rj2163 0 #1 June 8, 2006 Is it better to relax my neck or tighten the muscles to minimize neck strain on opening? I have a bad neck from an old whiplash car accident. I don't have any broken bones or anything. I'm just more sore the more I do. I have lots of good treatment (massage, chiro etc) but I'm often on the floor for a day or two after a jump weekend but what can I say, I love it. I'm a newb and honestly I'm still at the stage that when I throw my pilot chute all I'm thinking about is counting down to perform my EP's and "please God, please, please...YES! when my chute is opening. So, I haven't experimented yet with tightening my neck muscles to see if that would reduce the strain. My neck is pretty sore so far this year and I just wanted to ask if anyone had any experience/advice before I tried experimenting. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #2 June 8, 2006 Talk to your instructor about getting your chin on your chest - that is the direction your head is going on opening so make sure it has no where left to go. This will help a lot to prevent injury. The only thing is that keeping your head up helps your arch so make sure you talk it through with your instructor before altering your body position on deployment. Keep your neck straight too - turning your head will significantly increase the risk of injury. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrickyDicky 0 #3 June 8, 2006 Maybe you should get a different canopy from the sabre you are jumping. I suggest a spectre or a pilot (probably others too but I havent jumped them) UK Skydiver for all your UK skydiving needs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obelixtim 150 #4 June 8, 2006 After you've plucked your pilot chute, try supporting your head with one or both hands, you can keep your arch on with head and elbows back, but you should be able to use one or both hands to hold your head on.... Camera flyers in the old days used to carry huge heavy cameras and stuff, and it'd be ...dump....grab the head.....because a hard opening with weight on your head could quite easily break your neck......probably happened once or twice....My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #5 June 8, 2006 Quote Keep your neck straight too - turning your head will significantly increase the risk of injury. I went through this a long time ago. I would always watch the pilot chute to make sure it didn't go into my burble. As a result, I had alot of problems with C4 popping out of place. You should be able to tell if your canopy is deploying properly just be the feel of things. Also, you may want to try neck exercises.We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squirrel 0 #6 June 8, 2006 QuoteMaybe you should get a different canopy from the sabre you are jumping. I suggest a spectre or a pilot (probably others too but I havent jumped them) i agree. my spectre takes 800 feet to open....sooooo soft ________________________________ Where is Darwin when you need him? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJL 235 #7 June 8, 2006 QuoteTalk to your instructor about getting your chin on your chest - NO, NO, NO, NO! Putting your chin to your chest can be dangerous if there is a hard opening. Your neck muscles are near there strech limit and that snappy opening may over extend those muscles. By doing this you've already put your head on a lever arm perpendicular to the force transmitted by a hard opening. Position your head as if you were doing a squat press, so the forces are transmitted down your spine. Then your head will go nowhere. I've had some CRACKER-JACK openings with two cameras on my head with no more of a sore neck than any other weekend of shooting alot of video."I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #8 June 8, 2006 QuoteQuoteMaybe you should get a different canopy from the sabre you are jumping. I suggest a spectre or a pilot (probably others too but I havent jumped them) i agree. my spectre takes 800 feet to open....sooooo soft The Saber will open nicely with a larger slider. Call PD and request a larger slider, they will work with you as they have for me in th past due to medical issues, I need a slow opening canopy...Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #9 June 8, 2006 Once you get the correct - PD recommended - size of slider, ask your local rigger about sewing on a pocket. That will further soften openings on a Sabre Mark 1. At one point I sewed too many pockets on my slider and quit doing hop and pops because the SLOW openings scared me. Hee! Hee! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 643 #10 June 8, 2006 Just tighten all your neck muscles to hold your head centered on top of your spine. Opening shock should not "hit" you until after line stretch has pulled you upright, orienting your spine in a vertical position. For example: Tom Sanders is a well-respected West Coast camera flier. Tom also jumps some of the largest and heaviest camera helmets. At pull time, Tom merely tightens all his neck muscles and hunches his shoulders up to stabilise his helmet. It helps that Tom jumps modified motorcycle helmets - which are "bulky" around the lower edges and Tom surfs during his days off, so he has massive shoulder muscles. Your best long-term solution is probably massive amounts of weight training to build massive neck muscles. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 1 #11 June 8, 2006 QuoteQuoteTalk to your instructor about getting your chin on your chest - NO, NO, NO, NO! Putting your chin to your chest can be dangerous if there is a hard opening. Your neck muscles are near there strech limit and that snappy opening may over extend those muscles. By doing this you've already put your head on a lever arm perpendicular to the force transmitted by a hard opening. Position your head as if you were doing a squat press, so the forces are transmitted down your spine. Then your head will go nowhere. I've had some CRACKER-JACK openings with two cameras on my head with no more of a sore neck than any other weekend of shooting alot of video. Ditto. Neck neutral, focus on horizon. That's two forums. EDIT: To add something else. Notice that the original poster specifically asks to eliminate whip. To all those who think looking up, down, or all around during opening is a good idea, think about this. Whip is a result of rapid change in orientation, NOT change in speed. Try to operate a leather whip while moving your arm like a piston. Imagine you are standing in an elevator traveling downward and it is about to stop radiply. If your head is looking down while you are standing straight up, the weight of your head is a lever arm off the front of your body. You are going to get whiplash and strain the back of your beck (tension). If you are looking any other way, the same applies. If your neck is bent and the weight of your head uncentered, you will get whipped. If your neck is straight (eyes focused ahead) then the weight is also centered and all you will get is some compression forces in your neck, which you can handle a lot better. Personally, I look at the horizon right before I pitch my PC and keep my focus there as my body gets rotated into place, upright underneath my already level head.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AFFI 0 #12 June 8, 2006 QuoteOnce you get the correct - PD recommended - size of slider, ask your local rigger about sewing on a pocket. That will further soften openings on a Sabre Mark 1. At one point I sewed too many pockets on my slider and quit doing hop and pops because the SLOW openings scared me. Hee! Hee! Rob certainly would know more about slider pockets than I - my experience was using a pocket on the slider that my rigger sewed and I used that until the PD slider came in, the larger slider worked as well at the modified slider without additional modifications. I just don’t like flying modified gear, prefer to have OEM parts that are not modified, but that is just my preference. Now I am jumping a Stiletto 135 and use a slider for a 170, that is the largest one John LeBlanc would send for my canopy and it opens fantastically slow, just what a back like mine needs. Learning how to maintain good body position and proper fall rate helped a lot as well, but that just takes time and lots of jumps to practice.Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
upndownshop 0 #13 June 8, 2006 I would also suggest Dacron Lines on the canopy, not only do they stretch, but the thicker lines will slow the slider down as well. The only disadvantage that I have found is that they add more bulk to the pack job, but that is not important to me. Especially since I dont pack..Good luck and be safe Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
