Last Sat i suffered a crash during a race. I’ve done over 10k bike miles, and this is my first major crash.
I fractured my radius near the elbow, and got quite a few road rash cuts, a black eye, etc. I can’t (shouldn’t!) rotate my fractured arm at all - has anyone experienced similar? How long til you could swim properly - ie race? I’ve been thinking of doing some one-arm swimming, kicking etc, would that be okay?
Likewise for turboing - I am assuming yes on that, my arm would not be used.
Running: how long until the bounce would not disturb my elbow? surely this would be shorter than the swimming one?
My right arm is in a shoulder immobiliser, so I can take it off for showering etc. Are there movements (of course, non-painful non-injurous ones) that I can do with that arm to preserve strength and mobility.
My season goal oly distance race is in 6 weeks so I welcome comments - particularly on turboing, most of my training will be on that ! some core work too and that’s it until I can swim or run
Did a turbo last night 3 x 20’ zone 3 @ 85% FTP - my watts were lower and HR higher due to my right arm not supporting my body, thus reducing the quality of my session, something I’ll have to live with.
You probably already know most or all of what I write below but read it in the spirit given - trying to be helpful and supportive.
I have broken both arms (same time - skateboard trick showing off for my kids - my wife fed and cared for me) and had some other injuries (run over by a truck when running, lucky … only concussion and cuts - crashed a motorscooter off a small cliff and hit a tree, not so lucky … broke a spinal process), sprains from parachute training, chunks of blood like liver coming out my nose from decompression clots, etc.
The standard disclaimer - not medical professional…
Like you - I was too anxious to return to training (IMHO in hindsight) and wondered how my battered body would be after healing.
My elbow break took one year to return to full normal movement. My ortho doctor (doctor for Padres baseball team at the time) recommended surgery to remove some bone to eliminate the initial swelling. A second opinion from Seattle doctors said just wait longer for it to heal.
I waited and am glad I did now as the surgery would have restriced my arm strength for the rest of my life.
Old saws often work - ‘Listen to your body’ - you will ‘know’ when it is right to increase the level of exercise.
I am not saying not to train - just be smart about it. Just as a coach is valuable, some professional therapy for injuries is very helpful.
Do not be in a hurry - rest is what heals your body.
Wow, that makes my incident seem like small fry! I admire your mental strength to get through all these challenges.
I did another session last night, it felt good and I felt capable of completing it. You are right about listening to my body - I am inclined to use my right arm a little, but stop asap if anything is painful.
Your wife is a star btw!
Cooterbob - True dat!
I am interested to hear what anyone has to say about getting back to swimming and running, bearing in mind I fractured my radius near the elbow 6 days ago. I have road rash and definitely won’t swim until that is okay. As I have said the turbo sessions have been fine, almost like normal. I have tried core work, amended (eg a 1-arm plank, I can do 25 seconds! but not a 1-arm push-up yet!).
When I busted my collar bone tweo years ago, I was able to ride my bike on the trainer in an upright position immediately. Start with that, so you don’t lose too much endurance. I actually need to start doing that again because I just had a surgery on my back for a pre-cancerous mole and now I can’t do anything until the stitches are out in two more weeks.
As to when you can swim - you had mentioned one-arm swimming. Isn’t the fx’ed arm in a cast?! I’ve had friends swim with broken fingers but not broken arms. Let it heal. What about water running? (which is not the most enjoyable experience in the world, but is something, and might not put a lot of pressure on you arm)
I would do as much biking and running as you can and wait on the swimming until you get cleared by a doctor. I think I remember you saying you’re young, so I would take the hit this season and keep your expectations in check.
Mohole15 - yeah the turbo is working nicely. It keeps me sane! Just! I can’t stretch properly with 1 arm though … Heal fast yourself.
Tigerchik - thanks. No cast, more like a super-wraparound sling thing. Good point about water running - but I have to let me road rash heal first
Joonya - I can’t run, but I can turbo. I found I can hop a bit if I hold the injured arm carefully, which is something. Taking the hit this season is probably the right thing to do, but it’s not easy! I plan to be racing in 5 weeks time!
I’m in the rehab club, broke my finger, two ribs and collar-bone Sunday when a rider “slide tackled” me during a race. I’m hoping to cycle soon (trainer) and maybe try a easy run. Doctor said swimming is out for three weeks…
Hey I know nothing about your rehab, but I am so sorry that you crashed. I crashed recently and just got road rash and had to replace a few parts on my bike. It sounds like you really are hurting. I was lucky…but so were you it could have been much worse.
I do know **something **about being cautious about reusing certain bike pieces that may have been weakened in a crash. Make sure you replace your fork if there is ANY question about it being damaged in the least. Also your handle bars are VERY important to your future safety and should be replaced if they hit anything hard. You don’t want either of those 2 parts to fail (and they can and do) when you are going down a hill at 35+ MPH. Especially if your bars and fork are aluminum or carbon.
I hope you heal fast and are back to your training soon. Oh and if you still have road rash you shouldn’t be swimming anyway as you can get bacteria in your wounds. That’s what my doc said…
Well, in my crash, I was forced to brake suddenly, and went head over handlebars: so the bike is in fact fine! It has a few scratches on the brakes and aerobars (as the front end would have hit the ground) but apart from that it is fine. The bike most likely fell on me, I got the bad part of the fall. My giro helmet saved me. I’ve tested the bike on the turbo and it’s working alright. I won’t be able to test it on the road for another few weeks though … I’ll give the handlebars another careful exam since you mention them specifically.
Yeah the road rash is the most annoying part, especially regarding the pool: then I could have done 1-arm swimming and aqua-running at least. On top of that, I have to see a nurse/doc every few days to make sure the road rash is healing alright.
Make sure your road rash is healed completely before hitting the pool. I crashed a year ago and just got the usual leg/butt/elbow. I went swimming the next day and ended up with a serious infection.
Thanks for the tip about the fork, I had the guys at B&L check my bike out front to back. They got a laught when I brought my front Zipp 404 which was taco’d and broken in three pieces in and asked Dan if he could true it
