Forced out of climbing

J

justinscherrer

Location
Portland OR
sadly I was forced out of climbing by a gnarly shoulder dislocation while riding BMX and its happened multiple times now. I'm looking into surgery so I can be able to put my arm above my head without any painful incidents. I'm looking into going back to school and was wondering what courses to take that will keep me in arborculture. any ideas?? :D
 
Bucket truck!
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Are you already a Certified Arb? If not, that would be a start. Then I would look at something like an urban forest program or even better a G.I.S. program. G.I.S. seems to be in everything plus it opens lots of jobs in the future.

Regardless of your injury, climbing full time forever doesn't sound appealing. I've been at it for 9ish years fulltime and 10 years of forestry work prior to that. My body is mad at me. I've been debating going back to school as well, I'm pushing 40.
 
There are many avenues that you can pursue. Think in terms of what your strengths are and work towards those. Are your analytical skills strong? What about communications,writing, presentation, people skills? Time to do some self-evaluation.

Do some career assessment then talk to the local chapter of ACA and ISA,as well as companies engaged in this area. You may also want to check out teaching or training. Here's an example of one group. http://www.lantra-awards.co.uk/How-Do-I.aspx

Look at yourself first then the market to see where the future lies for you.
 
How old are you? My point is, there are many of us still climbing out there after some hellacious injuries. I shouldn't name names, but some of the industries best climbers, competition level climbers, have come back after extremely violent accidents that would have left the average pedestrian totally f'ed for life.

It's possible that with good surgery and good PT you could return to your career as a climber. My best years came after two very serious injuries, and I have since then dealt with a seriously damaged shoulder rotator twice, and a fractured lumbar vertebrae. I'm in my 34th year of climbing.

We arbos are a highly unusual species. I think our daily grind makes us somehow much more resilient. So don't give up yet, if climbing is what you love.

But for chrissake, stay off those damn bikes! They'll kill ya!
Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
 
It really is amazing what a good orthopedic surgeon can do these days!

I too mangled my right rotator cuff, and while I never got full power back or full rotation without pain, I can still climb well enough to get the job done!

I had a buddy whose rotator popped out every week or so until he bit the bullet and got it pinned in just right by a good orthopedic surgeon that specialized in rotator cuff repair.

Without my ACL ergonomic knee braces on I wouldn't be able to climb anymore!

I may not be the power climber I used to be, but I like to think that by climbing smarter I'm still a decent climber well worth my pay.

Don't throw in the towel until you have to if you love to climb mate.

Best of luck to you either way though.

jomoco
 
I will second the physiotherapy recommendation. I did a lot of damage riding that I'm still paying for, but my PT all but laughed at me when I expressed concerns about my abilities at work being in jeopardy. By the sounds of it, you're enjoying your job and that is definitely worth rehabilitation. My PT and RMT team are worthevery penny and more.
 
I have had some major issues from bmx crashes that put me out once 8 months, and 9 months the next time, just had some issues the past 3 months but now after lots of OT and PT I'm climbing fine, just have to be a little more careful. I am less aggressive both on and off the bike and it seems to be helping things. Hope you end up being able to keep riding, sucks being off the bike and out of the trees!
 
What part of climbing is causing you the most trouble?

ex... Is it just the ascent? There's tools for that.

Is it pain reaching over your head all the time? Or just with a saw?

I second what jomoco said; surgeons today with today's medicine can do things you wouldn't believe.
 
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