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Go Back   WakeWorld > >> Wakeboarding Discussion Archives > Archive through August 20, 2009

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Old     (boardridesurf)      Join Date: Aug 2006       08-02-2009, 3:59 PM Reply   
My 50 year old neighbor is really into snowboarding and wanted to learn how to wakeboard so I took him out today. He got up on his third try and rode for about 80 feet. When he fell it looked like the board slid out in front of him and he landed on his back - it didn't look like an unusual fall. When I circled around to get him the rope, he seemed a little off and I asked him if he was okay and if he wanted another pull. He said he wanted one more. He started getting up and then just let go of the rope. He yelled for me to get back to him quickly and said he broke his leg. We could see his leg while he was still in the water and it was obvious that his femur was broken. We got him up onto the swim platform and he was in extreme pain. I didn't want to move him more than what was necessary, so instead of trying to get him out of the bindings, I just unscrewed the bindings from the board and left them on his feet. Luckily the rangers were driving nearby and I waved them down. They called the paramedics and cleared the boat ramp for me so we didn't need to wait for an opening. It took us about 8 minutes to get to the boat ramp driving slow so he didn't bounce around. The paramedics arrived just as we were pulling up to the ramp. They put him on a backboard and splinted his leg to keep it stabilized and gave him pain medication through an I.V.. They cut my prized Zeus bindings off his feet, which was sad but necessary. The rangers and paramedics were absolutely incredible, they couldn't have been better. I even noticed that one of the paramedics had even taken his boots off before getting on my boat - of course due to the circumstances it wouldn't have bother me if he had left his boots on but I really appreciated his thoughtfulness. The update from the hospital is that he will need to stay overnight and will need to get a rod in his leg.

So the reason for this post is this. This happened about 7 hours ago and I keep replaying it all in my head. I can't figure out how it was possible for his femur to break, especially since it didn't seem like he fell hard. It wasn't just a small fracture, his femur was broken in half. Anyone ever heard of a beginner breaking their femur wakeboarding? I could maybe see how someone could break their femur coming down wrong from an invert but not like this.
Old    petey20            08-02-2009, 4:36 PM Reply   
Total flashbacks from 2006. I broke mine doing a tantrum. Rod, compartment syndrome, 13 days in the hospital. OUCH! Tell him to hang in there. It will be rough for a month or so, physically and mentally. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I can try to answer questions about the healing/rehab process.

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Old     (all_board_rider)      Join Date: May 2009       08-02-2009, 4:47 PM Reply   
gnarley...deffinitely the wrong thing for me to read right before im about to head out to the lake and attempt my first tantrum....=\
Old     (ryan_shima1)      Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Layton, Utah       08-02-2009, 5:00 PM Reply   
Austin, it happens. My friend's sister broke her leg the same way your neighbor did.

I broke my femur in 99' on a scarecrow. I still have the rod and 3 screws in my left thigh. Good thing is if you work hard at the rehab and do it right, you heel very quickly. I was back on my board 1 month to the day after my surgery (only riding though, no leaving the water because of the impact). Waited a full 6 months before I even could land a invert again.

Tell your neighbor good luck and stay positive.
Old     (loudsubz)      Join Date: Aug 2001       08-02-2009, 5:02 PM Reply   
always makes me nervous, esp. when you have a job that relies on your ability to move around during the day.

I always question if this sport would be worth it if I got hurt like that.
Old     (ffmedic)      Join Date: Feb 2007       08-02-2009, 6:21 PM Reply   
dam...
Old     (boardridesurf)      Join Date: Aug 2006       08-02-2009, 6:48 PM Reply   
I just received an update. The hospital is waiting on the right rod before they can do the surgery. He is in good spirits and made the comment that he wants his wife to try wakeboarding and he wants to try again sometime in the future - great attitude.
He stated that he thinks that he did originally hurt his leg when he got up the first time. However he said that the last time he tried to get up he fell forward and didn't let go of the rope. He said he drug in the water for a short distance with the board behind him and this is when his femur broke. I feel really bad that this happened.
Old     (kko13)      Join Date: Jul 2006       08-02-2009, 6:51 PM Reply   
Ok i need a dam pain pill just from looking at that!! Man i hope he is going to be ok.
Old     (jixxxer)      Join Date: Apr 2006       08-02-2009, 9:40 PM Reply   
Good luck to him. My buds, friend, was trying backrolls, and doing pretty well but kept letting go of the handle; so after alot of coaxing from his friends he decides to hold on and what resulted was 3 teeth knocked out and a slight concussion! Dont know how it happens but its obvious anything can happen out there!
Old     (wake_upppp)      Join Date: Nov 2003       08-02-2009, 9:55 PM Reply   
I remember another thread a while back about a noob breaking a femur while getting up.
Old     (wakerider111)      Join Date: Jul 2006       08-02-2009, 10:39 PM Reply   
that is gnarly stuff there. gives me goosebumps. i've never broken anything... yet. stuff like this keeps the pansy in me fertilized, watered, and growing strong.

definitely never heard of breaking ANY bones on a get-up let alone a femur. worst get-up story i have heard/witnessed till now was bloodied up knuckles from hands hitting the rail of the board on take off
Old     (helinut)      Join Date: Apr 2007       08-03-2009, 8:20 AM Reply   
Had a guy on my boat that said the first time he tried to wakeboard, he broke 3 ribs just trying to get up! Guess the board came up some how and smacked him in the side.

Scary stuff. But you gotta live somehow!
Old     (fly135)      Join Date: Jun 2004       08-03-2009, 8:32 AM Reply   
He was 50 years old. My guess is that he never really had the kind of exercise that builds up that area of the legs and his bones had weakened over the years. That's great that he would like to try it again in the future. If he gets good rehab that would allow him to ride again then he may be in better shape the next time around.

BTW, I start beginners out using sandal bindings.
Old     (jarrod)      Join Date: May 2003       08-03-2009, 9:04 AM Reply   
Wow. This is the second case of a femur break while just getting up in one week.
Old     (andy_nintzel)      Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Minnesnowda       08-03-2009, 9:14 AM Reply   
I have had a broken Femur on my boat. I was the only person out with my buddy when it happened (no thirds needed in MN). SO SCAREY!!! Just like you said. All was normal, he just did a wake to wake grab landed and started screaming. I race over to him and his left leg looks like it had two knees. It was horrible. No Cell Phones. No one else to help but me. Lucky for me I keep all the tools in the boat to cut someone out of a boot. I got him on the swim platform and he started to go into shock. I waive down another boat, had them call 911. Then I warned him about the extreme pain he was going to feel and to stablize his leg before I pulled into the boat. I uses a life jacket as a makeshift splint and Yanked him up on the the back deck of the boat. Like you by the time I got to the landing the Paramedics where on site.

SO SCAREY!! You will be thinking about it for a long time.
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-03-2009, 9:24 AM Reply   
Andy - That IS scary. My wife and I have gone out by ourselves quite often (nor thirds in TX either) but I'm always a bit scared thinking about her trying to take care of me and handle the boat if something ever happened. I should not have opened this thread!
Old     (yankmeister)      Join Date: Mar 2009       08-03-2009, 10:23 AM Reply   
I broke my Femur (right above the knee) in 2004 on a heal off 5. It was just me and my Dad on the boat. He soaped up my binding and got my foot out. Then it was a 20 minute idle across the lake to the boat ramp. Then a 20 min ride to the hospitial in the back seat of a truck.

It was a month before i could walk and i think another month before i wakeskated. Then it was winter and i just took it easy. But it all came back real easy.

Then last October i broke my Tib/Fib in the same leg on a rail at Waketoberfest. Got a rod and a plate...
Im back at it...Almost 100%.

Sounds like your buddy is in good spirits. And thats def. an advantage with this kinda stuff.
Old     (fly135)      Join Date: Jun 2004       08-03-2009, 10:25 AM Reply   
Ditto that Eubanks. My wife takes me out a lot with just the two of us. Fortunately, our lake is fairly small, and there is usually some other activity so someone could likely be flagged down to help. Even with tools I doubt she could get my boots off.
Old     (wakecourage)      Join Date: Aug 2008       08-03-2009, 10:41 AM Reply   
The Femur is the largest and strongest bone in the body. I have heard people dieing from breaking there femur! I have to wonder that people who break there femur just have weak bones. Eat healthy peoples!! Hope your friends back to 100% soon!
Old     (alans)      Join Date: Aug 2005       08-03-2009, 10:46 AM Reply   
A buddy of mine broke his femur playing golf. He was a senior in college and starting Div.I soccer player. Decent golfer too, just snapped in his follow through.
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-03-2009, 12:13 PM Reply   
Broke his femur during a golf swing?! YIKES! I can't imagine doing that or femurs breaking from trying to get up on a wakeboard. I guess freaky things happen more often then you realize.

I have newbies with me sometimes that put the board too far out in front of them so they just plow a ton of water and it almost rips their arms off. Now I have to worry about them breaking their leg in the process!
Old     (ross009)      Join Date: Jun 2008       08-03-2009, 1:10 PM Reply   
where i ride cable on the same lake there is a boat you can ride behind last year a guy broke his femur just doin a water start behind the boat never heard somone scream like it fit young guy in his twenties crazy!!
Old     (richd)      Join Date: Oct 2003       08-03-2009, 7:05 PM Reply   
I was told if you land with or apply enough force to your leg(s) and your center of gravity is behind your knees (and they can't bend and absorb that energy) you'll break the femur.
Old     (michaelspsp)      Join Date: Sep 2007       08-03-2009, 7:24 PM Reply   
todays headlines on msnbccom...huge vitamin d deficiency in kids...and most adults. now you get the best form from the sun but if you were suncreens and arent out all the time..
Old     (boardridesurf)      Join Date: Aug 2006       08-03-2009, 7:37 PM Reply   
I continue to be sickened by this incident and can't get the visions of this out of my head. I also have a lot of guilt about exposing this incident to others on this forum and spreading fear to others which was not my intent. How do I delete this thread?
Old     (onthewatermo)      Join Date: Jan 2008       08-03-2009, 8:28 PM Reply   
It is a constant source of amazement that there seem to be more serious injuries among the members of this forum participating in our sport than on a mixed martial arts message board.
Old     (kitewake)      Join Date: Jul 2007       08-03-2009, 11:21 PM Reply   
I have heard of big very strong guys breaking their femur trying to get up wakeboarding because they try to muscle it instead of letting the board come under them. If you keep the board way out in front of you, with legs too straight..and try to muscle it by pivoting up...the forces are immense.
Old     (melan_mobe)      Join Date: Mar 2005       08-04-2009, 5:35 AM Reply   
I also broke my femur pretty violently hitting a rail, mid shaft. Ive actually got a video of it. Had to wait an hour and a half for an ambulance, not such a nice experience.



Still got pins in now, il have before and after x-rays somewhere... Managed to start riding about 3 months after, went on the bike in the gym a lot, helped...

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=12177895109&saved
Old     (eubanks01)      Join Date: Jun 2001       08-04-2009, 7:07 AM Reply   
Dude, that looked brutal! I'm guessing you don't try to hit rails two at a time anymore! It looked like the wake from the first rider's board jacked you up.
Old     (melan_mobe)      Join Date: Mar 2005       08-04-2009, 7:40 AM Reply   
Yer thats basically what happened. The rail was made completely from galvanised steel with trex on top. It had two huge base plates so it was a pretty heavy unit. Hit it end on, wrapped around it and sliced my head open pretty good on the upright as well. Shame they switched the camera off, the whole thing fell over.

There was an audible break which was I still remember very clearly...
Old     (loudsubz)      Join Date: Aug 2001       08-04-2009, 9:01 AM Reply   
anyone switching to air chairs after this lol
Old     (jjakober)      Join Date: Apr 2002       08-04-2009, 3:50 PM Reply   
I broke my Femur back in 1998 coming down from a big air raley, stuck the landing and it just popped, not fun. Now I've got a titanium rod down the center and it's all good!
Old     (absoluteboarder)      Join Date: Aug 2002       08-06-2009, 9:13 AM Reply   
....my neighour 3 years ago was just standing and twisted around and forgot to turn his foot.......spiral fractured his femur.....he is around 58. Some people just have weak bones. He showed me his scar from hip to knee...not pretty. So I guess its not wakeboardings fault.
Old     (jswake)      Join Date: Nov 2008       08-06-2009, 9:18 AM Reply   
Last July I broke my femur wakeskating. I am currently in the hospital because I just had the titanium rod taken out of my leg yesterday. I didn't know breaking your femur was such a common break in wakeboarding.

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