Whipper: Tweeked both ankles

Took a pretty decent fall in CCC a couple of weeks ago (25 ft er so), it was pretty unexpected, so I hit the wall pretty stiff-legged, the shock being almost completely absorbed by both ankles. (both ankles bent as if my toes were going towards my shin as opposed to the other direction...)

I lowered off, both ankles feeling really tender, throbbing for sure. Iced em for the next 48 hrs, assuming they just got sprained pretty good. But never really had too much swelling or discoloration, so i figured i got away pretty unscathed. It two weeks later tho, and they seem to be more sore now than after it first happened, pretty significant pain if i roll in any direction. Not sure what the hell is going on here.

Just wondering if there were any similar stories? The fall seemed routine enough...

So I can't offer much information or insight, I was wondering though - what was the fall like? Vertical or somewhat slabby? And did you jump back at all when you fell? I always wonder if one day I'm gonna jump too far back and slam into the wall on a bad whip... hasn't happen yet, but I'd be curious to know if that's what happened.

Thanks. Sorry I can't be of any help.

I did something similar except it was only to one ankle. And it sounds like mine was much worse, my toe caught on a ledge on the way down. Ankle injuries in general just suck. Assuming it's just a sprain there's really nothing more you can do other than RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). When I hurt my ankle my doctor told me that it was going to be a long time before it got back to normal. Its been about 10 months now and I can still feel it on a bad day.

You may want to consider an x-ray. It could be that you fractured your talus bone and if so, it's important to get it taken care of as the blood flow is poor to that bone. Climbing shoes compress all of the little foot bones so in many cases the talus bears the brunt of the force.

Since you said your feet got pushed back this could be the case, or it could just be a nasty sprain.

Just want to throw that out there.

Hope it gets better soon.

Sorry to hear about the injury. I don't want to be the pessimist here but from the sounds of the fall and impact it's possible that you may have a "high ankle sprain"... or two.
Basically the scenario is that you use the talar dome to wedge the tibia and fibula apart... long story short is that these things don't heal quickly and you'll probably want some formal rehab of some kind.

The best way to get a diagnosis and find out whether it warrants a surgical fix is to talk to an ortho. If you want the name of great one here in Boulder shoot me a PM.
Good luck w/ the banged up ankles,
BA

AhK wrote:luther, longer falls = more rope stretch = softer catch + decreased stress on the pro.

This is one of the most common misunderstandings of system dynamics and physics out there. Without knowing more about your situation it is hard to analyze it. But, in general:

Longer falls = more energy to be absorbed by the system.
Lower fall factor falls = softer catch.
Lower impact force ropes = softer catch.
Lighter belayers = softer catch.
Static belay devices (gri gri/cinch) absorb less energy = harder catch.

There is a lot more to this discussion.

Go see a doctor and get an x-ray.

really appreciate the feedback on this, sounds like I should probably leave it to the pros on this one and get it checked out