DISCLAIMER: This is me just recounting my own experience with a climbing injury.

After a summer stay in my hometown Calgary, I was super excited to be back in Montreal and see all of the new problems at the climbing gym. On my second session back I moved to grab the last hold of a route– only to be unable to hold on and take a hard fall directly on my outstretched arms. The x-rays confirmed that my left elbow was dislocated and (fortunately) not fractured. It was ridiculously painful, but thanks to some morphine and the wonderful nurses and doctors at Jean Talon Hospital, I received a reduction and cast and was discharged in a few hours.

This wasn’t my first climbing injury (I majorly sprained my ankle in September) but because of the prior injury and the pandemic, this was the first time I had been able to climb uninterrupted for a few months. It sucked that my progress felt lost after the accident. The first night was tough because of the constant thoughts about the next several weeks, having to work back up to regaining full strength in my arm and finding mundane tasks difficult for the next while.

11/08/21: after one week

This first week has been a humbling experience, and I’m learning to appreciate the small victories. My fingers were swelling to sausages and there is severe bruising on my upper arm, but my finger and wrist mobility came back in a few days and I’ve been experiencing minimal pain from the elbow. While I’m waiting for official confirmation for the orthopedic surgeon regarding the damage and healing process, it seems that the dislocation didn’t have even more severe consequences like a pinched nerve or a completely torn ligament– which I’m incredibly grateful for. I’m keeping the arm elevated and doing small hand movements to keep the blood flowing the area while I wait to take off the cast and start actual mobility exercises.

UPDATE: I took off the cast! I’m still hesitant about any big movements and I am keeping the elbow lifted in a bent position. Parts of my elbow are bruised and the area around it is a funny yellow colour. The pain has still been minimal but my arm can’t lift its own weight without feeling a strain in my ligaments.

20/08/21: after two weeks

At the two-week mark, I was booked in for an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon at the hospital. I had been wearing a sling on-and-off for the past week and some mobility was coming back incrementally. The doctor said I can start seeing a physiotherapist and doing their prescribed exercises. He also said I could start lightly exercising in the next 2-3 weeks (but lifting nothing more than 20 pounds) and the total recovery time would take 3-6 months. I’m currently waiting on booking a climbing physio and regularly performing some finger exercises with a stress ball. Also, you don’t realize how strained your tricep can get until your arm is stuck in a permanently bent position and just keeping it at your side is tiring!

06/09/21: after four weeks

The past week has been hectic– I’ve moved to a new apartment, started school for the Fall semester, and went to my first physiotherapy appointment. I was straining my arm a bit excessively during moving and admittedly tried to hangboard, which my physiotherapist told me was not advised at this stage of my recovery. My arm was still stuck at around 140 degrees while extending and I could barely bend my arm without pain, so my first goal was to recover almost all of my normal range of motion (ROM) before doing any type of strengthening exercises. Apparently not doing so could leave me permanently unable to get those degrees back, which was a scary thought.

During our first appointment, my physiotherapist was very receptive to my recovery goals and it helped that he used to regularly climb so he could know this well. He subscribed some exercises which just involve aided flexing and extending, as well as wrist and shoulder exercises so the left side of my upper body doesn’t get stiff. My arm can already be stretched to around 170 degrees after doing these sets of exercises and it’s encouraging to see the small improvement and have the support from a professional.

23/09/21: after six weeks

Almost a month has passed after my orthopedic checkup, and I am really happy to report on how fast my recovery process has been! I’m now at 95% of my ROM and working on strengthening and stability exercises. I also started climbing this week and I’ve been surprised with my current state; completing some easy-moderate routes don’t place a strain on my arm and I’ve been doing much more controlled climbing compared to before. I feel super fortunate that the road to recovery has been relatively short and smooth for the severity of the injury. As I return to climbing 2-3 times a week and performing my exercises to slowly work back up to my original strength, here are a few takeaways from the past month and a half:

  • GO TO PT if you are injured. My physiotherapist James has been incredibly helpful throughout this process, and there is a proper approach to recovery even though there are no shortcuts. When I sprained my ankle, I delayed the initial treatment and didn’t get it checked by a professional while it was healing, and I didn’t climb for four to five months. For my elbow, I was given clear steps towards recovery and my prescribed exercises changed every week. I didn’t think going to PT was worth it before, but it absolutely helps in the long run– the worst case scenario is sustaining permanent damage because of lack of proper treatment.

  • Be diligent and patient. Progress is only made if you do prescribed exercises regularly and don’t rush things. Make it a part of your schedule and commit to getting those reps! It might be hard to see substantial progress but I learned to appreciate small victories like being able to tie my hair back again.

  • It’s okay to be really frustrated about the process. In the first few weeks it was hard for me to ask others for help carrying things or doing mundane tasks that I could no longer do. It was also incredibly upsetting that I could no longer climb, and the lack of physical exercise affected my mental state over the past month. It was tough seeing my friends go climb and I was lamenting about my lost climbing progress while recovering. I found it helpful to talk to people and focus on making improvements through my physio exercises, but I’ll admit it was a whole lot easier in the last few weeks where my return to doing easy climbing was imminent.

Will be taking this opportunity to develop good habits for controlled climbing :sweat_smile: