Is there ‘skate-life’ after serious leg/ankle injury?

[fatlip]

Thanks! I'll pick one up.

[BDirthead]

I haven't read thru this whole thread, but here's my input. On the ankle braces, I've got both types pictured. The wrap around velcro type (mine's 661) is more comfortable, but I think my rigid lace-up S-One offers more support. I wasn't wearing them however a few weeks ago (mellow session) and had truck failure. I broke my ankle in multiple locations (tibia, fibula, ect..). I had surgery 9/4/09 and will need another surgery to remove some of the temporary hardware they installed. They said 3 months before I'm walking, so I guess another month or so after that before I'm skate ready. Both braces will always be worn from now on! I had 2 serious leg and knee injuries that required surgeries. I wear extra protective equipment because of my past injuries, but I still ride hard. I think the key is take the time to heal and rehab, and have a positive attitude.

[Ripitup24/7]

Originally Posted by BDirthead

I haven't read thru this whole thread, but here's my input. On the ankle braces, I've got both types pictured. The wrap around velcro type (mine's 661) is more comfortable, but I think my rigid lace-up S-One offers more support. I wasn't wearing them however a few weeks ago (mellow session) and had truck failure. I broke my ankle in multiple locations (tibia, fibula, ect..). I had surgery 9/4/09 and will need another surgery to remove some of the temporary hardware they installed. They said 3 months before I'm walking, so I guess another month or so after that before I'm skate ready. Both braces will always be worn from now on! I had 2 serious leg and knee injuries that required surgeries. I wear extra protective equipment because of my past injuries, but I still ride hard. I think the key is take the time to heal and rehab, and have a positive attitude.

So BD,
Obviously you need no advice on rehabbing, since it sounds as if you've had your share of knee/leg surgeries. Sorry to hear that you have yet another surgery. If you read earlier in the thread, I am recovering from a similar injury and welcomed the advice of those who have had similar frustrations in recovery, not being able to skate, fear, and the things that people say when they find out that ya did it skating. (while in your 40's)

I too, am that guy that wears every pad I can when skating bowls....looks like I'll be adding an ankle brace to the list.

Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery, and lift a glass and say "here here" to the 'Aftermarket Metal' Skate Crew. May your hardware always stay intact!

[BDirthead]

Originally Posted by Ripitup24/7

So BD,
Obviously you need no advice on rehabbing, since it sounds as if you've had your share of knee/leg surgeries. Sorry to hear that you have yet another surgery. If you read earlier in the thread, I am recovering from a similar injury and welcomed the advice of those who have had similar frustrations in recovery, not being able to skate, fear, and the things that people say when they find out that ya did it skating. (while in your 40's)

I too, am that guy that wears every pad I can when skating bowls....looks like I'll be adding an ankle brace to the list.

Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery, and lift a glass and say "here here" to the 'Aftermarket Metal' Skate Crew. May your hardware always stay intact!

Thank You So Much, Rip It Up 24/7, and a quick and full recovery to you also. My family and co-workers have given me #### over the years for breaking my body, while participating in these "juvenile activities", but they don't understand that these board sports keep me healthy, active, and young at heart. After each major injury, I re-evaluate my strategy for long-term boarding. I have sons that are 6 and 2 years old, and of course I would love to board with them, well into their teens. This requires a new strategy. First, no boarding until recovery allows it (I really don't have a problem with this one, because I look at my long term goal). 2nd, I need to be more discrete about who I tell about when and where I board (this may dodge the questions from work, family, ect..). I need to pick and choose my skate sessions. Maybe skip every local session that comes up, but make sure I skate with my bro's (my crew). I'll cruise, carve, and ease back into boarding before doing the slide sessions and garage races. I'll be working on my boards and try make sure that I don't have equipment failures in the future. BTW, I'm 43 years old.

[BDirthead]

Posted an image of my x-ray from the surgery performed 2 weeks ago. Here's a link to the Truck Failure thread Truck Failure!

[Ripitup24/7]

Originally Posted by BDirthead

Posted an image of my x-ray from the surgery performed 2 weeks ago. Here's a link to the Truck Failure thread Truck Failure!

Yikes!! Similar to mine, but you have some huge screws goin thru both bones there!
I assume those 2 long ones are the temporary ones?

I just got back from the doctors office yesterday. Seems I have a sore that developed after the accident (before surgery) from the broken part of the fibula that poked through the skin. I hate injuries!

BD, you in a hardcast now or what?

[BDirthead]

Originally Posted by Ripitup24/7

Yikes!! Similar to mine, but you have some huge screws goin thru both bones there!
I assume those 2 long ones are the temporary ones?

I just got back from the doctors office yesterday. Seems I have a sore that developed after the accident (before surgery) from the broken part of the fibula that poked through the skin. I hate injuries!

BD, you in a hardcast now or what?

Yeah, I got my hard cast this Monday, and your right about the 2 long screws. Those will be removed in 2 & 1/2 months (3 months from original surgery). On Monday, when they did the x-ray, I was surprised to see the 7 inch long stiched incision on my lower leg. The whole foot, ankle, and lower leg was a dark purple color. The reason the doctor installed the 2 long screws, was to draw the 2 bones back into their original position. The tramau of the incident caused a large seperation at that point of my ankle.

[elvk-]

i tore my acl oct 17, 2007. knee reconstructed on december 26, 2007. first skate sesh where i was not risking anything; march, 2 2009.

as of today my knee is starting to feel like it used to, but it still doesn't feel like "my knee", very very close but it hasn't fully recovered. takes 2 years.

physical therapy 4 days a week for over a year. your knee is incredibly weak after the surgery for 9 months. you will FEEL fine at 6 months, but you will be risking your newly repaired acl and if you beef a slide and put too much pressure on the acl you're fkd and get to do this all again. wait at least 9 months, i obviously waited longer, i was training to get back on the lacrosse field. i didn't wana mess with skating. oh and i was awful at longboarding before the tear.

ever since i've recovered i got my squat up to 325x5 (i weigh 160), and have skated nearly every day. after being cooked up for so long, nothing can keep me off the board, im always out skating when everyone else thinks its too hot or too late etc.

enjoy your knees bros.

Originally Posted by speshlspeclsteak

ive got a torn acl and i skated a couplt times since then but ive gotta stop cus i have tears in my meniscus and some serious strains in my mcl but ill be skatin after im done with my rehab in late march or early april

bro, go have the gnarliest/longest sesh your leg can handle, then get your ass on the table for knee reconstruction. . . . welcome to hell. it's worth it though. so worth it.

[Ripitup24/7]

Originally Posted by elvk-

i tore my acl oct 17, 2007. knee reconstructed on december 26, 2007. first skate sesh where i was not risking anything; march, 2 2009.

as of today my knee is starting to feel like it used to, but it still doesn't feel like "my knee", very very close but it hasn't fully recovered. takes 2 years.

physical therapy 4 days a week for over a year. your knee is incredibly weak after the surgery for 9 months. you will FEEL fine at 6 months, but you will be risking your newly repaired acl and if you beef a slide and put too much pressure on the acl you're fkd and get to do this all again. wait at least 9 months, i obviously waited longer, i was training to get back on the lacrosse field. i didn't wana mess with skating. oh and i was awful at longboarding before the tear.

ever since i've recovered i got my squat up to 325x5 (i weigh 160), and have skated nearly every day. after being cooked up for so long, nothing can keep me off the board, im always out skating when everyone else thinks its too hot or too late etc.

enjoy your knees bros.


bro, go have the gnarliest/longest sesh your leg can handle, then get your ass on the table for knee reconstruction. . . . welcome to hell. it's worth it though. so worth it.

Elvk, glad to hear about recovery from knee surgeries....

Originally Posted by speshlspeclsteak

ive got a torn acl and i skated a couplt times since then but ive gotta stop cus i have tears in my meniscus and some serious strains in my mcl but ill be skatin after im done with my rehab in late march or early april

speshlspeclsteak, Yeah, knee injuries are the worst! ACL's and MCL's especially! I've had some small problems in the past and have had cartilage taken out of my knee once. This was from a broken femur back-in-the-day. It took forever to get the knee back in shape...now there's just some good grinding sounds when I bend it.

Just an update for those who've been following the thread, The leg feels solid...out of the hard cast for 5 weeks.....putting weight on it now for 3 weeks, this past week was the first week without the infanous "Boot" ...last night I stood on my board and took one 'glide' across the kitchen floor..... it felt good but I still have a lot of rehab to go.

[Sk8rGirl]

I've become a kind of advocate for ankle problems in my roller hockey community and to people I know who also have disabilitys or injuries. I figure I'd say my little piece.

You can read about my ankle stuff here: Hey all, first post, longboard for bad ankles? Sidewinders?

But, here's the gist of it.

I was born with a lot of problems with me feet. When I hit about 13 years old the bones in my feet started to fuse together, its called a tarsul-talus coalition. It mean I can move my feet up and down but not side to side. he left one is really bad, the right one is ok. I've lost pretty much all side-to side mobility in my left foot and about 405 in my right. When I went and got it checked out i turns out I was also born with no cartiledge in several joints in my feet, so because of this and other factors I have some chronic pain and juvenile arthritus. Last but not least, I was also born with no arch in my foot, so I wear custom orthodics, the only real consequence to this is that I get foot cramps, but I can live with that. If I ride for a long time my feet cramp and get sore but whatever. So yeah some longboarding consequences are... I have somewhat poor balance. I'm sure my carving and turning isnt very good but what can you do.

I have been told by my doctors I have a chance at alleviating some pain of I get a surgery that fuses some of the joints in my feet. But I wont do this. I already am extremely limited in athletics and such and their is no way I would give it up. I deal with the pain, I play hockey, I longboard.

As far as coming back from an injury it all comes down to adapting. For example in roller hockey I am a golatender and I have developed my entire style to essentially fit the fact my left foot is usesless. For longboarding its making sure my deck is wide and my trucks are loose. I wear an ankle brace to try and keep things protected and stable. And although I fight through pain I know my limits and rest myself accordingly, even when its a beautiful day. 8)

I'm 18, and I have been dealing with my disabilty for about 5 years now, who knows what I will be saying when I am 40, but for know I am enjoying what I can. My adivce is try. try. try, never give up on anything you;d be surprised how well you can adapt.

If anyone has any questions, fire away. Best of luck and speedy recovery to everyone. Stay stoked.

[jsweriduk]

After I tore basically all the ligaments in my ankle, I had a bit of trouble getting back on my board. My balance was shot; I had to run super-tight trucks on my evo to handle even a bit of speed. I tossed on an ankle brace and it was better, but still not what it was. It's all about rehab and staying in shape. Although you remember how to skate, your body will forget. You will have to develop the coordination again to board well, but fortunately the best way to do this is to skate more.

[3arcopolo]

It is very refreshing reading about other people who have dealt with skateboarding injuries and what they have gone through.

I am currently recovering from an ankle injury I did while skateboarding. I had a completly torn two of the syndesmotic ligaments. These are the ones that hold your tibula to your fibula where they meet the ankle. I also sprained a few ligaments around the ankle. The complete tear of the syndesmotic ligaments caused a diastasis in the bones. That means they shifted. The fibula and tibula seperated and which required one of two types of surgeries to place those two bones back in their natural position while the ligaments heal.

Option one was "Screw fixation" this is where they put one or more screws through both bones to hold them in place and then remove the screws(another surgery) after about 2 months. 2 mos is about the time it takes for soft tissue to heal.

Option two was "Tightrope Fixation" instead of screws they use strands of kevlar in place of screws. With this surgery there is no post surgery to remove the kevalar strands. They just leave them in there. Link below shows what the surgery looks like

Ankle Tightrope Syndesmosis fixation

Obviously I went with Option two. Now my syndesmotic ligaments have the support of two bullet proof strands of kevlar. Kevlar is the material they make bullet proof vests out of.

With option one it is very common for the screws to break and they do this when you put weight on the bad leg when the doctor tells you not to or to only put no more than 50% weight. You may think just because you have a cast your ankle is protected from moving side to side but that is not the case. Just standing causes those bones to flex and move a bit.

I thought I'd share what options are out there for this type of injury. I have read some real horror stories of injuries simular to mine where they did the screw fixation where the screw broke and the bones shifted and the person did not know about it. Then they had to redo the surgery. I read one case where they had to cut the fibula and extend it because of improper healing.

[3arcopolo]

I am still recovering from my injury and also started skating again. I am in a walking boot and skate with it. I can ride bowls, quarterpipes, drop in on the low end. No ollies or tricks with impact. Just copping scratching. Right now my 6 year old twins can skate better than me. I have began riding switch stance riding regular vs goofy stance out of personal challenge. My manuals , regular and nose have never been as good as I can do them now. Although there is some limitation I have found that progression is still possible during and after an ankle injury.

What I have found is that it is up to you and how bad you want to start skating again. You can scoure the internet to see what the best ankle strenghthing excercises are, the best treatments, HEM vs MEAT vs RICE. What miracle supplements to take. Flax, Silica, CAstor.

Personally I'm eating healthy , red meat, veggies and also alot of swimming. A mile a day. I am also doing the H.E.M stuff. Hot and cold water treatments , foam roller excercises. This hem stuff makes alot makes sense, common sense. Like how it talks about barefoot running builds the strenght in your foot and ankles. It mentions that since the modern tennis shoe was invented our feet have gotten lazy. Feet, ankle and knee injuries have drastically increased. With all the padding and shock absorbtion in shoes nowadays its like our feet are in casts and we are weaking the muscles and when we have that occasional misstep or bad landing our feet and ankles are too weak to prevent the injury.

I really like the HEM stuff. Its got excercises to keep your feet and ankles healthy and strong before an injury and how to recover from after an injury. I think its helped me alot and recover faster than I would have if I would have just followed the doctors orders. My leg would still look like an ethiopian leg. My leg is almost there like it was, as far as muscle goes, in the hamstring, calf, etc.

Recovering was a big priority to me. I love skateboarding and love it now more than ever specially since my kids are into it now. They skate and have placed some skate contests already. Seeing their progression makes me want to progress along with them. Thats why I injured my self in the first place. Pushing the limits. Also I was really tired and the skate park was about to close the day I injured my self. I wanted to land this trick. I was bluntsliding this knee high ledge, the whole ledge, going almost full speed. I wanted to land them real steezy. I landed several but sketchy. I should have just went home and tried the next day. I pushed and pushed and all of a sudden snap,crackle, pop happend. Not in my cereal but in my ankle

If I could go back to that day starring down at that ledge where I injured myself and had given the oppurtunity to undo the day of my injury I would have done it all over again. With my eyes closed, hands behind my back and even barefoot. I would have gladly accepted a broken arm and a side of broken ribs to go along with the ankle injury.

This injury really opened my eyes and made me appreciate life and the little things. Not being able to walk for almost 6 weeks made me realize how much I take for granted. I realized how valuble life is and how precious it is. We should not waste it watching reruns on TV getting fat and lazy letting the world pass us up sitting and waiting to die. In my downtime I realized the importance of everyday.

Doing my swimming the excercises the diet really changed my life. I used to eat out alot. Fast food, smoke cigarettes, binge drink on the weekends, stay out late. Show up to work with hangovers.

Since my injury I have lost about 25 lbs. My pant size went from 36 to a 32. Maybe 30 now, my 32's fit loose. The swimming has pushed my endurance. At first it would take me forever to finish the mile. 65 times back and forth in the 25 meter pool. Now I swim like a fish. I got definition in my chest and arms. I can take my shirt off in confidence without worring about my droppy stomach flabs and moobs(man-boobs). I dont drink or smoke or eat junk food. I have an occasinal hershey bar or soda here and there. It's not like I turned into some Jesus freak or born again sobriety push monger. I simply stopped doing those things to see if it would help me get back on my skateboard faster. Not only has it done that but also has made me feel better. I have more energy, stamina, more alert. I sleep better, I am more productive. I look better, feel better.

Why haven't I've been doing this before. It took an injury to make me realize how valuable life is and how great it is to be in shape and healthy.

I love skateboarding now more than ever. The sound of your wheels rolling over the cracks. Feeling the motion of your skateboard as you roll away never felt so good. Even falling down feels good to me. The other day I had a good spill. Clonked my knee on the concrete and rolled to a stop on the ground. As I layed on the ground rubbing my knee. Some parent came up and asked if I was ok and when he saw I had a cast on my leg he said "You are crazy, you are going to go break your other leg. Why do you do it" I simply responded "Love hurts sometimes"


I just thought I share my experience with my ankle injury and give my insight on this question "Is there skate-life after a serious leg or ankle injury" my answer is depends on the person and how bad they want it.

Below are some extraordinary inspirational folks that will make your ankle injury seem like a small scrape on the skin.

Jon Comer skater missing a foot.

YouTube - Never Been Done (The Jon Comer Story)...

Og de Souza deformed non functional legs

YouTube - Og De Souza 411VM Profile

[Ripitup24/7]

3arc, Hey-So glad to hear you are really pushing your re-hab of the injury!

Like so many other people here on SF and particularly on this thread have, like you, come to re-appreciate life, liberty, and the pursuit of skating. People dig skating—almost like a junkie, they crave the thrill of whatever aspect of the sport that fits their adrenaline fix.

I can tell you do as well. Blessing and best wishes for a complete recover to skate with those twins once again.

I, myself have been slowly recovering and re-habingfrom a broken fib/ankle dislocation back at the end of the summer. I've been back on the longboards multiple times but have yet to drop in again at one of my favorite skateparks. All in good time...much advice even on this thread to pace yourself. It'll come back ... like you say with the passion.

[Cann0n]

If you can stand one two feet, you can skate.

[BDirthead]

Like Ripitup 24/7, I've been slowly healing from a similar injury that occured last summer. I'm 43 years old, but my body still does pretty good healing. I've been off crutches almost a month, and have been training aggresively through a strict exercise program, to help me get back on a skate by this summer. Patience is the key, especially if you're older and have other responsibilities.

[kevinthehesh]

eating healthy. if you smoke cigs, stop. it slows down healing. get some vitamins that help repair ligaments and conective tissue (MSM glucosamin...take em if you aren't hurt too...helps gain some flexability, reduces joint pain, and helps recovery speeds when you do get hurt). give your body what it needs to fix what you messed up.

read a report that the relatively high silicon content in hoppy beers can help bone strength!

i know dudes that have come back from multiple injuries on this level. not the end of the world. when its time skate alot and take care of yourself

[SpeedFiend]

I broke my leg, and cut off any cast they put on it

That made the rehab that much harder

You get out of it what you put into it

[zimmer266]

Tore my left ACL in November. I did six weeks of rehab/PT getting ready for surgery, then had surgery on 12/30. It's seven weeks after surgery on Feb 17th. The ACL was an allograft that ought to be beginning to earn it's own blood supply just about now. I've been spending a good amount of time in PT and on the stationary bike.

I've been through rehab in 1988 and ended up stronger as a result. I intend to do that again, but I do seem to heal a little bit more slowly than 20 years ago. I will hopefully do some light skating in another 3-4 months, and snowboarding next winter, assuming the green light from the surgeon.

I'm stubborn and patient, and love being in motion. It's a matter of time and dedication.