Sorry to hear that. I don’t know bout you particular injury/surgery (elbow) but I just went through surgery on my clavicle last week.
I was on the trainer sitting up 5 days post op. The only reason I waited that long was because I couldn’t remove the bandage for 5 days and didn’t want to get it all sweaty.
I also started treadmill walking, I’ve been setting it at 8% incline and walking 3.8mph (the fastest I can walk) for 1hour at a time, it’s surprisingly a pretty good workout.
These are done with arm in sling and will be until Doc gives the all clear.
I have another appointment with the ortho next week but he was saying about 6weeks minimum until he wanted me running outside, my current workouts are not DR approved but I dont feel like it will inhibit recovery.
Dislocated elbow and fractured radial head 13 Jan. Not surgically set though which I think actually slowed my recovery. Started walking soon after, couldn’t run until the fracture stabilized so I think it was basically March. Started riding upright on trainer second half of February but probably could have started sooner and could swim by March. As far as ROM, the OTs considered it functional but it is by no means equal to other side or what it was before in flexion, extension, supination or pronation when isolated. You find out that you can fake a lot with shoulder rather than elbow movement.
I’ve been told I may never get equal range of motion back including being able to fully lockout in the upright pushup position which may be a career killer with my current employer due to drawback in forces and no need to keep someone who is not fully physically able. I could intubate by less than a month out but didn’t take call for around a 6 week period of time as I’m at ‘the buck stops here’ level of responsibility when on call.
Good luck. I’ve now had serious knee and elbow injuries and think the elbow sucks far worse.
Assuming that your fracture was a simple transverse fracture w/o a lot of joint surface comminution, most surgeons would probably just put you in a sling for about a week to let the skin and soft tissues heal and then start some early gentle passive range of motion.
I’d probably be okay w/ allowing bike trainer rides (where you don’t use the affected arm) as soon as the incision is dry and no longer draining (48-72 hrs). Riding in the aerobars is going to cause less pull of the triceps and resultant stress on the repair site than riding on the hood or drops. I think that would be reasonable to start in the 4-6 wk time frame. Running probably at 4-6 wks too.
Riding on the hoods or drops is the last thing I’d feel comfortable with because it will stress the repair. Probably more like 6-8 wks.
The biggest issue with these injuries is lack of a few degrees terminal extension (ie. not being able to get the elbow straightened out all the way), so that will be something to work on. Also, symptomatic hardware is not uncommon with olecranon fractures. Placing the aerobar pads beneath the proximal forearms will be better than having them beneath the elbow if that is what you did previously.
I was in an accident at 14 y.o. Broke left elbow which only required a cast. Crushed the right one requiring pins and screws to repair. That was almost 30 years ago. I can’t completely straighten either one but other than arthritis and bursitis causing pain on occasion neither bother me too much. Swimming aggravates my right one at times, though. I can tell when rain is moving in
Technology and therapy are much better now, so I’m sure you’ll recover greatly. My only advise is to work your tail off with PT to get that ROM as good as possible.
I also broke my hip in the same accident, so I can’t give anecdotal advice on activity, but it seems like a recumbent style spin bike would be doable very soon. Should be no pressure on your arms at all.
I broke my Olecranon (and Pelvis) on 3/21/14. Here is what I learned/would do if ithappened again:
Every Olecranon fracture is different so it’s hard to compare your experience to mine. I have a transverse fracture. It looks like this (this is 2 weeks in right out of cast):
Start taking a “bone health” type supplement now to make sure you are getting what you need to help rebuild.
In the recovery room, make sure you are happy with the fit of the cast. Once I got home I realized it was digging into my wrist. It annoyed me enough I removed the cast and hacksawed two inches off the end. You can imagine how happy the doctor was about that.
The cast will be too thick to use ice to control pain/swelling so you will most likely have to take narcotic pain killers tocontrol the pain for the first few days. If this is true, also take something to control constipation. I didn’t and as a result, I didn’t poop for 3days. The constipation was so painful I couldn’t sleep.
KEEP IT ELEVATED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. I didn’t do a good job of this and the swelling was painful.
Do not take advil or aleve for pain – both have been shown to slow new bone growth. Take Tylenol if ice won’t control the pain. Also try to limit sugar intake as this has also been shown to slow bone growth.
When you come out of the cast, your arm will feel unsupported and strange. Buy a sling if you don’t already have one.
Buy a compression sleeve for your arm to help control swelling and give it some support. Baseball pitchers use them so most sports stores have them.
Try to figure out who the best PT person is in your area for your injury now so you can call them when you are ready
Once you are out of the cast, start working on range of motion as soon as you are allowed. Work it 4-5 times a day. I had so much swelling it was hard for me to do this. I wish I would have done more of it earlier.
Riding the trainer was fine for me. I tried to keep my arm elevated (used my toolbox) while on the trainer as it seemed the increased blood flow would make theswelling worse unless it was elevated.
At my 8 week checkup (6 weeks out of cast) I could still clearly see the fracture. This really surprised me. I figured it would have healed after ~8 weeks but I was wrong. So I’ll be on the trainer another several weeks at least. Just don’t want to fall on it and start over.
Now that I’m at 10 weeks my rotation is good, my extension is ok but my flexsion is terrible (~90 degrees). I can barely touch my head and still can’t feed myself. As a result, I ended upbuying one of these off of ebay: http://s1141.photobucket.com/...zpsa3f2eec7.jpg.html]]
This device has helped me with my flexion but progress is really slow. Also note that these devices are left and right arm specific and are made custom for each patient so if you buy a used one, be aware.
In general, my elbow still feels unsupported and weak. It is much better pulling on it then it is pushing on it. So, leaning on handlebars isn’t so comfortable. The surgeon said it would take me ~6 months to get full range of motion back and I think that is pretty accurate.
I hope your fracture isn’t as bad as mine and your healing goes faster than mine. It’s really a test of patients. As always, listen to your body and push as hard as you can with your range of motion.
I had this injury in October 2011. Surgery was quite complicated and I have a lot of hardware (which I still have - I do not see any reason to have it removed). I went to therapy a few times but decided I could do the exercises just as well on my own. It took me about 12 weeks to get close to full ROM. It was a very painful and frustrating process of exercises. I was running in a few weeks and swimming in two months - badly because I had lost all the muscle. Hang in there - the therapy pain is worth it.
I had the accident in October 2011 and was swimming OK by the end of January. When I first started swimming I could not do much but by the first week of January it felt quite good. I was in Costa Rica and did quite a bit of ocean swimming in early January. I did an xterra tri in March of 2012.
Fractured and displaced my olecranon during my ride Saturday. Full story on the wreck is on my blog below. I go in for surgery tomorrow morning (thursday). Doc has said I’m looking at 6-8 weeks of recovery and 3 months to get most of my ROM back. I’ve seen a few old threads on this but figured I’d start my own. What are others experience with this injury? Can I be riding my trainer (no hands) a few weeks post surgery? Swimming will probably be the last discipline I get back into. Running 6-8 weeks post op? Cycling outdoors will probably be longer than that, I assume. Are my expectations off?
Going to need something to keep my busy during the next several weeks. I’m already bored and I’m only 4 days post crash
Any other advice?
Steve,
I had a complete fracture of my olecranon (along with my collarbone) 13 years ago as the result of a heavy fall. I was taken straight to hospital and was in surgery less than 2 hours after being admitted. As I crashed during a race, the country hospital I was admitted to had a very good orthopaedic surgeon on hand and she did a great job of patching me up. My olecranon was wired back in place, and my collarbone was left to heal without intervention. I was told by the various physio’s and doctors involved that I may never get full ROM, which for your average couch potato is probably true; however if you work on it, you can get back to full movement. I would lay on the lounge with the injured elbow closest to the edge and I’d hang a small weight off my hand for 20-30 mins, several times a day. fast forward 13 years: I’ve had no pain, I have full ROM, I have done many triathlons and won a few national titles in flatwater kayaking. The most pain I had once the injuries had healed was from the wires. Normally they won’t remove the hardware for at least 9 months so leaning on, or bumping the point of your elbow can be quite painful.
As for training: I was on the indoor trainer in less than 1 week. you get used to riding one hand fairly quick! When I started riding on the road again, I was paranoid about falling on my elbow so I used to wear a hard plastic BMX style elbow guard.
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