I’ve been trying more outdoor sport climbing this year and finally plucked up the courage to try some lead climbing in the UK.
A couple of weeks ago I packed my tent and climbing gear, jumped in the car and found a mountain guide to show us the best spots to lead climb in North Wales. The weather was great and I was surprised by how many bolted sport climbing routes there are around the old quarries. It also surprised me how attractive some of the old quarries are.
We were climbing some really fun routes and generally enjoying the day but just before lunch time disaster struck. As my partner was lead climbing she fell backwards from the rock, her foot got caught behind the rope and so she was flipped upside down. Although it looked awkward there was no obvious collision with the wall and it didn’t look too serious. Her pain levels weren’t that high when we lowered her off the rock face, so it initially appeared like she may have sprained a ligament in the knee or possibly damaged the meniscus.
The pain didn’t ease off and is appeared slightly swollen and was made much worse by weight bearing so we decided to go to the nearest A+E in Bangor.
An X-ray in A+E showed a potential fracture at the top of the tibia which seemed strange as she hadn’t banged into the rocks, but a follow up CT (3D X-ray) showed a big dent in the top of the tibial plateau (the top of the shin bone where it forms the knee joint). It’s quite a rare injury but basically involves the femur (thigh bone)smashing hard into the tibia (shin bone) with such force that it makes a large crater at the point of impact (in this case the lateral side of the tibial plateau). If left untreated this would effect the way the knee joint moves, and more than likely lead to early onset arthritis in the knee.
Based on the research and advice of knee surgeons we know it seemed to be a no brainer and so a couple of days after the accident she went under general anaesthetic and had surgery to rebuild the tibial plateau (basically using screws and plates to push the bone up and level off the surface of the tibia). The suregery seemed to go well and the bone seems to be healing well. Now it’s just 6 months of rehab before we’re back out climbing again.
Incidents like this are tough and make you question everything, but it’s never possible to eliminate all risks. Cycling to work, running in the hills, indoor climbing, swimming in a reservoir all have the potential to cause serious injury or even death, all we can do is accept the risks and take them seriously.
Ultimately the most serious risk to our long term health is inactivity. So, painful as this episode has been I think it’s important to remember that not exercising is the biggest risk to a host of health conditions from heart disease to arthritis. There will always be risk in any form of activity but it’s important not to let that stop us doing the things we love.