Zip Lining and Hand Surgery - Opinions Needed

[Kay and Hal]

We have had booked for quite some time now a zip lining tour with Oscar Brown. A few weeks ago, my wife had surgery to repair a torn tendon in her hand. She currently is in a hard cast and will be for about 2 more weeks. When her cast is removed her doctor has recommended that she begin physical therapy.

 

I am not certain how much strength, if any, Karen will have regained by the time we will be in Costa Rica (early December.) I will assume none of you are hand surgeons (though if you are that would be great :D .)

 

For those of you that have zip lined, what exactly does your hand have to "do", or does it basically go along for the ride? Or do you think we should forget zip lining for this trip and seek out an alternative?

 

We really were looking forward to this but now we just do not know.

 

Thanks for any and all opinions.

 

Hal

[Pudgesmom]

I can't speak to your medical issues, but I have been ziplining.

 

One hand will wear a very thick glove. This hand is help behind the riders body on the line. If the rider wants to slow down, he would close his hand on the line. (I never needed to use this procedure on the zipline we were on.)

 

The other hand isn't really used.

 

I guess it would be possible to hold the line with the good hand.

 

You could also go to the site and observe the process, then decide if she felt capable of trying it.

 

Beth

[Nanner]

Hal, the bottom line should be to talk to the surgeon and see what he/she advises. I would not risk permanent damage just for the joy of ziplining. If the doc thinks waiting is wise, do it.

 

Having permanent nerve or muscle damage is no picnic. I know. There will likely be another chance to do it, perhaps in a different location, but I'd give your DW a chance to really heal.

[robtulipe]

I did zip line in CR last Jan.and you use the one hand with glove and leather pad to brake by placing ( cupping ) it above line just beyond your head and pulling down on the line to slow you down. Also by cupping or loosely holding onto the line it also keeps your body parallel to the line so you arrive feet first at the platform. The other hand is kept out of the way usually by holding onto the body harness.

[mytime53]

You don't say whether the surgery was on her dominant hand. If it was, she will need most if not all her strength back. This movement puts a lot of stress on the arm, so make sure the surgeon thinks it's okay. I was terrified (I'm afraid of heights), so I can't recall how much the other hand was used to get off and on the zip lines. Not much, I don't think. I'm sure others have a better memory than mine. When you're actually on the line, though, your non-dominant hand just holds on lightly (unless you're scared, in which case it is clenched and they have to peel it off for you:o ).

[yst347]

Ziplining isn't a physicaly demanding excercise, but it does require some wrist work. As others have detailed, the gloved hand is used as a break. The bare hand is used as a steering stabilizer. Now spinning isn't really a big issue, but cautious breaking can cause a zipliner to stall a bit short of the platform. This isn't really an issue as you just pull yourself in hand over hand along the line. But it requires two hands.

 

It wouldn't be dangerous for your wife to attempt ziplining, but it could be uncomfortable for her, and others on your tour. My wife was in an auto accident in June. She was hit broadside by a car exiting a driveway. It wasn't a terribly hard collision, but the airbag deployed and shattered her wrist. She has been out of her cast for nearly two months now but her wrist is still much weaker than before the collision. She could zipline, but I doubt she would be comfortable doing it.

[Kay and Hal]

Thanks for all the responses. I am in my 2nd week of physical therapy - 2 more weeks of PT and then I see the surgeon again. Therapist keeps telling me I am ahead of the game, but I don't feel it. Hand still has a lot of pain, no grip strength. Therapist told me we'd have to see where I am near the middle of November, but my gut feeling is I won't be able to do this. It is my dominant hand. :(

 

Karen

[Nanner]

Karen, I'm glad you are looking at the reality of your progress and aren't pushing it. I had two wrist surgeries in 2005 (invasive ganglion cyst that they didn't get all of the first time around) and my wrist is still a bit touchy.

 

As Joni Mitchell sang, you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Take time to heal and hopefully you will be good as new (or close to it) in the not too distant future. Enjoy your trip, with or without ziplining!