Injuries and Health Consequences of Skydiving

[gale 0]

I'm not an expert either but I do think part of what contributes to PTSD is the fact that you are not prepared/trained for what happened to you.

For example, a child is not prepared to see his mother beaten, a women isn't prepared to be raped, and although soldiers are trained I think one could argue that no amount of training can prepare you for what can happen to someone in war.

Skydivers, however, plan for a malfunction - a lot. We look at video of them, we imagine them, we're taught what to do when they occur - and we expect them to occur!

This might be the major difference why everyone who has a cutaway doesn't exibit PTSD. (Of course I've never had one, so what the hell do I know?)

Just a thought.

Gale

I'm drowning...so come inside
Welcome to my...dirty mind

[jumpy 0]

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I'm not an expert on this, and I'd like to learn more on this subject. I've worked with lot's of kids who are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most have been traumatized over and over for an extended period of time. Sometimes it can be caused by a single event, but usually the event isn't something that was life threatening and over in a matter of seconds. Many of these kids have had close calls, but it isn't the source of their PTSD. Some kids are relatively unscathed from a traumatic event, while others may be deeply affected.

When i was a little kid.. think bout 7-ish i was in a bank robbery (was in the bank and these dudes came in with coupla guns) and it never really effected me at all. Was scary at the time but afterward I was pretty psyced and its the best topic for one of those reflective essays you do in high school
The think it'd usually depend on the kid. Alot of stuff bounces of kids backs in my opinion

[drenaline 0]

Hiya Chris, a good resource of what hard openings can do to your body are the canopy manufacturers, I have heard that a lot of test pilots actually loose height cause of the consistent hard openings.

A very common thing that happens to me with skydiving are ankle injuries like sprain ankles because of a high flare, a bad running landings or a litle stone in the floor that make me slip, etc. I always keep a cold compress in the fridge for after skydiving, works like a charm

HISPA 21
www.panamafreefall.com

[Tonto 1]

"such as a dangerous sport, dysfunctional spouse, or hazardous job."

Man. 3 out of 3 ain't bad. Must have had 1 hell of a youth!

I think the most likely heath hazard is hearing loss. I have high frequency hearing loss in my left ear. All I can think of is all those 30 min rides to altitude in the open door of a 182 - like over 1000 hours worth...

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[riddler 0]

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some kind of mao booster

MAO (Monoamine Oxidase) is a brain chemical that breaks down Sertonin and Dopamine, which are chemicals that make you feel good. MAO doesn't fluctuate in total volume that much, but there are commercial Inhibitors (prescription drugs), which block MAO effectiveness, preventing the breakdown of those feel-good chemicals. These are MAO Inhibitors (MAOIs) which are antidepressants.

Anything that somehow boosted MAO (if that was possible) would make you feel worse, since it would break down more of the dopamine and serotonin.

MAOIs are starting to lose popularity compared to SSRIs, which are another way to keep you feeling good, as antidepressants.

Skydiving, as well as other "adrenaline" sports deplete serotonin and dopamine and can make you depressed. Alcohol and some drugs have the same effect. Makes you feel good while you are doing it, but depletes the chemicals so you can easily become depressed the next day or two days later. If you typically feel depressed the day or two after skydiving (Monday blues ), you can replenish the "feel-good" chemicals by taking L-Tryptophan or 5-HTP (both oral pills that are non-prescription - buy at any health food store or GNC).

Feel good and share the love

[steve1 5]

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I think the most likely heath hazard is hearing loss. I have high frequency hearing loss in my left ear. All I can think of is all those 30 min rides to altitude in the open door of a 182 - like over 1000 hours worth...

t

Tonto,
Have you done a lot of rifle or shotgun shooting? This too leads to left ear hearing loss. I have high frequency loss in both ears, partly from firing weapons without ear plugs....Steve1

[Push 0]

Another hypothesis is that risk takers have comparably high levels of MAO. This would imply that skydivers are at a significantly higher risk for depression if kept away from skydiving. Because of the low levels of Dopamine, nasties like Schizophrenia may occur more often in non-skydivers that should be jumping. AFAIK noone has ever cared enough to test this. The day may come when skydiving will be the prescribed treatment for depression.

I myself believe that a chemical addiction may be involved, but what about other "addictions"? A dedicated soldier/firefighter/EMT may also be "addicted", there may be a dependency in his brain on certain levels of certain chemicals. So what's the difference between the EMT and the cocaine OD case he's treating? The EMT is putting that addiction to good use. Our lives are enriched by skydiving. Our imaginations find outlet, many perform better in their lives outside the DZ due to their jumps and, of course, it's a sport. The chemistry may be the same, but we're a lot more than coke addicts.

-- Toggle Whippin' Yahoo
Skydiving is easy. All you have to do is relax while plummetting at 120 mph from 10,000' with nothing but some nylon and webbing to save you.

[Tonto 1]

Hi Steve. since you mention it... I have, but being "left eyed" means that even shooting a pistol from weaver stance exposes my left ear more. Ironically, about 90% of my 250 000 rounds fired from both pistols and rifles in training have been from sound suppressed weapons. I've always worn hearing protection in training. (Peltor Tactical) The only time I have not used hearing protection while shooting is in a gunfight.

It's the year of the Pig.