Diver with both ankles fused

[Zen1300]

It seems the best way to determine is to check with an LDS with access to a pool and see if they will let you try them and see how they work.

I applaud your desire to want to stay with it.

 

[DIVEFORFUN1]

Thanks for the reply and the helpful info

 

[danvolker]

I'M a Cert. Diver. I broke my back and crushed both ankles and heels in a car wreck . My back healed up ok but not perfect and I'm able to walk , but seeing that both ankles and heels have been fused together with a piece of bone from my hip. Each foot has 17 screws , 2 metalpates which gives me limited movement up an down and no side to side motion . I can't use a normal set of fins so I was wondering if anyone knew of a company the made special fins for a condition like mine , or does anyone have any suggestions. Has anyone been threw something similar. Desperate to dive again

Bob Evans of Force Fin has actually made a model of fins for War veterans that work well even for double amputees with no legs from the thigh down--just prosthetics....
The fins are amazing.....We tested them for Operation Blue Pride, with a former Navy Diver that lost his legs....he went so fast during the test, that Jim Abernethy could barely keep up to shoot the video....here is a clip that will show the fins....and how life changing they could be for some!

http://youtu.be/P5u96WfIHbo

[video=youtube_share;P5u96WfIHbo]http://youtu.be/P5u96WfIHbo[/video]

 

[Bob Evans]

Doing good deeds quietly.... Force Fins are perfect for this situation. With limited range of motion, you cannot use a shoe fin - a fin in which the blade extends from the end of your toe, for the reason stated, you have to contort your kick style to get the blade at a proper angle of attack.

With Force Fins the open toe pocket allows the blade to bend from under your foot, increasing the range of the angle of attack for you.... Also, the up-curved wing tips set up a recoil. When you kick forward, you work against the blade, when you relax from that forward kicking motion, the recoil in the blade rebounds, and those upcurved wing tips keep water in a channel working for your direction of travel..... That puts less strain on your back than any flat fin around.

 

[danvolker]

I think one of the great things about the Force Fins, whether this special one, or even the Classic Force Fin, is that they can allow a diver to drive great power into them, with the strongest part of the diver's leg muscles, and the fins do not require any real ankle articulation ( see the video!!) ---and this would be a huge deal breaker for freedive fins, which require a very high level of ankle articulation control, and power enough in the calf muscles for the kicks to be far below a muscle effort for the freedive fin wearing diver....With the Force Fins, you dont really use the calf muscles except maybe a little with frog kick....but I don't think that the frog kick would be a useful kick to someone with fused ankles, like the OP, or the guy in the video I posted..

 

[DIVEFORFUN1]

Thanks for the info , I checked out the ForceFins.com site and found that they offer a set of fins that are ( I believe ) for the military. At least they are listed under military products, that I can wear with a actual boot on . I think that will be perfect because it will lock my ankles in a comfortable position allowing me to use my legs and thighs to do all the work. That was the problem I was worried about. When I push my foot down, as if pressing a gas pedal in a car, my foot has limited range of motion and I was worried that if I were to kick very hard that I would over extend my foot or shall I say feet and possibly break something AGAIN. So Thanks for the helpful info.

 

[Bob Evans]

May this article be helpful in this discussion. Force Fins Review

 

[arrick]

I have a bad ankle myself: 20 breaks, pins, fused bones and no cartilage between bones. Force Fins saved the day for me. I was going to quit diving because of the pain in my ankle and foot with regular fins. With Force Fins I have been making about 200 dives/year with very little to no pain. Give Force Fins a try-if your like me-as soon as I put them on I knew it was going to solve all my problems.

 

[PantherDiver]

These look great but my LDS doesn't carry them so there's no way to tell if they work for me. Is there a list of shops that might have them in stock?

 

[danvolker]

These look great but my LDS doesn't carry them so there's no way to tell if they work for me. Is there a list of shops that might have them in stock?

If you get to Palm Beach, you can try the pair I have at the BHB Marine Park.....