How Effed am I?

Triathlon Forum
1

So…I messed myself up really badly this past weekend - passed out after a very hard workout in the heat with dehydration and dizziness…while the dehydration was fixable (four bags of saline), I managed to break a rib and give myself about a ten percent pneumothorax from breaking the rib. Got sent home from hospital last night with orders not to do any exercise until I can see the pulmonologist Wednesday at the earliest for an X-ray to ensure the pneumothorax has healed.

So here’s the kicker…I have IM Mont Tremblant in about six weeks…do I have a realistic chance of doing this race or is the manadatory time off (I don’t know what they’re gonna say on Wed) gonna put the kibosh on this race? I’ve been told getting swimming again will be the hardest part I’ve had two good 70.3’s this year in hot/humid conditions…and I have IMMD in early October.

Needless to say, I am bummed. Didn’t realize how much broken ribs hurt! Last night was a real “pleasure” even with max doses of Ibuprophrin, Acetomenaphin, and a prescription Oxy (which seems like a really overhyped drug!). Coughing literally brought tears to my eyes.

Anyway, appreciate any thoughts, advice, reality checks.

2

Ever broken a bone before? I have never broken a rib, but I have broken lots of other bones. You are looking at 6 weeks for a bone to heal. During that time, I doubt you would be able to swim. And, running and biking would likely be very difficult.

3

I broke a few ribs 3 years ago in June (bike crash). Running and swimming were simply out of the question as they would have hurt too much. After a few weeks I could ride a stationary bike but outdoor riding had to wait for more healing as bumps would have hurt a lot.

4

6 weeks is possible but only just. You won’t be able to swim or run most of the 6 weeks. You will be able to ride a trainer in 2-3 weeks.

Of course this means if you do heal you’d be entering an IM unprepared. And if you do heal and decide to do the race, guaranteed that rib will hurt like mofo second half of the bike.

Edit: darn it. If you had 4-5 weeks the answer would be a definite no. 8 weeks would be a definite yes.

5

Yeah…timing is just awful…especially since I’ve committed to the trip up to Canada, the home share, etc. Will keep monitoring it…if nothing else, I think I’ll plan to sherpa for my buds and perhaps defer a decision on the race till raceday…or close to it.

6

I’ve had broken ribs a bunch of times. The last one for me was in April of this year.

No swim, nor run, for 7 weeks; I gave myself extra time to heal, since I was bike racing (so a longer healing time) while my rib was healing.

It took about 3 mos from the initial break for me to stop noticing how my rib felt.

You will probably be told you can get on a bike trainer, and pedal while sitting up, after 2 weeks from initial break.

Swim: worst pain ever. Much worse compared w/ sleeping.

If you can do the IM on no running and no swimming from now until race day, you’ll be set!

7

Speaking from experience, you want the collapsed lung to heal very well. I experienced that when I was 18, at about 25%, and did not let it heal properly. I had smaller incidents every few months after that. Another major recurrence finally put me back into the hospital. They had to put in the tube and all that fun stuff. I have a scar and some unpleasant stories. Take care of that. If you do not, it will bite you.

I did the Vineman Half with some lightly fractured ribs in the late 90’s- about 3 weeks after my bike wreck. My wetsuit provided a bunch of compression, which got me through the swim. I did not notice it on the bike. Running downhill was impossible, and I pulled out after 4 miles. If you are in that much pain, yours are much worse than mine were. You won’t be racing if you do it. You will probably just be there for the experience.

Tip: Don’t train like you were anymore. Stay hydrated. Avoid sun stroke. Stay upright on land.

8

I have trained through a broken rib. It hurt like crazy. But unlike a long bone it doesn’t need a cast or anything…for me the worst pain was sleeping. Rolling over and getting out of bed were excruciating. It may be lack of sleep rather than the injury itself that holds you back.
6 weeks seems doable but not likely your best.

9

^^ Forgot to mention that. The WORST was rolling in bed, getting into bed, and getting out of bed.

Ended up sleeping in the recliner in the living room for 4-5 weeks. That worked really well.

10

I think it will depend on the severity of the injury. I fractured a couple ribs last spring but was able to run a 5K three weeks later, 85-90% effort). There was no lung injury which makes a big difference I would imagine.

11

Having broken a few ribs snow boarding a few years ago I couldn’t imagine doing an IM 6 weeks later or really much of anything. I did a 70.3 about 3 months after my break and it was the most unprepared I’ve ever been for a 70.3. I don’t think I was back to consistent training for at least a month and even then it wasn’t much. It was probably 8 weeks or so before I began to feel normal and not notice the ribs.

12

Sorry to hear about this, but there is a silver lining… IMMT is not the only Ironman you have on the calendar!

Let’s say best case scenario, you are healed in time to race IMMT. You will be going into that race missing 6 weeks of training (if other posters’ comments are correct). My advice would be to change your focus to IMMD. If you skip IMMT you will have only lost the 6 weeks or so to heal. If you choose to push through and do IMMT, you will have lost 6 weeks for healing AND all the time required to recover from doing IMMT which will likely be even greater that initially planned due to coming into the race under trained. My advice would be to choose the path that allows you to execute ONE Ironman well this season, rather than trying to scrap together two Ironmans.

13

Chrissie Wellington did a 70.3 (and quite well …) 3 weeks after breaking a rib in 2011 - maybe not everyone has the same pain threshold as Chrissie W. I know what I’d be doing :-P. Run Training on the elliptical Iron Cowboy-style.

http://www.chrissiewellington.org/blog/the-three-peat-rock-and-blazeman-rolling-at-kansas/

14

Thanks to everyone for their responses…I should see the pulmonogist on Wednesday to get the verdict on the pneumothorax…with any luck, I should get clearance to do light exercise (spinning?) to at least stay in some semblance of shape. From all the inputs, it seems that swimming is going to be a non-starter for at least 6 weeks and running may not happen for a month…sigh. I suppose I can think of this as a really, really long taper for MT or trash any plans of trying MT at all and focusing on MD. Will update when I see the doc. Interestingly, I am supposed to get checked for achalasia in two weeks and may use the enforced rest as an opportunity to sneak in the procedure I may need to correct achalasia as well if MT no longer looms large on the immediate horizon.

15

I’ve broken 12 ribs in 4 separate accidents and 40 broken bones overall. Ribs are the worst because everything makes them hurt. Since you HAVE to breathe, they take a long time to knit, and therefore longer to heal. Time will depend a lot, on what kind of break.

If it’s a crack, but not all the way through, that’s the best and 6 weeks you’ll probably be able to race, but at reduced capacity due to arguably no real training over the next 6 weeks.

If it’s broken all the way through, but with no displacement, that takes longer to knit so the race is less likely to happen. IF there is displacement, get that sorted first, then heal as if no displacement, but again, slightly longer recovery. With displacement, I’d suggest you’d be silly to race.

If it’s your first IM, do the race, but go easy the whole way and just do what you can. Console yourself with the fact that your next race will be an easy PB.

IF it’s not your first IM, decide why you’re doing it. It won’t be any fun, you’ll suffer like a rented mule, and you’ll have a slow finish time. There is no upside. In this case, I’d give the race a miss, lick your wounds and know that sometimes life kicks you in the balls.

Back in 2000 I did IMNZ 1 week after a bike crash. I was covered in road rash, had a broken skull and broken pelvis. I finished, but even 25 years of marriage didn’t prepare me for that kind of suffering!

If you’re a pro, you won’t win so don’t start. If you’re amateur you have to decide what level of suffering and disappointment you’re willing to go through and live with. There are other races, so lick your wounds and sign up for something else. (it’s only money)

Good luck with you recover and dude, just chill and enjoy the time off.

16

If you are flying to the race, be sure to ask the pulm about any restrictions related to that. The lower pressure in a plane can cause a recurrence and most docs will tell you not to fly for some time after the pneumothorax.

17

So…I messed myself up really badly this past weekend - passed out after a very hard workout in the heat with dehydration and dizziness…while the dehydration was fixable (four bags of saline), I managed to break a rib and give myself about a ten percent pneumothorax from breaking the rib. Got sent home from hospital last night with orders not to do any exercise until I can see the pulmonologist Wednesday at the earliest for an X-ray to ensure the pneumothorax has healed.

So here’s the kicker…I have IM Mont Tremblant in about six weeks…do I have a realistic chance of doing this race or is the manadatory time off (I don’t know what they’re gonna say on Wed) gonna put the kibosh on this race? I’ve been told getting swimming again will be the hardest part I’ve had two good 70.3’s this year in hot/humid conditions…and I have IMMD in early October.

Needless to say, I am bummed. Didn’t realize how much broken ribs hurt! Last night was a real “pleasure” even with max doses of Ibuprophrin, Acetomenaphin, and a prescription Oxy (which seems like a really overhyped drug!). Coughing literally brought tears to my eyes.

Anyway, appreciate any thoughts, advice, reality checks.

Dude, suck it up! That was a ride in my shed over the weekend - 115+ degrees in three layers. I ride until I am about to pass out, then I ride another 15 minutes.

In all seriousness, while you think that the dehydration was “fixable”, it really wasn’t. Trust me when I say this (this comes from someone who consumes 3-4 gallons of liquid at this time of the year because of a rare kidney disease), your body is going to feel it for the next several weeks. Just like our muscles have good memory from our exercise, they have those bad memories from lack of liquid too.

18

Having just gone thru a broken rib, it cost me 1 week before trainer, 2 weeks I could handle anything more than uphill power walking, and about 4 weeks before swimming. Non-displaced, no lung puncture.

And honestly, one day about week 4 or 5, it just stopped hurting. I don’t remember exactly, but it was as if my body just sort of abruptly turned off the pain signal.

Whatever you do, don’t laugh, cough, or sneeze. That is WAY worse than rolling over in bed.

Good luck. Your trainer will be your friend. You won’t lose too much fitness.

19

TriDork, you sound like me, I, as well have broken a bunch of bones. As far as doing the IM, I would say no way. You will lose too much fitness going in and you really are not going to know how your rib will be feeling 6 weeks from now. I broke 10 ribs and bruised my lung and I did not feel fully recovered for about 13 months. Good luck!

20

Wednesday post-pulmonologist update:

Good news. Saw my pulmonologist today for x-rays and a follow up. Rib is still broken (duh) and the lung is getting better, still about 10 percent or less of a pneumothorax in the upper area - oddly, close to the shoulder. Doc gave me the green light for moderate biking, running, and even swimming, although he recommended kicking only on the swimming for the next little bit. I’m giving myself today as the last off day and going to get back at it in a reasonable fashion on the bike tomorrow (maybe a wee run too in the evening).

Given I should be piling on the volume for MT and obviously won’t be able to do that just yet, I think I’ll be focused on getting to the start line and having a very pricey, albeit well supported and long training day in Quebec for what will have to be the A race in Maryland.

Pain is really negligible during the day with the exception of coughing/sneezing/laughing - nights are a different story. I’ve tried to avoid taking the heavier pain killers, although I am hitting the daily max doses for Midol and Tylenol. Welcome additional thoughts/advice. Really appreciate everyone’s help and support here.