less than a year since you were hurt...

Unless you had a MRI scan, and not just an X -Ray,,, best to go easy, especially with what you've called, "that chicken -bone" move...

My dis-locate was in july '05, arthroscopic surgery, Nov. '05... follow up surgeries 3 months later, when an infection which was brewing since the repair, finally surfaced, and needed attention. the entire shoulder joint was affected

end result. .. infection cleared, but it compromised the "tenuous " repair.

so in all of '06 i made two jumps.

well i've been jumping since i was 19....
and certainly intended to continue jumping,,
( that was one of the reasons to accept the dr.s 'recommendation' to "just have it fixed" )...Yeah??? well he fixed it allright

anyway
on the # 2 jump which i did make in '06..i was unable to locate my P C handle..due to poor behind the back flex... I had felt that my deployment move would be good, and it was,,, on an earlier H & P that same day... and that Maybe..... I'd have it tough to get the right toggle...well,,, it was the other way around...so i pulled my reserve..and accepted my limited reach...

i adhere to the P T excersizes and still 3 years after the dislocate do pulleys and stretches a few times a day...
cause i want to see continuing improvement, i want to keep jumping... i want to stay safe

so In '07 i DID have my rigger switch my gear over, to left hand B O C ...and have had Zero issues with it. especiially on the warmer days...kudos to the packers....never a problem.

now as to your situation 77, a rig specifically for your use, perhaps could be temporarily converted... it would all depend on the willing ness and ability of your DZ , to respond...

What is your age??? if you have youth on your side, the healing will continue.
I can tell you have enthusiasm on your side, and if your wife is enjoying the sport as well,,,you both might have hit the jackpot...
Stilll, you need to fully recover, and that could be more than just an xray with the bone sealed together..
if you're in pain, then slow down...
Do the recommended excersizes, recognize what you can and can't YET do... go slow , if need be..
are you jumping from a cesnna??? which requires an arms intensive climb -out, or bigger planes where you can stand in the door??
were you jumping Before the injury?? or did you just start???

I have now found, that i am pain free, pretty strong, not as flexible as i would like,, But i can get the box of Corn Flakes from the upper shelf in the cupboard, with my left arm.....that's all..
for me, climbouts are fine, I can get a camera step handle, no problem. freefall is Not an issue at all, i can fly as normal, in fact the arm sorta holds itself quite naturally in the relative wind..

Left hand B O C is effective and a number of jumpers have them... the concern about "muscle memory" and 'what if you keep wanting to go right handed'???
Training that way from the get go...seems reasonable to me....

ONLY !!!! do not mix -up your rig with your wife's rig !!!.. got it??

good luck...and please go easy on that SNOWBOARDING>......... that's the dangerous sport..
keep us posted...

jmy
nscr 1817
4 stack 930

[Snowflake 0]

This may be valid or not. I have a different injury to my shoulder. If their teaching you to pull by moving your arm in a circular motion, try moving your arm from the elbow down straight down like your being held up and you have to reach for a gun at your hip quick. For me the circular motion doesn't bother me, but you throw in the 180 rotation I have to do at the same time causes me pain. Talk to your instructors about it

[strop45 0]

Go to a doctor or physiotherapist who specializes in sports injuries.

I 'hurt' my right shoulder flying in a wind tunnel. After one day and about 30 minutes of air time, I could hardly lift my arm to place it on the steering wheel of the car.

I went to the doctor who was about as much use as yours, then tried a physiotherapist who gave me 3 or four exercises to stretch and strengthen my shoulder and my rotor cuff. Once the pain had cleared I went to the Gym where they gave me a number of additional exercises to strengthen the shoulder.

12 months later and I'm as good as new now.

Blue Skies

Wayne.

The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

[ladydyver 0]

If you really want to jump take the time to go to physical therapy and see what they have to say; they will be able to tell you how much you will be able to get back. The orthopedist issue can be sticky. For me I saw the best in town who specifically did reconstruction on knees - that was his specialty. If you decide to get a 2nd opinion, then you should see someone who specializes in shoulders.
As someone who is currently recovering from a knee surgery (acl/mcl/meniscus) the PT sucks, but I hit the gym every day I don't do PT, and I do yoga once a week to get some of my flexibility back. Right now I am about 6 - 8 weeks ahead of schedule to get back in the air. My point is....if you really want it....you are going to have to fight for it. Good luck!

DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!

[skivie77 0]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread. But thanks for the advice everyone.

Elastic weights, dive bomber push-ups etc have been helping / hurting. Have full range of motion and more flexibility than I've ever had, but something is getting torn up enough now that I've have a MRI scheduled as well as a orthopedic specialist.

Been told I'm grounded for this weekend but we will see how the following weeks go.

thanks everyone.

blues skies and extra altitude.

[erdnarob 1]

The best for you to be sure of your shoulder state is to get a MRI or magnetic resonance imagery scan. That kind of imagery will tell the specialists if you have a problem or not. If you have a problem (ligaments or else) you will need a surgery. Doctors are making miracles even with a bad shoulder. After the surgery, you will have to do physiotherapy for a while. According what you say, you should have a problem, probably a stretched or torn ligament. Never take the advice of somebody who tells you that you have to live that way. Have another advice.
I got 3 torn ligaments plus one out of its groove. After a 2 hours surgery and a cast for 3 weeks and 6 month physiotherapy I was back to the sport. I can tell you than my wounded shoulder (the right one) is now working better than the left one.

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.