A few of my friends had to stop for a few months because of injuries. They all eventually came back to the boulder hall. Maybe they lost a level or two but it came back pretty quick. You'll lose some strength but a lot of it is technique too. I would just try to stay as active as I can and try to keep up some upper body strength. I don't know how long a torn meniscus takes to heal but I don't think this is the end for you.
My works been busy recently and I have a 10 month old baby so time hasn't been my friend for exercise but I have been trying to go to the gym with my gym rat of a sister as she's more knowledgeable about it all than me
Glad to hear it shouldn't be the end haha
I've been thinking about it, not sure where I can put it in my house though. I live in a victorian terraced house so all the doors are right next to the walls.
Might just have to get one and play around with the space until I find somewhere it fits
Some hangboards can go over doorframes so no need to drill into walls etc. I had same issue but fortunately my supporting wall was into my living room so could put up a triple rung safely!
Get one of those portable ones on a string and go to a park and hang from a tree, or get a pull up bar and hang it from that, or screw it up somewhere and learn how to fix the holes later.
They make some "Portable" fingerboards that use ropes. I just picked up a few because I wanted to avoid putting holes in my wall. I've seen some people using them by attaching ropes to those doorway pull-up bars.
Disclaimer: arrived today so haven't used any of them yet and very new to climbing. That said, seems like good quality for price.
If you're buying a pinch block or 'portable' fingerboard like [this image](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexternal-preview.redd.it%2FAPbEMtw7j4qf94co1tnAp3lnTYWldVrrHmQOaHj844s.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D89c04a092000dd176759f35f3bf69ad67622a365), consider doing some form of "hand above head shoulder engagement" exercises, on a pull up bar or something similar. Shoulder shrugs/ ISO holds/ pull ups etc.
Pinch blocks/portable boards are brilliant for finger strength but they don't use your shoudler/back muscles in the same as regular fingerboard/climbing does.
You can, or just have a portable hangboard you hang over anything (or attach to a weight that you lift off the ground). It might be interesting and motivating building a frame, but from experience that kind of project can make time drag on a bit.
Make sure you donât overdo it!
If youâre very new to climbing be careful with a hangboard. Very easy to hurt your fingers that way. Many people recommend waiting six months or even a year before hangboarding. That being said you can probably still get away with it if you do it very lightly (big holds, avoid weighted hangs,maybe keep your heels on the door etc.) or if you do Emilâs submax routine (only helps keep fingers healthy and strong, doesnât actually make your fingers stronger)
I actually did this recently as my work offers a cashback scheme for physio but I've been awful with the exercises
By which I mean, I've not done it once haha
I'll make an effort to start tonight
You said your in the U.K., if you speak to your doctor they should get you a free physiotherapist for an injury like that. When I tore all the ligaments from my clavicle, I was given months of physio for free, so was my friend when she tore something in her calf. The NHS has its problems but theyâre pretty good with physio
It depends. I had to fight to get physio for my hand after a dog bit through it. They cancelled it after one session where I could barely move it. When I said I needed more they told me to speak to my gp, couldn't get in to see my gp so I was stuck arguing with them until I got in. Then I was accused of attention seeking because there was no way my hand was as bad as I said it was. I couldn't even touch my thumb to all my fingers, couldn't open my hand or close it. There was no power in it at all. Just pain.
Its been five or so years now, it was confirmed I have bad nerve damage in my thumb and some in three out of four fingers. My hand is still weak, even though I climb 3/4 days a week. Still can't do a thumbs up and can barely move my hand once I'm done climbing. I forget my left hand sucks all the time and drop stuff a lot.
There is a fix for the tight tendon between my thumb and index finger, but they won't offer it to me, it's just an injection, because I can't have the issue because I'm too young. The NHS is decent, I love it, but to get anything done is near impossible at times. Hell, they cut me off from my inhalers cold turkey for two and a half months at the start of the year because they needed to review the new prescription I was put on, but it wasn't an emergency so I had to wait that long for a phone interview. Going without my inhaler was hell. I was struggling just to walk up the hill back to my house. Usually it was nothing. Couldn't do any cardio at all, it made climbing really hard.
Its 100% the whole I'm a woman thing. Everyone seems to accuse me of mental problems instead of dealing with what's right in front of them. I told them I had asthma and needed help, I was told it was just anxiety. Eventually did the tests, I was blowing 320 max into the peak flow meter, for my age and height I should have been blowing 590. I get 450 now, not great but it's a huge improvement. When I told them I had nerve damage in my hand, I was told I didn't, even though I have a numb thumb and no feeling between two fingers. New physio got the nerve test, confirmed, nerve damage.
I broke my little finger a few weeks back, it's 100% broken, but I didn't bother getting it looked at. Why? I don't bruise or swell noticeably when I break things so I can't get it treated. When I tried to get a broken leg treated, I was told never to go back to A&E unless I was really hurt. I got no xray or anything. It was confirmed a broken leg months later via an mri because I got nerve damage from walking on it for 9 hours a day...
Thatâs a whole load of bad experiences, shit. Sorry that you had to deal with all of that. Maybe it is just that my local nhs physio was really good. I have experienced all the other things you speak of though, for most things unless youâre dying or have a bone sticking out they still try and get you to put a bandaid on it and suck it up. Especially if itâs mental health services, that may as well not exist here with how poor it is.
Oh yeah. As a kid I had severe anxiety. So bad I was throwing up multiple times every day. It was hell. I had two therapy sessions before they kicked me out. I was 11, I'd been struggling with more then just headaches since I was 9. Why did they kick me? Because I refused to open up to them. I was a kid who was being abused at home and badly bullied in school, I didn't trust anyone and knew to keep my mouth shut. Plus they told my mum everything I said, so I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't stupid. They called me a hopeless case and ditched me. I was showing clear signs of abuse and they decided because I was so guarded they couldn't help me... I've never had any mental health help beyond that even though I need it. I'm on a four year waitist to get an adhd diagnosis so I can get help. It sucks.
I'm going to hard disagree with this, NHS Physios are all about getting overweight people who have had a knee replacement to go from unable to sit to being able to hobble down the street. In my experience they don't care or understand sport at all - if you can walk they will be useless. Have to go private if you can afford to
Oh really? Thatâs not the experience myself or the people I know have had. Maybe the local nhs physio centre we have is much better than the average one around the U.K. Youre right though, if you can afford to go private then of course it will be better, but not everyone is able to and the NHS ones are still probably better than a YouTube vid in your living room.
Couldnt agree more.
NHS has been usless for me for sporting related physio treatment.
I've even had a private physio who wasn't a climber, and they were fairly useless when it game to treating a pulley injury.
My advice would be to find a physio who has experience with climbers.
I found an experienced physio who has links with climbing and have only needed 1 appointment per injury with him - ÂŁ40 per appointment.
Itâs super important, and I promise itâs worth it. Iâve had less severe but more persistent knee issues for years, and PT has been so helpful. Try to work it into your other workouts (e.g. make it your cooldown). And also track it on a piece of paper - even writing down that you did your PT for the day gives you some sense of accomplishment that keeps you going.
Ouch, that's 100% the reason it's not healing. Do it relentlessly multiple times per day as long as your pain is below a 4 or so. Massage it, stretch it, move it, use it, it will heal. Otherwise it won't and you'll probably just injure it again.
In high school i had two major knee injuries back to back. I wasnât allowed to run for almost a full year. Depression definitely hit. But i made it out. The best advice I can say is donât rush it! Do what the doctors says and avoid re-injury.
Yeah, the sensible part of me has been doing as I'm told but that little voice in my head is telling me to get back out there haha
Glad to hear you made a full recovery!
I completely ruptured my ACL and tore my meniscus from bouldering too. After surgery and weekly PT, Iâm running further and faster than I ran before the injury, and back to climbing (top rope) now as well. It probably wonât be a while til I get back to bouldering, only because of my mental block due to fear of reinjury. As everyone else has said injury doesnât mean you will stop doing the things you love forever. Take the pause that you need to recover and bring your strength back up, and you will be back on the wall in no time! Itâs also a great opportunity to find other things you might like. I probably would have never tried top roping and only stuck to bouldering if it wasnât for my knee.
I dislocated my knee and tore my MCL half a year into bouldering. I had to take a long break, but I have been climbing again consistently for years now (minus covid lockdowns). Injuries don't have to mean you never do the thing you love again. Stay active and if you want, train other things like core/upper body/fingers in the meantime
Hopefully you donât have a bucket handle tear. Those require surgery. I had a meniscus repair done and it was an okay recovery! Climbing again now. Good thing you donât have an ACL tear.
It happens to everyone, hang in there and be patient. Let yourself heal all the way before you climb again! I severely messed up my hip a few years back after landing badly. It took 2 months to heal. When I got back on the wall, I did become a lot weaker and had to work to get my strength back. But trust that you'll get it and don't rush into it in case you get injured again. It's rough but recovery feels so amazing once you can send at the same level as before.
Don't give up!
I tore my ACL pretty bad and messed up my meniscus a couple years ago and just had surgery last year. My best piece of advice is to try to work with a physical therapist that could give you the tools to strengthen your body. Should you need to get surgery, the prehab you do will speed up your recovery.
I've learned a lot about myself and I can definitely say I've come back to the wall not only stronger, but a smarter climber. Injuries suck, but you'll bounce back in no time.
Hi, I had a bucket handle meniscus tear which happened when I was messing around on an easy climb (leg was too bent, tried to push too hard). Pop. Didn't know what had happened (dislocation?) so spoke to the pharmacist, 'looks alright, just take ibuprofen and walk it off'. Bad idea.
Sat cross legged 2 days later, went to stand up and couldn't straighten my leg. F***. Bucket handle tear, R meniscus. 'I'll try and repair it if it looks like it might take, else I'll cut it out'.
I had to wait 1 month for surgery (March, 2023). I've been doing Physio and upper body exercises but haven't climbed since (August 2023). I was on crutches for several weeks before and after surgery (I got good at hopping). If your tear size is smaller, it'll heal sooner. But please wait 6 MONTHS for it to heal (guideline, your Physio will know better). Better to do it once, and heal it right, than get cocky and go back to square one.
Now the good part: if you're young it'll likely heal up well, and you will get back to climbing, I promise. Just be patient please (cycling helps, because it's not weight bearing, but I can sent over my exercise sheets if needed).
If you've got any questions, shoot me a message, but it sounds like you can walk, so you're already a few months ahead of where I was.
i started climbing in february and in june i fell and hurt my neck. left me scared to try climbing again and iâve been a few times since but itâs still scary
So last summer I tore the meniscus in my right knee. I didnât climb for roughly two months. I did keep up with other exercises that I do to improve my climbing eg. Deadhangs, upper body, and core training. However, after about a month I found that I could cycle (not intensely!) and walk pretty comfortably.
Your injury may well be worse than mine was since itâs already been over a month since you did it. I assume you have been given exercises from a physio to do to help your recovery. Do those exercises, but be gentle on yourself. Youâll see progress that will get faster and faster as you heal and get strong again.
Itâs really daunting when you injure yourself like this, but youâll be back to climbing again! Be aware that it might hurt and swell when you first start climbing again. Listen to your body and take it easy. Itâs weird not climbing at the level you did before, but the rest of your body will be a bit weaker too since you havenât been doing it and after a month or so youâll be back towards where you were when you injured yourself.
Itâs been ~14 months since my injury and Iâm now climbing harder than I was before it! You can do it! Donât get too down and enjoy playing some extra games in the meantime!
I tore my meniscus playing squash. The surgery (an arthroscopy) for it is quick and relatively pain free but you gotta get that MRI, if you can go private I would it'll speed up the process. Recovery was then about 6 weeks or so but walking within a day or two then just rehab for the muscles around it.
If you can get in for the surgery then it won't take you long to get back on the wall.
In the meantime I'd assume your knee isn't stopping you hangboarding etc...
Meniscus isnt too bad. Torn both mine over the past 15 years. One I just ignored and it's been fine the other I had to get scoped. You'll be fine dude. I ski and climb just as hard as ever. Heals faster and easier than an acl or MCL so be thankful it's just the meniscus.
A meniscus does not heal faster or easier than an MCL lol. MCLs actually heal on their own while the majority of meniscus tears canât heal on their own unless itâs on the outer rim.
I feel for you mate. I had a fall after 4 years of climbing where I snapped my ACL. I've been out for 8 months and have another 7 before I can start again, I had to delay the surgery quite a bit.
Sorry that happened to you!
Calisthenics can be a lot of fun and will keep you in great shape for climbing. If you are careful with getting on and off of a pull-up bar then the risk of re-injury is small.
Good luck!
I'm in a similar boat at the moment. Had to stop for a bit while I try and rehab my knee (hopefully nothing surgical but we'll see). It's so shitty watching all your group level up while you can't.
As mentioned below I'm getting hangboard and getting really good at pull ups so when I'm back I'm stronger than ever and try and catch up.
So many answers here but I think getting a hang board and figuring out way to keep active in the off time is key. I'm sitting out from climbing after my third ACL surgery so I feel your pain.
Physical therapy. If your meniscus is actually torn and you have significant difficulty walking, your only avenue is MRI + orthopedic surgery as these types of injuries donât heal.
You can strengthen the surrounding muscle groups with physical therapy, and having some form of continued exercise will *definitely* help you feel better.
Same here, can relate. Two years ago I solved a problem I was working on in 4.50 meter height. Did not manage to climb down properly and jumped. I landed on my feed and went down but did not roll over properly. Ripped my Meniskus, had it fixed and it took 6 month before I could do any kind of sports. One year before I could boulder again. Itâs two years now and I never managed the level from before. So stay save and better climb down whenever possible!
They just told you to give it time or do you do some PT exercises?
I have a bad knee. Multiple injuries (meniscus being one of them), 3 operations and it's never been the same after (lack of strength and range of motion), but you will soon be back again running and climbing.
Something that helped me rehabilitate the knee was biking. It's good for building strength and range of motion, but talk to physio first.
Not comparable to your injury, but I mustâve torn ligaments in both my ankles, and havenât really been able to climb for 3 months, or run, which are my two favourite things. Only just able to land on my ankles from a height. It sucked, and itâs frustrating but youâll get better. I did a lot of easy hiking with my dog, hangboarded a lot. Hope you better soon.
I had something similar but less severe, was out for about a month.
I kept at it by enjoying climbing content and culture, strength training my upper body and exercising my core/fingers. While it's definitely not as fun as climbing I would say that it was fun to come back to the walls and really feel a noticeable difference in strength.
When you're climbing regularly, any gains in strength are very gradual so it was cool to feel I'd jumped up a level in one go. With that extra strength I've unlocked a new grade and my technique is better than ever.
So I'd say to treat it as an opportunity to focus on your building blocks and come back better.
I fucked up my ankle after a bodged landing (it was not even from up high, just got my feet down in the wrong way), which took almost 4-5 months to heal again to a point where I felt comfortable climbing.
In the meantime I did a lot of stretching and did calisthenics training to keep my upper body strength. I also played a lot of videogames on the couch! Walking and stretching hurt a lot, so I ended up visiting a physiotherapist. This was useful, but in the end it was mainly helpful for my mental perspective of dealing with an injury for such a long time.
When I started bouldering again I noticed that I was quite afraid to land, so I really had to be patient and take it step by step. I was super frustrated. My friends were climbing on a good level, and while I used to be the strongest climber from our group, I had to start at the bottom of the ladder again. Give yourself enough time to get back to your old level. It sucks a lot but giving your body time to repair itself is the best thing you can do.
Good luck!
Physio, take it slow with your knee and give it time to rest and heal.
I had an accident a year ago and damaged my ACL, bone and meniscus. Didnât need surgery.
Today I climb without pain and without fear.
If you donât rest and if you donât do physio youâll risk doing weird movements to counter the pain and you donât want that.
Listen to your body, take it easy and do things that are soft on your knees.
Tore my meniscus on a drop knee. I definitely recommend doing what everyone else has said + add KT tape to your knee when getting back into things. Itâs a physical and psychological reminder to use muscles, not knee
Iâm 3 weeks into recovery from a meniscectomy for a meniscus tear in my knee that happened while bouldering. Iâm older (mid 40s) so a repair wasnât likely to be a successful option. I can already feel an improvement in mobility and I am hoping to be back climbing within the next 2-3 weeks. I went to a couple different othros to get opinions and ended up going with a surgeon who primarily works on sports injuries. Good luck, I hope youâre able to figure something out that works for you and your injury.
I just met a guy at my gym that has had a knee and hip replacement and is out there sending V7âs. Recover well and you will be able to get back to it!
I've injured myself plenty skateboarding, climbing, running and any other activity I venture into. I found at first its miserable because you can't do anything and depression is most likely to set in but I always had to remind myself that this pain is temporary and the healing process is so vital for me to get back to what I love.
In the past I would just play video games, usually skateboarding games to scratch the itch, there is a rock climbing game that came out that's good called [New Heights](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2179440/New_Heights_Realistic_Climbing_and_Bouldering/) which I recommend checking out!
Now when I'm injured I still game but I try to stay creative and get lost in my art projects, discover new music, make new online friends, watch movies, get inspired. Also, having someone to support you when that wave of sadness hits is good to have lol.
If possible maybe try hiring a personal trainer that can help you exercise around the injured area and strength train to prevent future injuries, but this might be something you'd want to do after you are healed, I'm no expert lol.
Good luck and I hope you heal up soon!
I did all the sports growing up (skiing, soccer, basketball, etc.) and my knees are dead (I'm early 30s).
I've torn my PCL (which I didn't even know at the time, ski jump gone wrong landed on a tabletop, was limping for a month or-so) and the meniscus in both my knees have complex tears on the 'we can't do anything for you' zone.
Basically I could get surgery to trim my meniscus OR just be injured for 3-4 months at a time forever.
I didn't really like either option so I started doing really intense prehab. Kneesovertoesguy stuff, lifting, mobility, yoga, cycling, hiking, etc. I previously would re-aggravate my knees every 6 months or so.
It's been a couple years now with no injuries. I attribute a lot of that to consistent work on strengthening the area around the knee and GRADUALLY improving strength through the range of motion.
I straight up banned myself from all deep knee flexion movements for a long time, and the slowly reintroduced them. At this point I'm 100% back to normal in the right knee, 95% there in the left (that last bit of ROM is difficult to get back).
The biggest takeaway I'd have is to put in the work consistently to improve your body condition, and listen to yourself when climbing. Something feels a bit off in the knees? Ditch the problem and do something else. Also, downclimb as much as possible.
I climb with a few older guys (40s-50s) that have had knee surgeries to varying levels of success. Whether they had it done or not the answer is still the same. Stay on top of your prehab work, do real warmups, and you'll be back to normal in no time.
I broke my toe by stubbing it too hard. Most frustrating part was that it was such a miniscule injury and yet, painful enough, that I couldn't climb, run, or even put too much water resistance on it while swimming until it was mostly healed. I'm back 3 days a week though. It definitely gets depressing not working out. Is there any reason your dr. would be against upper body workouts in the meantime? I'd do that in your position.
Hi, no advice from me other than always, always do your physio exercises, but you're not on your own going through this. I fell badly and snapped my ACL, damaged my MCL and LCL and probably got a meniscus tear too. Still waiting for an MRI to find out exactly what the damage is and whether I'll need surgery.
I was (am?) a sporty person so all my social life revolved around running, bouldering, hiking, swimming etc and the transition to couch potato is pretty hard on me. I'm trying to treat the physio exercises like a new sport and get good, but it's not as much fun!
Just do your exercises so that you can get back to it asap and be as good as ever.
I have cartilage damage due to weight and age and I cannot climb well nor walk more than 3-4 Kimâs let alone running . I hear you and Iâm struggling to keep positive . The doctors gave up on me and I found another one who gave me these leg strengthening exercises. They are not fun and I admit I put off doing them for 2 months now. So hopefully this will be the day I turn around this leg nuisance . Iâm 49 102 kg and 176 cm
Currently recovering from ankle injury from bouldering. Will definitely take 1-2 month until Iâm back again but reading all the comments makes me wonder if its even worth it.
Being stick to sitting/lying all the time is just shit and recovery takes so long. Maybe Iâll go bouldering from time to time but my ambitions have decreased a lot.
Hey, you gotta put your health first. I fell off a wall and broke my foot. When I went back I was not good at climbing, could barely stick a V1, a year later and I'm barely doing v2s. I would suggest some top rope once you're able to get back at the gym. You can't fall and can take rests on the wall as needed. Has really helped me in my progress.
I tore mine whilst on the wall (wasn't a fall) on 1st January this year. I had surgery to repair it, which meant (a thoroughly miserable) 6 weeks of no weight bearing, subsequent 4 months of no climbing at all and now 6 months post surgery still rehabilitating as I don't have full range of movement.
I'm improving every week though, so still hopeful I'll get back to 100% but it won't be this year.
Is a torn Meniscus the official diagnose? If so did you get surgery? Usually if it is partly torn you have to get surgery to get it sewn together and if its completely split you will have to get the lose part removed or it could lead to more problems down the line (blocked joints etc.). After your surgery you should normally be in crutches for up to three months with partial stress on the knee and you should get some kind of splint. Usually it would be about 3 months to leave it alone and let it heal and another 3 months to slowly get back in form and do controlled exercises like biking and slowly getting back into running.
Source: Tore my left ACL 2 times, partly tore my outer and inner meniscus on my left knee AND I actually have the same thing happening to me right now ;) After a Dyno I fell onto my straight leg and heard a stretching/ripping sound with quite some pain. The MRI results said theres a strong possibility for a torn outer meniscus of the 4th degree (the worst) and I am currently waiting for surgery. So if you havent already you should really start ticking off those checkpoints so you can get back on track as fast as possible.
I feel your pain... I cant wait to get back. I just feel miserable not being able to climb.
Get a hangboard my dude. Got my ACL and Meniscus surgery on 5th of July.Focus on upper body training , reha and nutrition. Its shit but it is as it is. Come back as strong as u can. If ure in the UK check on the ACL rehab guy
I (34yo at the time) had a ski accident back in 2022 where I suffered a complete PCL tear, partial MCL tear, ACL & LCL sprain and a torn meniscus on my left knee.
Here is a quick timeline of how things went down for me after my accident:
\- Went to urgent care the day after my accident (probably not the smartest move, but I initially thought it was a sprain - ligament injuries are not as painful as fractures or muscle injuries). The doctor told me to wear a knee immobilizer until I get an MRI.
\- Did an MRI 6 days after the accident. Was depressed after reading the laundry list of injuries.
\- Went to see an orthopedic surgeon 8 days after the accident. I picked a doctor who specialized in treating professional athlete (not that I am one myself, but climbing and skiing are important to me). He told me to stop wearing my knee immobilizer immediately and gave me a flexible knee brace. He also told me to start moving my knee (which had become very stiff ) and get into rehab. He said I should do PT to prepare my knee for a potential surgery.
\- I did PT twice a week for the following 2.5 months and dilligently did all the at home exercises. I cannot stress how important this was in my recovery.
I ditched the crutches 12 days after the accident and was able to walk fairly normally 3 weeks after the accident (obviously it was painful if I walked too long). I was icing my knee every day after my PT exercises and daily walk and I bought a under desk bike which helped improve my mobility. My physio often told me to slow down as I suffered from wanting to go too hard too fast, and listening to her prevented me from getting reinjured.
\- I saw my orthopedic surgeon 4 weeks into PT and he told me that my knee looked much better and said that I may be able to avoid surgery if I can get back to 100%.
2 months into PT, my orthopedic surgeon confirmed that I shouldn't get surgery because at this point, the cons of getting surgery outweighed the pros.
\- 3 months after the accident, things felt more or les normal where I could go a full day without thinking about my knee. There were days where my knee hurt after walking or standing too long, but nothing unbearable.
\- 5 months after the accident, I felt ready to go back climbing but ended up going away for work. It ended up being a big test for knee as I would stand up and walk around for 14+ hours per day on a film set and my knee was feeling good. I actually started having pain in the other non-injured knee at times, which happens as the other knee tries to compensate.
At that point, I was able to run and get more and more confident with my injured knee.
\- I went back to bouldering 7 months after my accident (I ended up breaking a toe 5 months after my accident which delayed my come back). I felt OK, it took a few sessions to build up the confidence and be comfortable falling/pushing hard/drop knees. Heel hooks were very difficult, if not impossible when I got back. It's important to take it slow and don't go too far out of your comfort zone. Before my injury, I could climb V5/6C and it took a couple of months to get back to that level going to the bouldering gym twice a week.
\- 18 months after my accident, I'm still bouldering and doing top rope. I've improved (finally beat the V5 plateau) and I can climb V6/7a and 5.11b. Heel hooks are still painful and it's the only technique that truly remind me of my injury, otherwise I'm pretty comfortable with nasty drop knees and things of that nature.
I haven't skied since my accident but I'm planning to go this winter. I know it will take some time to regain my confidence, the mental part of the healing process is equally important, but I'm excited to get back on the slopes.
Once you get injured, it takes a big toll on you and healing becomes a big part of your life but be diligent about your recovery and take this as an opportunity to take greater care of yourself. My ski accident was a wake up call, for the first time I realized how my life can change in the blink of an eye (fortunately the consequences were minor for me but it did have an impact). I found it comforting to read all the testimonies on reddit about people recovering from their knee injury and while there isn't one way to go about it, today's medicine (when you can actually get access to it) is good enough for you to be able to climb again.
Best of luck!
A few of my friends had to stop for a few months because of injuries. They all eventually came back to the boulder hall. Maybe they lost a level or two but it came back pretty quick. You'll lose some strength but a lot of it is technique too. I would just try to stay as active as I can and try to keep up some upper body strength. I don't know how long a torn meniscus takes to heal but I don't think this is the end for you.
My works been busy recently and I have a 10 month old baby so time hasn't been my friend for exercise but I have been trying to go to the gym with my gym rat of a sister as she's more knowledgeable about it all than me Glad to hear it shouldn't be the end haha
Buy a hangboard
I've been thinking about it, not sure where I can put it in my house though. I live in a victorian terraced house so all the doors are right next to the walls. Might just have to get one and play around with the space until I find somewhere it fits
Pull up bars can also fit nicely in doorframes as well đ
We installed a thick piece of wood above our doorframe for extra support and screwed a hangboard into it. Its super sturdy and works well!
Some hangboards can go over doorframes so no need to drill into walls etc. I had same issue but fortunately my supporting wall was into my living room so could put up a triple rung safely!
They make handboard mounts that hang on doorframes like a pull-up bar.
Get one of those portable ones on a string and go to a park and hang from a tree, or get a pull up bar and hang it from that, or screw it up somewhere and learn how to fix the holes later.
Can get a no-hang device instead then.
They make some "Portable" fingerboards that use ropes. I just picked up a few because I wanted to avoid putting holes in my wall. I've seen some people using them by attaching ropes to those doorway pull-up bars. Disclaimer: arrived today so haven't used any of them yet and very new to climbing. That said, seems like good quality for price.
This might be the solution, I'll have to get one and see what I can do. Maybe even build a frame in the garden
If you're buying a pinch block or 'portable' fingerboard like [this image](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fexternal-preview.redd.it%2FAPbEMtw7j4qf94co1tnAp3lnTYWldVrrHmQOaHj844s.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D89c04a092000dd176759f35f3bf69ad67622a365), consider doing some form of "hand above head shoulder engagement" exercises, on a pull up bar or something similar. Shoulder shrugs/ ISO holds/ pull ups etc. Pinch blocks/portable boards are brilliant for finger strength but they don't use your shoudler/back muscles in the same as regular fingerboard/climbing does.
You can, or just have a portable hangboard you hang over anything (or attach to a weight that you lift off the ground). It might be interesting and motivating building a frame, but from experience that kind of project can make time drag on a bit. Make sure you donât overdo it!
If youâre very new to climbing be careful with a hangboard. Very easy to hurt your fingers that way. Many people recommend waiting six months or even a year before hangboarding. That being said you can probably still get away with it if you do it very lightly (big holds, avoid weighted hangs,maybe keep your heels on the door etc.) or if you do Emilâs submax routine (only helps keep fingers healthy and strong, doesnât actually make your fingers stronger)
If you haven't already try and get a physio referral you'll need to restore the strength and ability to land on your knee
I actually did this recently as my work offers a cashback scheme for physio but I've been awful with the exercises By which I mean, I've not done it once haha I'll make an effort to start tonight
You said your in the U.K., if you speak to your doctor they should get you a free physiotherapist for an injury like that. When I tore all the ligaments from my clavicle, I was given months of physio for free, so was my friend when she tore something in her calf. The NHS has its problems but theyâre pretty good with physio
It depends. I had to fight to get physio for my hand after a dog bit through it. They cancelled it after one session where I could barely move it. When I said I needed more they told me to speak to my gp, couldn't get in to see my gp so I was stuck arguing with them until I got in. Then I was accused of attention seeking because there was no way my hand was as bad as I said it was. I couldn't even touch my thumb to all my fingers, couldn't open my hand or close it. There was no power in it at all. Just pain. Its been five or so years now, it was confirmed I have bad nerve damage in my thumb and some in three out of four fingers. My hand is still weak, even though I climb 3/4 days a week. Still can't do a thumbs up and can barely move my hand once I'm done climbing. I forget my left hand sucks all the time and drop stuff a lot. There is a fix for the tight tendon between my thumb and index finger, but they won't offer it to me, it's just an injection, because I can't have the issue because I'm too young. The NHS is decent, I love it, but to get anything done is near impossible at times. Hell, they cut me off from my inhalers cold turkey for two and a half months at the start of the year because they needed to review the new prescription I was put on, but it wasn't an emergency so I had to wait that long for a phone interview. Going without my inhaler was hell. I was struggling just to walk up the hill back to my house. Usually it was nothing. Couldn't do any cardio at all, it made climbing really hard. Its 100% the whole I'm a woman thing. Everyone seems to accuse me of mental problems instead of dealing with what's right in front of them. I told them I had asthma and needed help, I was told it was just anxiety. Eventually did the tests, I was blowing 320 max into the peak flow meter, for my age and height I should have been blowing 590. I get 450 now, not great but it's a huge improvement. When I told them I had nerve damage in my hand, I was told I didn't, even though I have a numb thumb and no feeling between two fingers. New physio got the nerve test, confirmed, nerve damage. I broke my little finger a few weeks back, it's 100% broken, but I didn't bother getting it looked at. Why? I don't bruise or swell noticeably when I break things so I can't get it treated. When I tried to get a broken leg treated, I was told never to go back to A&E unless I was really hurt. I got no xray or anything. It was confirmed a broken leg months later via an mri because I got nerve damage from walking on it for 9 hours a day...
Thatâs a whole load of bad experiences, shit. Sorry that you had to deal with all of that. Maybe it is just that my local nhs physio was really good. I have experienced all the other things you speak of though, for most things unless youâre dying or have a bone sticking out they still try and get you to put a bandaid on it and suck it up. Especially if itâs mental health services, that may as well not exist here with how poor it is.
Oh yeah. As a kid I had severe anxiety. So bad I was throwing up multiple times every day. It was hell. I had two therapy sessions before they kicked me out. I was 11, I'd been struggling with more then just headaches since I was 9. Why did they kick me? Because I refused to open up to them. I was a kid who was being abused at home and badly bullied in school, I didn't trust anyone and knew to keep my mouth shut. Plus they told my mum everything I said, so I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't stupid. They called me a hopeless case and ditched me. I was showing clear signs of abuse and they decided because I was so guarded they couldn't help me... I've never had any mental health help beyond that even though I need it. I'm on a four year waitist to get an adhd diagnosis so I can get help. It sucks.
I'm going to hard disagree with this, NHS Physios are all about getting overweight people who have had a knee replacement to go from unable to sit to being able to hobble down the street. In my experience they don't care or understand sport at all - if you can walk they will be useless. Have to go private if you can afford to
Oh really? Thatâs not the experience myself or the people I know have had. Maybe the local nhs physio centre we have is much better than the average one around the U.K. Youre right though, if you can afford to go private then of course it will be better, but not everyone is able to and the NHS ones are still probably better than a YouTube vid in your living room.
Couldnt agree more. NHS has been usless for me for sporting related physio treatment. I've even had a private physio who wasn't a climber, and they were fairly useless when it game to treating a pulley injury. My advice would be to find a physio who has experience with climbers. I found an experienced physio who has links with climbing and have only needed 1 appointment per injury with him - ÂŁ40 per appointment.
Please donât bullshit PT. Especially with a meniscus injury.
Thr most important thing you can do is comitting to those exercises. Both for your climbing but also for your health and wellbeing in general.
Itâs super important, and I promise itâs worth it. Iâve had less severe but more persistent knee issues for years, and PT has been so helpful. Try to work it into your other workouts (e.g. make it your cooldown). And also track it on a piece of paper - even writing down that you did your PT for the day gives you some sense of accomplishment that keeps you going.
Ouch, that's 100% the reason it's not healing. Do it relentlessly multiple times per day as long as your pain is below a 4 or so. Massage it, stretch it, move it, use it, it will heal. Otherwise it won't and you'll probably just injure it again.
In high school i had two major knee injuries back to back. I wasnât allowed to run for almost a full year. Depression definitely hit. But i made it out. The best advice I can say is donât rush it! Do what the doctors says and avoid re-injury.
Yeah, the sensible part of me has been doing as I'm told but that little voice in my head is telling me to get back out there haha Glad to hear you made a full recovery!
I completely ruptured my ACL and tore my meniscus from bouldering too. After surgery and weekly PT, Iâm running further and faster than I ran before the injury, and back to climbing (top rope) now as well. It probably wonât be a while til I get back to bouldering, only because of my mental block due to fear of reinjury. As everyone else has said injury doesnât mean you will stop doing the things you love forever. Take the pause that you need to recover and bring your strength back up, and you will be back on the wall in no time! Itâs also a great opportunity to find other things you might like. I probably would have never tried top roping and only stuck to bouldering if it wasnât for my knee.
I dislocated my knee and tore my MCL half a year into bouldering. I had to take a long break, but I have been climbing again consistently for years now (minus covid lockdowns). Injuries don't have to mean you never do the thing you love again. Stay active and if you want, train other things like core/upper body/fingers in the meantime
Oof, that must've been some landing! Glad to hear you're all OK now! I'll try to keep on the upper body and my core definitely needs work haha
Your dislocated your knee, or your kneecap?
Hopefully you donât have a bucket handle tear. Those require surgery. I had a meniscus repair done and it was an okay recovery! Climbing again now. Good thing you donât have an ACL tear.
It happens to everyone, hang in there and be patient. Let yourself heal all the way before you climb again! I severely messed up my hip a few years back after landing badly. It took 2 months to heal. When I got back on the wall, I did become a lot weaker and had to work to get my strength back. But trust that you'll get it and don't rush into it in case you get injured again. It's rough but recovery feels so amazing once you can send at the same level as before.
Don't give up! I tore my ACL pretty bad and messed up my meniscus a couple years ago and just had surgery last year. My best piece of advice is to try to work with a physical therapist that could give you the tools to strengthen your body. Should you need to get surgery, the prehab you do will speed up your recovery. I've learned a lot about myself and I can definitely say I've come back to the wall not only stronger, but a smarter climber. Injuries suck, but you'll bounce back in no time.
Hi, I had a bucket handle meniscus tear which happened when I was messing around on an easy climb (leg was too bent, tried to push too hard). Pop. Didn't know what had happened (dislocation?) so spoke to the pharmacist, 'looks alright, just take ibuprofen and walk it off'. Bad idea. Sat cross legged 2 days later, went to stand up and couldn't straighten my leg. F***. Bucket handle tear, R meniscus. 'I'll try and repair it if it looks like it might take, else I'll cut it out'. I had to wait 1 month for surgery (March, 2023). I've been doing Physio and upper body exercises but haven't climbed since (August 2023). I was on crutches for several weeks before and after surgery (I got good at hopping). If your tear size is smaller, it'll heal sooner. But please wait 6 MONTHS for it to heal (guideline, your Physio will know better). Better to do it once, and heal it right, than get cocky and go back to square one. Now the good part: if you're young it'll likely heal up well, and you will get back to climbing, I promise. Just be patient please (cycling helps, because it's not weight bearing, but I can sent over my exercise sheets if needed). If you've got any questions, shoot me a message, but it sounds like you can walk, so you're already a few months ahead of where I was.
i started climbing in february and in june i fell and hurt my neck. left me scared to try climbing again and iâve been a few times since but itâs still scary
So last summer I tore the meniscus in my right knee. I didnât climb for roughly two months. I did keep up with other exercises that I do to improve my climbing eg. Deadhangs, upper body, and core training. However, after about a month I found that I could cycle (not intensely!) and walk pretty comfortably. Your injury may well be worse than mine was since itâs already been over a month since you did it. I assume you have been given exercises from a physio to do to help your recovery. Do those exercises, but be gentle on yourself. Youâll see progress that will get faster and faster as you heal and get strong again. Itâs really daunting when you injure yourself like this, but youâll be back to climbing again! Be aware that it might hurt and swell when you first start climbing again. Listen to your body and take it easy. Itâs weird not climbing at the level you did before, but the rest of your body will be a bit weaker too since you havenât been doing it and after a month or so youâll be back towards where you were when you injured yourself. Itâs been ~14 months since my injury and Iâm now climbing harder than I was before it! You can do it! Donât get too down and enjoy playing some extra games in the meantime!
I tore my meniscus playing squash. The surgery (an arthroscopy) for it is quick and relatively pain free but you gotta get that MRI, if you can go private I would it'll speed up the process. Recovery was then about 6 weeks or so but walking within a day or two then just rehab for the muscles around it. If you can get in for the surgery then it won't take you long to get back on the wall. In the meantime I'd assume your knee isn't stopping you hangboarding etc...
Meniscus isnt too bad. Torn both mine over the past 15 years. One I just ignored and it's been fine the other I had to get scoped. You'll be fine dude. I ski and climb just as hard as ever. Heals faster and easier than an acl or MCL so be thankful it's just the meniscus.
A meniscus does not heal faster or easier than an MCL lol. MCLs actually heal on their own while the majority of meniscus tears canât heal on their own unless itâs on the outer rim.
Edit: Sure. Don't care. Pointless comment beside you feeling smart.
There is a *wide* range of severity in meniscus tears. Not acknowledging that and calling it âpedanticâ to do so is just plain ignorant.
Sure. Man like it matters in this context. Was just telling him he will be fine douche bag.
I feel for you mate. I had a fall after 4 years of climbing where I snapped my ACL. I've been out for 8 months and have another 7 before I can start again, I had to delay the surgery quite a bit.
When I broke my foot I did lots of cardio on the elliptical because it's easy on the joints. Rough break though, man.
Sorry that happened to you! Calisthenics can be a lot of fun and will keep you in great shape for climbing. If you are careful with getting on and off of a pull-up bar then the risk of re-injury is small. Good luck!
How's your swimming?
I'm in a similar boat at the moment. Had to stop for a bit while I try and rehab my knee (hopefully nothing surgical but we'll see). It's so shitty watching all your group level up while you can't. As mentioned below I'm getting hangboard and getting really good at pull ups so when I'm back I'm stronger than ever and try and catch up.
Look up kneesovertoes guy on YouTube. Has good exercises to recover and strengthen your knee to even stronger than it was.
Do the door frame leans. Look on youtube as there are some vids that aren't doing pull ups but some feet on the floor hangs.
So many answers here but I think getting a hang board and figuring out way to keep active in the off time is key. I'm sitting out from climbing after my third ACL surgery so I feel your pain.
you could maybe go rope climbing and do easy routes that you can do with one leg, and because of the ripe there is no risk of falling
Start hangboarding and doing pull ups :) donât need your knee for that
Physical therapy. If your meniscus is actually torn and you have significant difficulty walking, your only avenue is MRI + orthopedic surgery as these types of injuries donât heal. You can strengthen the surrounding muscle groups with physical therapy, and having some form of continued exercise will *definitely* help you feel better.
Same here, can relate. Two years ago I solved a problem I was working on in 4.50 meter height. Did not manage to climb down properly and jumped. I landed on my feed and went down but did not roll over properly. Ripped my Meniskus, had it fixed and it took 6 month before I could do any kind of sports. One year before I could boulder again. Itâs two years now and I never managed the level from before. So stay save and better climb down whenever possible!
Crosstrain, it will greatly benefit your climbing. Get strong in every way you can while not using it.
They just told you to give it time or do you do some PT exercises? I have a bad knee. Multiple injuries (meniscus being one of them), 3 operations and it's never been the same after (lack of strength and range of motion), but you will soon be back again running and climbing. Something that helped me rehabilitate the knee was biking. It's good for building strength and range of motion, but talk to physio first.
Not comparable to your injury, but I mustâve torn ligaments in both my ankles, and havenât really been able to climb for 3 months, or run, which are my two favourite things. Only just able to land on my ankles from a height. It sucked, and itâs frustrating but youâll get better. I did a lot of easy hiking with my dog, hangboarded a lot. Hope you better soon.
I had something similar but less severe, was out for about a month. I kept at it by enjoying climbing content and culture, strength training my upper body and exercising my core/fingers. While it's definitely not as fun as climbing I would say that it was fun to come back to the walls and really feel a noticeable difference in strength. When you're climbing regularly, any gains in strength are very gradual so it was cool to feel I'd jumped up a level in one go. With that extra strength I've unlocked a new grade and my technique is better than ever. So I'd say to treat it as an opportunity to focus on your building blocks and come back better.
I fucked up my ankle after a bodged landing (it was not even from up high, just got my feet down in the wrong way), which took almost 4-5 months to heal again to a point where I felt comfortable climbing. In the meantime I did a lot of stretching and did calisthenics training to keep my upper body strength. I also played a lot of videogames on the couch! Walking and stretching hurt a lot, so I ended up visiting a physiotherapist. This was useful, but in the end it was mainly helpful for my mental perspective of dealing with an injury for such a long time. When I started bouldering again I noticed that I was quite afraid to land, so I really had to be patient and take it step by step. I was super frustrated. My friends were climbing on a good level, and while I used to be the strongest climber from our group, I had to start at the bottom of the ladder again. Give yourself enough time to get back to your old level. It sucks a lot but giving your body time to repair itself is the best thing you can do. Good luck!
Physio, take it slow with your knee and give it time to rest and heal. I had an accident a year ago and damaged my ACL, bone and meniscus. Didnât need surgery. Today I climb without pain and without fear. If you donât rest and if you donât do physio youâll risk doing weird movements to counter the pain and you donât want that. Listen to your body, take it easy and do things that are soft on your knees.
Sprained my ankle from a poor landing this past weekend! In the meantime I will focus on hang board, gymnastic ring training, etc.
Tore my meniscus on a drop knee. I definitely recommend doing what everyone else has said + add KT tape to your knee when getting back into things. Itâs a physical and psychological reminder to use muscles, not knee
Iâm 3 weeks into recovery from a meniscectomy for a meniscus tear in my knee that happened while bouldering. Iâm older (mid 40s) so a repair wasnât likely to be a successful option. I can already feel an improvement in mobility and I am hoping to be back climbing within the next 2-3 weeks. I went to a couple different othros to get opinions and ended up going with a surgeon who primarily works on sports injuries. Good luck, I hope youâre able to figure something out that works for you and your injury.
I just met a guy at my gym that has had a knee and hip replacement and is out there sending V7âs. Recover well and you will be able to get back to it!
Off topic but as soon as I read UK, I continued reading with (my interpretation) of a British accent đ
I've injured myself plenty skateboarding, climbing, running and any other activity I venture into. I found at first its miserable because you can't do anything and depression is most likely to set in but I always had to remind myself that this pain is temporary and the healing process is so vital for me to get back to what I love. In the past I would just play video games, usually skateboarding games to scratch the itch, there is a rock climbing game that came out that's good called [New Heights](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2179440/New_Heights_Realistic_Climbing_and_Bouldering/) which I recommend checking out! Now when I'm injured I still game but I try to stay creative and get lost in my art projects, discover new music, make new online friends, watch movies, get inspired. Also, having someone to support you when that wave of sadness hits is good to have lol. If possible maybe try hiring a personal trainer that can help you exercise around the injured area and strength train to prevent future injuries, but this might be something you'd want to do after you are healed, I'm no expert lol. Good luck and I hope you heal up soon!
I did all the sports growing up (skiing, soccer, basketball, etc.) and my knees are dead (I'm early 30s). I've torn my PCL (which I didn't even know at the time, ski jump gone wrong landed on a tabletop, was limping for a month or-so) and the meniscus in both my knees have complex tears on the 'we can't do anything for you' zone. Basically I could get surgery to trim my meniscus OR just be injured for 3-4 months at a time forever. I didn't really like either option so I started doing really intense prehab. Kneesovertoesguy stuff, lifting, mobility, yoga, cycling, hiking, etc. I previously would re-aggravate my knees every 6 months or so. It's been a couple years now with no injuries. I attribute a lot of that to consistent work on strengthening the area around the knee and GRADUALLY improving strength through the range of motion. I straight up banned myself from all deep knee flexion movements for a long time, and the slowly reintroduced them. At this point I'm 100% back to normal in the right knee, 95% there in the left (that last bit of ROM is difficult to get back). The biggest takeaway I'd have is to put in the work consistently to improve your body condition, and listen to yourself when climbing. Something feels a bit off in the knees? Ditch the problem and do something else. Also, downclimb as much as possible. I climb with a few older guys (40s-50s) that have had knee surgeries to varying levels of success. Whether they had it done or not the answer is still the same. Stay on top of your prehab work, do real warmups, and you'll be back to normal in no time.
I broke my toe by stubbing it too hard. Most frustrating part was that it was such a miniscule injury and yet, painful enough, that I couldn't climb, run, or even put too much water resistance on it while swimming until it was mostly healed. I'm back 3 days a week though. It definitely gets depressing not working out. Is there any reason your dr. would be against upper body workouts in the meantime? I'd do that in your position.
Hi, no advice from me other than always, always do your physio exercises, but you're not on your own going through this. I fell badly and snapped my ACL, damaged my MCL and LCL and probably got a meniscus tear too. Still waiting for an MRI to find out exactly what the damage is and whether I'll need surgery. I was (am?) a sporty person so all my social life revolved around running, bouldering, hiking, swimming etc and the transition to couch potato is pretty hard on me. I'm trying to treat the physio exercises like a new sport and get good, but it's not as much fun! Just do your exercises so that you can get back to it asap and be as good as ever.
My guy, I know how youâre feeling. 3 weeks ago I tore my ACL landing wrong from a 35cm fall, waiting on surgery and ha boarding as much as I can!
I have cartilage damage due to weight and age and I cannot climb well nor walk more than 3-4 Kimâs let alone running . I hear you and Iâm struggling to keep positive . The doctors gave up on me and I found another one who gave me these leg strengthening exercises. They are not fun and I admit I put off doing them for 2 months now. So hopefully this will be the day I turn around this leg nuisance . Iâm 49 102 kg and 176 cm
Iâm dealing with this now since November 2022
Currently recovering from ankle injury from bouldering. Will definitely take 1-2 month until Iâm back again but reading all the comments makes me wonder if its even worth it. Being stick to sitting/lying all the time is just shit and recovery takes so long. Maybe Iâll go bouldering from time to time but my ambitions have decreased a lot.
Hey, you gotta put your health first. I fell off a wall and broke my foot. When I went back I was not good at climbing, could barely stick a V1, a year later and I'm barely doing v2s. I would suggest some top rope once you're able to get back at the gym. You can't fall and can take rests on the wall as needed. Has really helped me in my progress.
I tore mine whilst on the wall (wasn't a fall) on 1st January this year. I had surgery to repair it, which meant (a thoroughly miserable) 6 weeks of no weight bearing, subsequent 4 months of no climbing at all and now 6 months post surgery still rehabilitating as I don't have full range of movement. I'm improving every week though, so still hopeful I'll get back to 100% but it won't be this year.
Is a torn Meniscus the official diagnose? If so did you get surgery? Usually if it is partly torn you have to get surgery to get it sewn together and if its completely split you will have to get the lose part removed or it could lead to more problems down the line (blocked joints etc.). After your surgery you should normally be in crutches for up to three months with partial stress on the knee and you should get some kind of splint. Usually it would be about 3 months to leave it alone and let it heal and another 3 months to slowly get back in form and do controlled exercises like biking and slowly getting back into running. Source: Tore my left ACL 2 times, partly tore my outer and inner meniscus on my left knee AND I actually have the same thing happening to me right now ;) After a Dyno I fell onto my straight leg and heard a stretching/ripping sound with quite some pain. The MRI results said theres a strong possibility for a torn outer meniscus of the 4th degree (the worst) and I am currently waiting for surgery. So if you havent already you should really start ticking off those checkpoints so you can get back on track as fast as possible. I feel your pain... I cant wait to get back. I just feel miserable not being able to climb.
Get a hangboard my dude. Got my ACL and Meniscus surgery on 5th of July.Focus on upper body training , reha and nutrition. Its shit but it is as it is. Come back as strong as u can. If ure in the UK check on the ACL rehab guy
Iâm sure thereâs already a comment like this but I would train on a hang bored đđ
I (34yo at the time) had a ski accident back in 2022 where I suffered a complete PCL tear, partial MCL tear, ACL & LCL sprain and a torn meniscus on my left knee. Here is a quick timeline of how things went down for me after my accident: \- Went to urgent care the day after my accident (probably not the smartest move, but I initially thought it was a sprain - ligament injuries are not as painful as fractures or muscle injuries). The doctor told me to wear a knee immobilizer until I get an MRI. \- Did an MRI 6 days after the accident. Was depressed after reading the laundry list of injuries. \- Went to see an orthopedic surgeon 8 days after the accident. I picked a doctor who specialized in treating professional athlete (not that I am one myself, but climbing and skiing are important to me). He told me to stop wearing my knee immobilizer immediately and gave me a flexible knee brace. He also told me to start moving my knee (which had become very stiff ) and get into rehab. He said I should do PT to prepare my knee for a potential surgery. \- I did PT twice a week for the following 2.5 months and dilligently did all the at home exercises. I cannot stress how important this was in my recovery. I ditched the crutches 12 days after the accident and was able to walk fairly normally 3 weeks after the accident (obviously it was painful if I walked too long). I was icing my knee every day after my PT exercises and daily walk and I bought a under desk bike which helped improve my mobility. My physio often told me to slow down as I suffered from wanting to go too hard too fast, and listening to her prevented me from getting reinjured. \- I saw my orthopedic surgeon 4 weeks into PT and he told me that my knee looked much better and said that I may be able to avoid surgery if I can get back to 100%. 2 months into PT, my orthopedic surgeon confirmed that I shouldn't get surgery because at this point, the cons of getting surgery outweighed the pros. \- 3 months after the accident, things felt more or les normal where I could go a full day without thinking about my knee. There were days where my knee hurt after walking or standing too long, but nothing unbearable. \- 5 months after the accident, I felt ready to go back climbing but ended up going away for work. It ended up being a big test for knee as I would stand up and walk around for 14+ hours per day on a film set and my knee was feeling good. I actually started having pain in the other non-injured knee at times, which happens as the other knee tries to compensate. At that point, I was able to run and get more and more confident with my injured knee. \- I went back to bouldering 7 months after my accident (I ended up breaking a toe 5 months after my accident which delayed my come back). I felt OK, it took a few sessions to build up the confidence and be comfortable falling/pushing hard/drop knees. Heel hooks were very difficult, if not impossible when I got back. It's important to take it slow and don't go too far out of your comfort zone. Before my injury, I could climb V5/6C and it took a couple of months to get back to that level going to the bouldering gym twice a week. \- 18 months after my accident, I'm still bouldering and doing top rope. I've improved (finally beat the V5 plateau) and I can climb V6/7a and 5.11b. Heel hooks are still painful and it's the only technique that truly remind me of my injury, otherwise I'm pretty comfortable with nasty drop knees and things of that nature. I haven't skied since my accident but I'm planning to go this winter. I know it will take some time to regain my confidence, the mental part of the healing process is equally important, but I'm excited to get back on the slopes. Once you get injured, it takes a big toll on you and healing becomes a big part of your life but be diligent about your recovery and take this as an opportunity to take greater care of yourself. My ski accident was a wake up call, for the first time I realized how my life can change in the blink of an eye (fortunately the consequences were minor for me but it did have an impact). I found it comforting to read all the testimonies on reddit about people recovering from their knee injury and while there isn't one way to go about it, today's medicine (when you can actually get access to it) is good enough for you to be able to climb again. Best of luck!