Hi I am a seventeen year old triathlete and a week ago I fractured my wrist falling off my bike. I have to wear a cast now for four weeks which as you can imagine for me is really frustrating as I can t do as much training as I normally would. The doctors gave me a waterproof cast so I can still do my some swim training and they said I can cycle on a stationary bike. What I am really worried about though is if I am going to lose lots of fitness in the month I am in a cast as I can t do as much training. when I have the cast removed will it take me ages to gain the strength back in my arm as I have a qualifying race for worlds two weeks after I am supposed to get the cast removed and then nationals a month after. Will I be ok to race these? I have worked hard to get to where I am with my fitness at the moment and I really don t want to lose it. Does anyone else have a similar experience? I have been for a few runs with the cast on and it’s ok but I can’t run as fast as I normally would because of the weight and awkwardness of the cast. I am really really worried about losing my fitness.
Distal radius? Just relax!
If you are able to run and bike, you can build fitness over a month. Stick to trainer sessions on the bike, maybe treadmill or track for run training ( in case you need to stop because of discomfort, and then aren’t miles from home, and reducing the risk of falling), and swim drills with no pulling with that arm.
A broken bone needs to heal properly ( if it is a distal radius you should heal very quickly)- you are only a week out so take your time with this. If you have to miss a race you have to miss a race. When you go back for your next x-rays, and you are healing nicely then ask them about a moldable and slimmer cast/splint ( the ones they heat up in the little ovens). Maybe an orthopod will chime in and give you some better advice on this…
Good luck!
You can probably run all you want, so get out there and run. Your cast should be coming off in 4 to 6 weeks, where are your races?