It's all gone rather quiet......

Tony_H wrote:..

I'm going to be taking a break from here, with the odd visit now and then, across the summer and return again when I think about skiing again for next season, which probably means either when it starts snowing again or when I book something to look forward to!!!!

So, I guess I will see you all again in the early winter at the latest as we all start to gaze at webcams and count the days until our next trips.

Happy summer.

thought you were leaving? ;-)

Tony_H wrote:Sorry, didnt mean to sound like I was boasting to those who skied less, but 2 weeks just isnt enough for me

me neither

Looks like I'll be talking to myself on here then...Got injured,(at the end of the season)so will be stuck in doors with my feet up for three months at the least!

Hi Snowbandit,
Maybe we should start an injuries thread!

What have you done to yourself, and how did it happen?

I'm currently undergoing physiotherapy for a torn rotator cuff in my left shoulder. I did it that time I nearly suffocated when I fell into deep snow during my off-piste lesson in our group holiday in the middle of January. I fell diagonally into the snow and got trapped by my skis and sticks with the snow against my face so I couldn't breathe or shout. But I managed to extricate myself with difficulty before the instructor came over to rescue me.

I knew there was something wrong with my left arm after that, because I couldn't lift it certain ways, but it didn't hurt if I was careful with it. And I assumed it would just get better on its own if I did a combination of resting it and passive stretching exercises so that I didn't get a frozen shoulder.

However, after 10 weeks (and another ski holiday!) it still wasn't better so I sought medical help. The good news is that my travel insurers have said they will pay the cost of my private physiotherapy, although I haven't had any money off them yet, because I haven't sent the bill in.

So far it's cost me £155 for 5 physiotherapy sessions, and £33 for a doctor's note describing my injuries. I knew it was no good trying to get the physiotherapy on the NHS because we have an enormous waiting list for that here. And I was very pleased that the insurers said they would pay for it even though I didn't report the injury for 10 weeks :)

Most importantly though, my shoulder is improving, although slowly! My physiotherapist is threatening referral for an MRI scan with possible surgery to follow if and when it stops improving. If that happens I hope the insurance will pay for it! And I really don't want to have surgery :cry:

I've not been on here for a while Ally, been busy with work and the mountains. Alas I am back on the forum as I have broken my tibia and fibula and have had a plate and pins fitted. I will be non weight bearing for three months and then I am told I will need a knee replacement as I shattered my knee also. The physiotherapist said that I should be skiing again next year...Fingers crossed!

snowb4ndit wrote:I've not been on here for a while Ally, been busy with work and the mountains. Alas I am back on the forum as I have broken my tibia and fibula and have had a plate and pins fitted. I will be non weight bearing for three months and then I am told I will need a knee replacement as I shattered my knee also. The physiotherapist said that I should be skiing again next year...Fingers crossed!

Thanks Snowbandit for the update :)

That sounds pretty awful to me :shock:

How did you manage to do so much damage to yourself? You weren't ski-ing by any chance, were you -)

Let's hope the French physiotherapist is correct, and you'll be ski-ing again next season :)

It's taking me quite a lot of time each day to do all my stretching exercises, but I reckon carrying them out correctly is the key to my recovery. I managed to get my right shoulder fully operational again in 6 months, after I broke it 10 years ago, and I'm hoping this one will also make a full recovery in time for the next group ski holiday :D

My physio at the moment is English. She, and a couple of french physios in the hospital have said the same thing.
The thing is Ally, I am being treated by doctors (in the French alps) that deal with skiing injuries day after day after day. They treat professional skiers as well as us amateurs and they seem to have a different attitude to ski injuries than in the UK. It's early days, but so far for me, the French health system seems to be living up to it's excellent reputation.

Hopefully we'll all be fit and well soon :)