# How to speed up recovery process for broken bones?



## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Broke my collar bone yesterday.

How to speed up recovery?


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## Tone's (Nov 12, 2011)

Mate, theres no speeding up recovery with a collar bone, ive done the same one twice, you just need to go easy on it and let time heal it, bones do heal very quickly if your young n healthy, so just give it rest, your own body will tell you when its ready to go again, but obviously listen to your Doc, wait the required time and then your a good as gold baring any complications, and any pain in the area or your arm will tell you if theres any dramas after your healing time, cheers


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## kjlued (Jun 23, 2011)

I broke my collar bone about 6 years ago in a motorcycle accident. It was clean break but pretty bad where it was completely separated. I think if I remember correctly it took about 6 weeks before I was riding my motorcycle again. I would probably give it a little longer before riding a mountain bike at least before any jumps or going over severely rocky or rooty terrain. 

There is no speeding it up the healing but you can hinder it by trying to do too much too fast. Just take it easy for now and use your head when you get ready to ride.


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## scottz123 (Jun 16, 2012)

I knew a guy who raced moto-cross and he broke his leg - he was in a cast with crutches. TWO WEEKS after the he broke it he was racing. 

I asked what was up - I thought you broke your leg? It ended up that his wife was a Veterinarian and had a goverment contract to fix up eagles and other endangered species.
He said that he had her give him the same steroids (said human meds are what they give animals) that they gave eagles for broken legs - explained it to me that if an eagle breaks a leg you cannot have it splinted up for 6 week waiting for it to heal - it will lose it's 'wildness' - said the birds were up and going in a matter of days. 
Now I knew this guy played with steroids before he met his wife - so I don't know if he got stuff black market or really from her - But it kind of explains some of the 'amazing recoveries ' professional athletes get from injuries. Ray Lewis this year with his tricep, Adrian peterson with his ACL - in less then a year comes back better than ever. 

A quick internet search (steroid bone healing) shows a lot of results. Look up IGF-1, GH and deca


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## Tone's (Nov 12, 2011)

LOL Scottz, so what are you suggesting lol, this place cracks me up sometimes hehehe


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## phoenixnr (Jul 26, 2009)

Call Lance

"So I'm packing my bag for the misty mountain.."


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## scottz123 (Jun 16, 2012)

The man says he wants to heal faster. Just letting him know there are options available.
It is out there more than you think - ever notice how pro athletes pitch / hit better near the end of their career- or when they are in last year of contract?
Colin Kaepernick - QB for 49ers - put on 40lbs in less than 2 years.

Now there are also 'over the counters' available' with minerals, etc. Some people swear by "Arnica"

Heal Broken Bones Faster with Natural Medicine


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## MTBeing (Jan 11, 2012)

'Deer antler spray' says Ray.


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## Tone's (Nov 12, 2011)

scottz123 said:


> The man says he wants to heal faster. Just letting him know there are options available.
> It is out there more than you think - ever notice how pro athletes pitch / hit better near the end of their career- or when they are in last year of contract?
> Colin Kaepernick - QB for 49ers - put on 40lbs in less than 2 years.
> 
> ...


I agree that Arnica is phenominal stuff, with swelling and bruising it works wonders, i use it all the time, but it wont help with bone healing.
Yes calcium and minerals might help a tiny bit, but we are only talking a very minute amount for an isolated broken bone imo.
If you are young n healthy its going to heal pretty quick imo.
Until i see a scientific study saying taking minerals after the break has hapend will cut your recovery time by anything more than a miniscule amount i wont believe it..
cheers


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## -Todd- (Jun 13, 2011)

How old are you, OP? Age plays a huge part of it... I broke my clav a few years ago, and required surgery to get it all back together. I was holding my kids again within 5 days, the bone healed much faster as it wasn't being stressed day to day. Was on my bike within a couple weeks.


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## scottz123 (Jun 16, 2012)

Tone's said:


> I agree that Arnica is phenominal stuff, with swelling and bruising it works wonders, i use it all the time, but it wont help with bone healing.
> Yes calcium and minerals might help a tiny bit, but we are only talking a very minute amount for an isolated broken bone imo.
> If you are young n healthy its going to heal pretty quick imo.
> Until i see a scientific study saying taking minerals after the break has hapend will cut your recovery time by anything more than a miniscule amount i wont believe it..
> cheers


Probably will not find much on Arnica since most studies are sponsored by drug companies. My wife use to manage a doctors office - Those Phizer drug reps really knew how to entertain!

See footnote's on studies
http://www.betterbones.com/bonefracture/speedhealing.pdf

Here's a study on Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen improves bone repair after surgery or a fracture, study suggests

This one is from some place called Harvard. 
Vitamins and Minerals Play Important Roles in Bone Health

Ray's Deer Antler source
The SWATS Edge | Sports With Alternatives to Steroids


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Thanks for the article links.

Your first link appears to be contradicted by the second link though? The betterbones.com PDF says to avoid ibuprofen as it will slow bone healing but then the second link says that ibuprofen is good for bone healing?

_*Pain relievers and fracture healing*
"Cells damaged from the trauma of fracture release large amounts of inflammatory prostaglandins at the site of fracture. The ensuing inflammation causes pain and the natural tendency is to want to block this painful reaction. In this case, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (COX‐1 and COX‐2 inhibitors) might be the medication we reach for to relieve the pain. The use of these COX‐1 and COX‐2 inhibitors, however, can delay fracture healing. As it turns out, prostaglandin‐induced inflammation is an essential component of the fracture healing process, and cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX‐1 and COX‐2) play important roles in fracture repair. These inflammatory prostaglandins are a natural and essential part of initial tissue repair and the initial inflammatory immune response is crucial to fracture healing. Because of this, the use of non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory pain killers (NSAIDs) is not recommended for fracture pain relief. Among the NSAID COX‐1 and COX‐2 inhibitor drugs to be avoided are aspirin, ibuprofen, indomethacin, etodolac (Lodine), meloxicam (Mobic), nabumetone (Relafen), and naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn)."_ *BetterBones.com PDF page9*

http://www.betterbones.com/bonefracture/speedhealing.pdf

.


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## scottz123 (Jun 16, 2012)

thanks for catching that - I must have skipped page 9


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

You can get bone stimulators which apparently speed up the healing of broken bones.

In the UK they were recently reviewed by NICE as to whether they work:

_Patients using EXOGEN place an ultrasound probe on the skin for 20 minutes a day and the treatment, done at home, is entirely pain free and there are no known side effects. Clinical studies have shown EXOGEN to have an equivalent 86% success rate as surgery.

NICE looked at 17 separate clinical studies involving over 1700 patients and concluded that the clinical benefits were clear: "the available clinical data on the effectiveness of EXOGEN for treating long bone fractures with non-union show high rates of fracture healing."_ *Pharmiweb.com*

UK?s NICE Offers Guidance Supporting EXOGEN Device - News Press Release | PharmiWeb.com

How our Broken Bones Healing System Works | EXOGEN Ultrasound Bone Healing System

http://www.healmybone.com/upload/document/exogen_-_nice_guidance_mtg12_-_hcp.pdf

It's something I raised with the consultant (UK NHS hospital) about my broken leg a while ago but he didn't seem very enthusiastic about. I'm going to mention it again next time I go back for an outpatients appointment too.

You also have some other new treatments that are supposedly helpful for healing injuries- Regenokine, PRP, stem cells etc. Have a look at this link: 

Kobe Bryant, Dr. Chris Renna, and the Regenokine knee treatment - Grantland

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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks for all the advise folks. 

I am 45, coming to 46 soon. I will be depressed if unable to ride for a week. Cannot imagine I will be grounded for at least 6 weeks. 

My riding mates told me blood circulation to the broken bone areas helps in the healing process. If I regularly ride on trainers, and put hot packs on my collar bone it may increase blood flow to wounded areas. I also bought calcium supplement, and intend to go under the sun (lucky i live in tropical country) on a daily basis to speed up the healing process. Hope I could ride again in 4 weeks time.

Appreciate your thoughts dudes. All suggestions will be appreciated.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

WR304 said:


> UK?s NICE Offers Guidance Supporting EXOGEN Device - News Press Release | PharmiWeb.com
> 
> How our Broken Bones Healing System Works | EXOGEN Ultrasound Bone Healing System
> 
> ...


Hi WR304, the EXOGEN looks interesting. Where can I buy online? The EXOGEN website does not seems to distribute the gadget to my country. Cheers!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Are they going to operate and put some plates in to hold the collarbone together? That would be the fastest way to recover, although it isn't risk free.

In 2011 for example Colin Edwards broke his collarbone, had it operated on straight away and managed a podium at the next MotoGP round just a week later.

Colin Edwards gave MCN this X-ray of his collarbone, complete... on Twitpic

Colin Edwards grits teeth to take 3rd at Silverstone

His team mate Cal Crutchlow broke his collarbone shortly after, had it operated on and was back racing the week after also.

That's definitely the exception to the rule though. The problem with having lots of metalwork and barely healed bones is that if you crash on it again in the short term you can potentially make everything much worse. Unless you have to then it's better not to rush back before you're fully healed. Damaging areas where you've been injured before results in increasing difficulties if it ever has to be repaired again (breaking my leg where it had had so many operations on before is a good example. That's wrecked. :madman: ) Have a look at this long Pinkbike thread about broken collarbones too. 

Broken Collar Bone Recovery Time - Pinkbike Forum

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## mtnbikej (Sep 6, 2001)

You think 6 weeks is bad.......try 15 weeks for broken ankle.

Suck it up buttercup.

Yes you can rush back and ride before you are completely healed....but risk never healing properly.


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## aedubber (Apr 17, 2011)

Get laid on your down time , eat good , and do some cardio . Let it heal in time and properly .


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

A little tidbit about Calcium supplements;

Look for Calcium CITRATE. Most stuff you will find is Calcium CARBONATE, which is NOT absorbed as easily by the body. In particular, look for 'Calcium Citrate with Vitamin D'. The D is believed to help in absorption, if I remember correctly. And take it with a BIG glass of OJ, and make sure you get enough Vitamin C, which also helps absorption.

Pubmed sez:



> The capacity of the small intestine to absorb calcium salts depends on the solubility and ionization of the salts. These properties vary for different salts, with fasting calcium citrate absorption being greater than that of calcium lactogluconate and calcium carbonate.


So, that also tells you to take it in the morning, before you eat.

While on vitamins, definitely get a few appointments with a nutritionist and some blood drawn to get a vitamin regime down. A plain multivitamin doesn't always cut it, because not all multivitamins are 'complete', and every body is different with different needs. I take Calcium Citrate with D, a carefully selected multivitamin (it says something silly like Adult Male health for heart and eyes, even though I am a young female with a great ticker. Don't trust the advertising, read the labels), a super B-vitamin complex (better than caffeine, Niacin is no joke. BE CAREFUL!), Iron (ferrous sulfate in particular, which is also more readily absorbed. Most people don't need this, I get anemic. You know it is working cause it turns your poop black! :thumbsup, and L-lysine (believed to have anti-viral attributes. I used to get lots of colds. )

If vitamins are balanced, it is one less thing for your body to worry about so it can focus on healing your bones! :thumbsup:


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## seandm (Mar 18, 2004)

Having broken many bones from riding and the fact that I am a klutz myself, I have used arnica as well as a Chinese teapill called "The Great Menderer" or "Bone Menderer". Seems to help with the healing for me, but could just be all in my mind. I also find Yoga and Tai Chi helps get the body moving again over time.

If you can find a real TCM practitioner that practices accupuncture, then give that a whirl.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks for all the advises folks. 2nd x-ray shows that my collarbone broke into few pieces. Only way to speed up the recovery process is surgery. Will be going for operation this Friday to put metal plate and screws.


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## 2bfluid (Aug 17, 2008)

+1 for seeing acupuncturist and I don't mean a chiropractor or PT who does acupuncture. My wife practices Traditional Chinese Medicine and has cut months also my recovery times, repeatedly. 

I would recommend going to see an acupuncturist before surgery to prep for, and come up with a treatment plan for after your surgery. They can help boost your immune system before the anesthesia knocks it down and get your energy level back quicker so your body heals faster. 

I argued that acupuncture didn't work for years. But damn if it didn't keep working.


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## Simplemind (Jul 17, 2006)

You'll get the standard answer from the Docs...bone heals in 6 weeks period. If you mess with it too much you run the risk of a non-union. You don't want that.


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## bstoic (Feb 22, 2013)

I hear Jesus can heal things like that pretty quick.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Advisable to ride trainer 1 week after operation?


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

How did the operation on your collarbone go? Can you move both arms freely? When I had a shoulder operation a few years ago I sat on the turbo trainer riding one armed and that was ok.

My outpatients appointment last Monday went well. Where there was a 8mm gap between the two ends of bone in my left femur three weeks ago it's grown back together already! About 2/3 of the bone is connected with a big lump of new bone on the inside. The outside of the bone isn't joined but I wasn't expecting anything at all. They're going to leave the fixator on for probably another two months, so that more bone can grow and then it has to solidify enough to be strong.

I've been taking MSM Sulfur (Methylsulphonylmethane) tablets 3g per day for the last month. Considering how not much bone growth had happened since I broke the leg last August it was quite surprising how much bone has started growing back in just 3 weeks. I'm moving my leg around easily. MSM sulfur is supposed to be good for lots of things, including joints and connective tissue. It's unclear whether that's what's helping with healing my leg. The leg lengthening procedure of moving the bones apart is supposed to encourage bone growth too, so it could just be down to that instead.

Lifeplan Super Strength MSM Methylsulphonylmethane 1500mg 90 Tablets: none: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

All Natural: Natural Healing and Longevity Resource Center

This link explains how the Ilizarov technique encourages bone growth. This is what is being tried with my broken left femur.

About Limb Lengthening

I asked the consultant about using a bone stimulator to speed up the healing but he said no, as they were discouraged from using them apart from in the worst cases. The reason being purely cost (UK NHS hospital).

Bone fractures: A blast of sound helps bones heal faster and can be used at home | Mail Online

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## axisofoil (Aug 21, 2012)

Isn't Milk supposed to support growing strong bones?


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## onobed (Dec 27, 2007)

I broke my collar bone around the same time you did. surgery was last week. Doc said no problem on riding the trainer. Just make sure not to fall. However, I also fractured L1 so sitting is not super comfortable.

I would be interested to hear what your doc says on the matter.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks for all the advises.

The operation went well. I was riding on trainer one week after the op. My arm was free from sling today, about 2 weeks after op. The spiky pain still there, especially at night while sleeping and waking up. Will be back to work on 11th March, 3 weeks after the op. According to my physiotherapist, I can only attempt to raise my arm straight up 6 weeks after the op. As for riding, my doc advise 3 months after the op. Full strength will be 6 months to 1 year. Can't wait to be back in action again!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

When I crashed and broke my left femur last August I dislocated my left clavicle too. The collarbone itself wasn't broken so it wasn't as bad as yours. All the area around my shoulder and chest on the left side turned black with bruising though and there's still a big lump on top of my shoulder.

Sleeping with a hot water bottle on my shoulder to keep the damaged areas warm at night seemed to help make it more comfortable and bearable.

The shoulder was very weak and sore for quite a long time where all the muscles and connective tissue had been damaged. What seems to be sorting that out is doing light resistance work and shoulder/ chest exercises every day. Rather than trying to get straight back up to the weights that I was at before I've been keeping them low to give the connective tissue time to get used to working again.

The muscles around my neck were sore too. Using a neck sling with a light weight attached (as low as 1 to 2kg initially) and 3 sets of 10 reps is a good way to strengthen the neck muscles again. With the weight attached you bend your neck down and then back up again to work the neck muscles. It's a useful exercise to do for mountain biking in general also. When you're riding offroad on rough terrain having strong neck muscles helps to stabilise your head for better vision and less blurring.









Maximuscle Neck Sling 
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## meLoveDirt (Feb 22, 2013)

Hi, some interesting stuff here. Especially about the anabolic steroids.
I just thought I would throw this in ... I broke a bone in my back a few years ago and looked into what I could do. I needed something mentally just to help me feel as if I was doing something as there isnt a lot you can do with a broken bone. Anyway I looked into hyperbaric treatment. Its principle simplified is that more oxygen is forced into the capillaries of the crush injury and helps recovery. I think in the US it is pretty expensive per session, like over $100. Here in Ireland I was able to at the time get a discount on it and it worked out about €50 per session. Many people don't believe in it , but for me at the time I felt it helped. I would think the sooner you teat it with this therapy the better.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

It has been 7 weeks since my collarbone surgery. Wonder when can I start riding the trails. Doc advised 12 to 24 weeks. I am getting bored. Meanwhile, ride around my neighborhood to keep my legs' muscles active...


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## 2bfluid (Aug 17, 2008)

Can you ride like you're injured? Basically meaning ride like a pansy? Do you have the self control not to push yourself? Do you have trails in the area that aren't Pumpy and jarring? Do you know any seven year olds you could go ride with? 
They would dig it and you won't be trying to keep pace with your buddies. 

Its your body, its your recovery and it is up to you. Listen to your body verses your brain. Remember that you don't even have to come close to falling to re- injure yourself and double to triple your recovery time. 

Good luck and heal fast.


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## onobed (Dec 27, 2007)

chris9888 said:


> It has been 7 weeks since my collarbone surgery. Wonder when can I start riding the trails. Doc advised 12 to 24 weeks. I am getting bored. Meanwhile, ride around my neighborhood to keep my legs' muscles active...
> 
> View attachment 788169


It's all about not falling and not jarring it. That's what my doc said. He would prefer I not do it - risk. But many people do. I am doing a lot of road riding now - 8 weeks out. But here is what I do: full stop at every intersection. No track stands. And assume everyone wants to hit me.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Thanks for advise mates.

Besides riding, can I do push-up or some light weights on my shoulder?


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## onobed (Dec 27, 2007)

I am seven weeks from Clavicle surgery (8 weeks from the break) and my PT is strongly recommending not doing weights, or at least nothing strenuous until I have full range of motion pain free. I do three different sets of exercises with minimal weight - maybe one pound - that move the joint in different directions. Total of about 120 reps to give you an idea of how minimal the weight is.

I had an acl replacement, and this recovery is quite different. With the ACL, it was all about how much pain you could bear. With this, she said, it is about getting movement first and then adding strength. Also, I was told, and need to look this up myself, that bone growth really kicks into high gear in the seventh week or so.

Anyway, I am just working on motion. The one time I found myself in a pushup type position, I was in pain the next day. My pt is having me work on range of motion and it is remarkable the strides I am making.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

onobed said:


> I am seven weeks from Clavicle surgery (8 weeks from the break) and my PT is strongly recommending not doing weights, or at least nothing strenuous until I have full range of motion pain free. I do three different sets of exercises with minimal weight - maybe one pound - that move the joint in different directions. Total of about 120 reps to give you an idea of how minimal the weight is.
> 
> I had an acl replacement, and this recovery is quite different. With the ACL, it was all about how much pain you could bear. With this, she said, it is about getting movement first and then adding strength. Also, I was told, and need to look this up myself, that bone growth really kicks into high gear in the seventh week or so.
> 
> Anyway, I am just working on motion. The one time I found myself in a pushup type position, I was in pain the next day. My pt is having me work on range of motion and it is remarkable the strides I am making.


Thanks mate! I got it. Movement comes first then build on strength.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

There are some threads on the Thumpertalk motocross forum about collarbones, and what to do whilst recovering from them.

_"In every fracture operation there is a race between bone healing and fatigue fracture of the plate. The absolute best way to fatigue fracture the plate is, as happened to one of our guys, to have a repaired fracture, still not healed, absorb a great deal of vibratory stress as on a long off road ride. And this will happen even in the absence of a bad get off.

So the moral of this story is, guys shouldn't be riding until the X-ray shows that the bone is HEALED. Prior to the bone healing, the clavicle will feel pretty good and a guy can easily be deceived into thinking that they are ready for anything.
...
While the fix is simple. The broken plate is removed and a new one installed, typically without a bone graft. But, who needs to have a second operation when it may not have been necessary."_ *Dr Mark Sanders*

https://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/623130-attention-broken-collarbone-patients/

My last outpatients appointment was three weeks ago, after the initial promising start the bone on the inside of the leg appears to be solidifying but there's still a roughly 1cm x 1cm gap on the outside where new bone isn't growing back.

I'm normally quite good at crashing (lots of practice  ). The problem with this crash was that I was still attached to the bike so couldn't tuck and roll. I was trying to accelerate across a roundabout when my right foot came unclipped from the SPD pedal under full power. My right foot flew forwards and jammed between the front wheel and fork, breaking several spokes in the front wheel.










With the front wheel still completely locked by my foot the bike then flipped straight over at 16mph. From the damage spread evenly across the front of the handlebars, brake lever clamps and stem faceplate it looks like the front end was driven straight down into the tarmac.










I landed on my left shoulder, left hip and left thigh, dislocating my left clavicle and fracturing my left femur. I didn't slide at all, just a hard impact. Fortunately a passer by was able to pull my trapped foot out of the front wheel so that I could crawl out of the busy main road and lie down.

My left leg was a mess to begin with. It's had lots of previous operations and a major fasciotomy so there's barely anything left of the thigh besides scar tissue. My left leg is also paralysed from the knee down with poor circulation. When I re-broke the femur it wasn't a healthy bone, imagine a rotten branch, hollow on the inside with a MRSA bone infection just to make it more hassle. With a normal broken femur you can put a titanium pin inside for a quick repair. Because of the bone infection the hospital don't want to risk that as operating would make it flare up again.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

WR304, that is damn serious compared to mine!

Noted your advice, take care bro...


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

The main thing with metalwork like the plate in your collarbone is that now it's in place you're trying to make it last. Avoiding any further operations on the collarbone for as long as possible. 

As soon as you start damaging your shoulders, collarbone etc you have to be a bit careful with push ups. Push ups put a lot of strain and body weight through the collarbone and surrounding areas. There are different types of push ups, the standing wall sort being easiest, progressing through to the harder "normal" push up, where you're supporting most of your body weight on your arms. If you want to do push ups, only after you're given the go ahead to begin taking more weight on the collarbone, you could begin gently with wall push ups and then gradually build up to the harder variants as your strength improves. After not using the muscles for several weeks you'll have lost some upper body strength, which takes time to recover.










For shoulder and upper body strength I gave up on push ups and pull ups a long time ago. Historic injuries of a bad right shoulder (operated on in the mid 1990s to stop it repeatedly dislocating), shattered left elbow (late 1990s, elbow doesn't bend fully anymore) and now a bad left shoulder from the dislocated left clavicle (August 2012) make them too uncomfortable. Lots of crunching and grinding from the joints.

I prefer to do weight training for upper body strength instead. Using extremely light weights to begin with, and then gradually building up is a lot easier on your joints. By doing exercises lying down like bench press (light weights) and flat dumbbell flys (light weights) your upper body and shoulders have some support from the bench, which helps a bit with shoulder comfort as you strengthen the upper body muscles. 










https://gymper.com/best-gym-workout-exercises/best-chest-exercises/dumbbell-flys


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## hymus (Dec 17, 2010)

*Speedy Recover From Collar Bone Surgery*

I just broke my collar bone 4 weeks ago and had surgery two weeks ago to insert the plate and screws. The boens were gradually seperating and the shoulder was pulling in. I have heard of a couple options to help the healing process - laser therapy and acupunture. Both are advertised as beneficial to increase the blood flow to the area to speed up the healing and reduce inflamation. Will let you know how it goes.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

hymus said:


> I just broke my collar bone 4 weeks ago and had surgery two weeks ago to insert the plate and screws. The boens were gradually seperating and the shoulder was pulling in. I have heard of a couple options to help the healing process - laser therapy and acupunture. Both are advertised as beneficial to increase the blood flow to the area to speed up the healing and reduce inflamation. Will let you know how it goes.


Sorry to hear that. 
I feel your pain, take care bro.


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## hymus (Dec 17, 2010)

Thx Chris. Speaking of pain, believe it or not the pain is almost zero since day one for the break The rib cage took a huge hit, no borken ribs but massive pain. Luckily that is gone now. Other than that, the only pain I had was for two days post op. Post op, 2 days in a sling and I am good to go with the arm movement below the shoulder and no lifting.... As the swelling is going down, I am gaining more movement. The big pain is being off the bike for so long...... hard to go through the garage and see them hanging there..... Thinking of finding some big boy training wheels to put on the crusier....


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## hymus (Dec 17, 2010)

*Post Op Visit*

Doc said it all looks good. No liftingor arm above the shoulder for the next 4 weeks. After that I should be able to rehab.

J


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

hymus said:


> Doc said it all looks good. No liftingor arm above the shoulder for the next 4 weeks. After that I should be able to rehab.
> 
> J


Looks like your surgeon has done a great job.
Good to go bro, speedy recovery


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

I saw the consultant for my outpatients appointment. He had the results of the CT scan from last week and decided that the external fixator can finally be removed. Five months with the frame on is about what he thought originally (four to six months).

Removing the external fixator is going to mean going back in for an operation in three weeks time. The seven metal pins for the external fixator are drilled right through the femur bone so it will be under general anaesthetic again to remove it. 

Once the pins are removed I'll only be allowed to partial weight bear on my left leg for at least a month afterwards. The holes need to fill in a bit for the bone to strengthen. Because the bone isn't very healthy to begin with it could potentially break at the points where the pins were drilled through. I won't even be allowed to ride a stationary bike during that time.

After that it will hopefully be ok and gradually get stronger over time. I'm not totally convinced the fracture site is healed properly, there's still a gap on the outside and it looks nasty on the CT scan but the consultant seemed to think it was enough bone.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

WR304 said:


> I saw the consultant for my outpatients appointment. He had the results of the CT scan from last week and decided that the external fixator can finally be removed. Five months with the frame on is about what he thought originally (four to six months).
> 
> Removing the external fixator is going to mean going back in for an operation in three weeks time. The seven metal pins for the external fixator are drilled right through the femur bone so it will be under general anaesthetic again to remove it.
> 
> ...


All the best to you bro


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

My operation date to remove the external fixator is 7 June 2013 now.

That's a bit longer than I was expecting but from Monday's x-rays it looks to be continuing to grow new bone around the fracture site, which is a good thing as there's still a gap on the outside of the femur with no bone in it. The operation is going to be day surgery but under general anaesthetic. Apparently I'll be allowed home the same day.

Not sleeping very well sucks. What I've been trying is taking 5-htp & melatonin supplements together before bedtime. 5-htp in particular seems to work well for improved sleep quality. If you can get some deep sleep you'll wake up feeling better the next morning, hopefully encouraging extra bone healing too.

http://www.gnet.org/5-htp-a-natural-remedy-for-depression-or-a-step-into-the-unknown/

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/melatonin-and-sleep

Another supplement that I've been trying before going to sleep is "Wobenzym N". It's supposed to help as a natural painkiller and anti-inflammatory. I'm not totally convinced but short term it seems to help, wearing off after a few hours. It could easily be placebo effect though.

http://www.douglaslabs.com/wobenzymps/science.html

http://www.wobenzymps.net/Wobenzym-Aging.html


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

Hi All, I broke my collar bone almost three weeks now, I just has surgery last Thursday. Looks like everything is going well but sometimes i have these needle pain that come and goes, also around the surgery is very sensitive and numb. Next week they should remove my stitches and hopefully I feel better to move my arm a little more. 

my questions are:
Do you guys still feel some kinda of pain?
How much you guys can do after you are off the sling? Can you guys drive? Handle a screwdriver? you things like that
and last
What do you guys recommend a trainer or stationary bike? ( i am not afraid of riding the bike if i get the all clear from Doc! However i don't want have a delay in the recovery or dont want to risk it!!

Hope you guys are healing faster and doing good!


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

The effect of collarbone surgery quite standard: numbness and sharp needle pain.

I would not advise you to use too much strength on the operated side of your shoulder especially if you still feel the pain. For me, I keep fit by riding on trainer without putting my arms on the bar until my collarbone don't feel pain anymore.

Take care and speedy recovery!



gera72 said:


> Hi All, I broke my collar bone almost three weeks now, I just has surgery last Thursday. Looks like everything is going well but sometimes i have these needle pain that come and goes, also around the surgery is very sensitive and numb. Next week they should remove my stitches and hopefully I feel better to move my arm a little more.
> 
> my questions are:
> Do you guys still feel some kinda of pain?
> ...


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## pharmaboy (Nov 11, 2005)

One thing that hasn't been mentioned, is to increase blood flow by exercise. Keep your metabolism up by doing 1hr sessions on the trainer every day, more blood flow into the bone, faster healing.

Second one, as mentioned don't take NSAIDs , acetaminophen / paracetamol only


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## YamaDan (Mar 24, 2011)

Sorry everyone has a tale to tell about the clavicle.. I gotta say, this one does hurt. I apparently don't like my right shoulder too much... Back in 97, I broke the clavicle in three places, they put me in a figure eight and pulled... it went back in to a reasonable place and I avoided surgery. 3-4 weeks before I could wipe my butt with my right arm, 8 weeks before I was "riding.." at least 12 before dirt.

2007, MX accident, bike decided to go a different way in the air, shatterd the head of the humerous, dislocated, rotator cuff and bankart repair. Close to two years before I could wash my hair with my right arm. That one was rough.

4 weeks ago, collided with a deer on a singletrack downhill. Broke 3 ribs, shattered the end of the right clavicle..uhggg. Surgery to put in a plate, and put all the peices back. They had to shave down the previous fracture to make room for the plate. I'm 3 weeks post op, and it still HURTS! I'm trying not to go overboard with pain meds, and am using more ice..that does help.

As far as speeding up the healing process. I'm going to the gym every other day riding the go nowhere bike for 30 min, and the elipticle for 30 min. I'm very leary about the shoulder, and am doing the hanging circles and wall crawls trying to get to 90. I don't want to get frozen shoulder again. 

The one thing I did want to say to people about doing too much too soon, I have a friend who pushed it, was doing wall push ups at 3 - 4 weeks, was on his bike at 6.. his never healed correctally, he had to get a plate, and ultimately a bone graft..

Ask your Dr, and if he says don't, then don't.. if he says go for it, then let pain be your guide. Ask for PT, that will make the healing process much better!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Colliding with a deer sounds like a really annoying way to seriously injure yourself. How are you supposed to avoid a deer if it jumps right out in front of you without warning?

Putting a foot through the front wheel due to a worn SPD cleat in contrast is totally avoidable. Just embarrassing to crash like that.









The people that I really envy are the ones in their 70s and 80s who are still healthy enough to get out and ride every week. It's something to aspire to I think.

For my broken leg I've gradually built up to doing at least an hour per day walking on crutches (full weight bearing on the left leg, not hopping), and then light weight training and exercises for 50 minutes each evening also. It's not much use for collarbones but when you're allowed to put weight on the leg by standing it helps encourage bone growth. It took a few months but walking on elbow crutches has gone a long way to helping with my dislocated clavicle too. The action of walking on crutches is a really good shoulder workout.

On my walk this morning I even passed somebody! I did 1h30 walking and on the way back there was an old man and his wife, both using walking sticks and going extremely slowly along the pavement after hernia surgeries. On my crutches I accelerated effortlessly past with a cheery morning. That's the first time in several months that I've managed to pass anyone.


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

Man! Collide with a deer, that must be hard,, hopefully you guys heal faster! My pain is very tolerable, just going nuts right now trying to do things and not being able.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

One thing that's worth doing as soon as you're injured, especially if it's going to take several months to recover, is to try and get on top of your diet and how many calories you're eating as soon as possible.

You need calories and nutrients to heal but it's easy to continue eating enough for your normal exercise level, even though you're sedentary and propped in front of the TV. Feeling miserable, comfort eating and piling on the pounds just makes it harder to get back to full fitness post injury. I was still eating like I was going to be able to get on the bike the next day.

You have to remind yourself that you're an athlete. Bingo wings and a wobbly stomach really don't go well with that statement.

What I've been doing for the last few months is logging all my food intake via Free Calorie Counter, Diet & Exercise Journal | MyFitnessPal.com Along with the website there's a free mobile app so you can scan barcodes on food for easy entry. As well as helping to get a grip on what you're eating it's also something to do for killing time.

I also got a set of Withings WS-30 wifi scales in March to try and stop my weight gain. (149lbs approx August 2012 up to 176 lbs mid March, although some of that is the external fixator). The scales automatically upload your weight to My Fitness Pal so that there's a record of body weight added each day.









Withings scale results since March 2013 (weight is in lbs)

Withings - Smart products and apps - Homepage










Sample day showing what I've been eating (not amazing quality still but better than I was doing, which was terrible.)


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

I hope you guys recovering is going well, My diet is my weakness and i need to do a better job at keeping calories down, because like u guys said, the recovery will be long. On the other hand, I hace a question, How much you guys go out of the house? A week after the surgery i feel fine to go out, but not sure if i should do. i been going to th store and things like that but not sure if i should, dont want to be moving that bone too much.. What u guys think?

thanks again guys!!!


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

Hi Guys, Two weeks after the surgery and arm movement is better, but what really bothers me is the wierd sensation around my chest(below my incision) and shoulder, I remove the sling in the house and only using it when I go out for another two weeks. Dr. said is ok to go back to work on light duty. However I ask for another two weeks to let it heal better in the house.

Do you guys have the same feeling sensation around the incision/shoulder?(if you had sugery)
Also looks like T-shirt/clothers bothers me Do you guys know of a cream that might help minimize this weird sensation?
thanks


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## pharmaboy (Nov 11, 2005)

Sensation changed over time for me. At 5 months I still couldn't wear a suit jacket comfortably but a few months later its not a problem . 100% healing is a year long journey, but 90% is only 2 months away if you get what I mean


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Gera, the sensation is caused by damage of nerves during surgery. It will take a while to heal. It has been 3 months after my collarbone surgery and I still feel numbness. Be patience, it is part of recovery process.


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## onobed (Dec 27, 2007)

I am three months removed and just starting to get sensation back. The first thing I noticed was the plate. Initially ( after a few weeks) I felt some pulling in my sternum but that is gone. 

I think time is what is needed.


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

Thanks- Patience - Patience!!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

gera72 said:


> Hi Guys, Two weeks after the surgery and arm movement is better, but what really bothers me is the wierd sensation around my chest(below my incision) and shoulder, I remove the sling in the house and only using it when I go out for another two weeks. Dr. said is ok to go back to work on light duty. However I ask for another two weeks to let it heal better in the house.
> 
> Do you guys have the same feeling sensation around the incision/shoulder?(if you had sugery)
> Also looks like T-shirt/clothers bothers me Do you guys know of a cream that might help minimize this weird sensation?
> thanks


With time it should settle. In six months to a year it ought to feel a lot better.

There are a few things you could try also. You can get scar softening creams and gels which will help to soften the surgical scar and make it feel a bit more like normal skin, rather than a hard scar.

Scarfade Scar Gel
http://www.amazon.com/Hanson-Medical-Scarfade-Scar-Gel/dp/B00014GUY0

Mederma Scar Gel
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PQBEAI

Applying scar gel regularly really helped to soften up the large skin grafts on my left arm and left leg. To begin with the scars were like cardboard.

You could also try anti-inflammatory cream over all the affected area of the shoulder and chest muscles. If there's any bruising left it should help reduce that. It used to be called Nature's Kiss Herbal Relief but the name has changed to Nature's Kiss anti-flamme now:

http://www.natureskissantiflammeusa...mmeextra&sid=ukwaq67x6w27gqceuj11o8k424g3o9o8

My operation to have the external fixator removed is *Friday* 7th June. This article was in the paper today as front page news. Time to bring my will up to date before then I guess...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10085112/Death-risk-lottery-of-NHS-surgery.html

.


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

WR304 said:


> My operation to have the external fixator removed is *Friday* 7th June. This article was in the paper today as front page news. Time to bring my will up to date before then I guess...
> 
> Death risk lottery of NHS surgery - Telegraph
> 
> .


Dont worry, everything will be fine!! we got to be patience!!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Along with the Friday surgery article there's this one too. I bet the woman who had the metal surgical instruments left inside her and was then sent for an MRI scan was fuming when she found out...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...ients-have-operations-on-wrong-body-part.html

My operation is supposed to be day surgery. It is going to be general anaesthetic though. They'll have a set of allen keys and some spanners, easy to mislay.

Also I'm sure it would be really annoying to have this happen.:lol:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...king-Corpse-Syndrome-believes-he-is-dead.html

.


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## rgurney (Sep 30, 2009)

It takes about 8 weeks for a bone to heal. You can't speed it up by overdosing on calcium or any other method. I broke my left clavicle twice, the last time mountain biking in Utah. 
The orthopedist laughed when I asked him if I would need surgery. He said as long the the bone pieces are in the same room, it will heal. It did. The clavicle is probably the worst bone to break because you can't keep it still easily. You quickly learn not to roll over on that side while sleeping at night. Good luck.


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## YamaDan (Mar 24, 2011)

I'm 7 weeks post op today.. It's healing well. I went out for a little spin on the road bike yesterday, during the ride it felt fine, today the shoulder is sore. I'm gonna do a light PT day today, mostly ROM stuff, and give it another week before I road bike it again. It's hard to be patient.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

My operation was moved forwards from Friday to Thursday at short notice.

It all went smoothly. We got to the hospital at 8am, down to theatre at 9.10am, general anaesthetic, conscious and back on the ward at 10.10am, allowed to get up around midday, picked up and driven home at 1pm. I've been resting since then but feel fine.

Because it was a quick operation I felt ok afterwards. Apart from the general anaesthetic there wasn't much medication either. No antibiotics and no painkillers which helps with a quick recovery and no sickness too. I was given some co-dydramol (codeine and paracetomol) tablets for coming home with but the leg doesn't hurt enough to need them. Codeine is liable to cause constipation so is on my avoid list of painkillers anyway (right up there with morphine which does nothing for pain and just makes me sick).

The dressings were bleeding a bit but that's settled down and they'll be changed in 3 days time.

For the next two weeks I'm limited to 20% weight bearing on the left leg, followed by an outpatients appointment to x-ray and review it.

Whilst on the day surgery ward there was a man opposite in his sixties who said that he'd never been in hospital for an operation before. I'm 36 and hospital is like a second home... Never mind.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Being in and out of hospital quickly is good for some things (avoiding infection, sleeping better at home, better food etc) but the downside is that if there is an issue at home help isn't available easily.

I had to do some dressing remodelling yesterday evening. At the moment it's got cotton wool wrapped round the leg with bandage over the top as an outer layer. Dried blood from the wounds ran into the cotton wool and dried hard, making it like cardboard and digging in beneath my leg. I've been cutting out the dried hard cotton wool to make it more comfortable.










I'm just taking it lightly and not standing fully on the leg for now, about the same as when it was broken last year. It actually feels ok but it's probably deceptive. There's no lying on my side either, as that puts a different set of forces through the bone. Although the leg feels ok the bone has seven hollow holes in and could be a little fragile until they begin to fill in. I can bend the knee close to 90 degrees too, although the dressings pull a bit.

For recovery I've been having plenty of protein shakes and it feels ok so far. It's a lot more comfortable without the pins being drilled in through the thigh so no need for painkillers. (Before picture)










When I stood on the scales this morning I was only 1.5lbs lighter than with the external fixator in place. I was hoping to lose about 20lbs. :lol: The weight loss effort needs some more effort yet. Hopefully I'll be able to start riding a turbo trainer in a few weeks which should help though.


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

Be patience! and wish you a quick as possible recovery!!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

My knee is a bit stiff and some soreness is coming out but it's not too bad. The cuts seem to be really small, although I haven't taken down the dressings fully yet to see if there are any stitches. The difficult part is remembering not to stand on the leg as it feels fine.

For the last few months I've been out walking every day on crutches, rain or shine. Going back to the routine of sitting in front of the TV whilst it's sunny outside instead isn't great.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

WR304 said:


> My knee is a bit stiff and some soreness is coming out but it's not too bad. The cuts seem to be really small, although I haven't taken down the dressings fully yet to see if there are any stitches. The difficult part is remembering not to stand on the leg as it feels fine.
> 
> For the last few months I've been out walking every day on crutches, rain or shine. Going back to the routine of sitting in front of the TV whilst it's sunny outside instead isn't great.


Take care bro. Wish you speedy recovery!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

I've taken all the bandages off my leg now. All the holes from the pins have closed up neatly so there's no need to cover them. I'm still wearing the clothes with a split down the side because they're looser though. I'm too chubby for the waistband of my normal clothes at the moment. I weigh 167lbs now that the external fixator is removed but need to get down to 149lbs again...

The leg feels a lot better without the pins through it. Whenever you moved with the pins it would "burn" and be quite a sharp sensation. The knee this morning was close to getting to 90 degrees too. Exercises are whatever I can manage. I'm being careful not to push too far still.










For TV at the weekend amongst other things I watched the Isle of Man TT senior race, the Closer to the Edge film about the Isle of Man TT, British Touring Cars, the Formula 1 and also the mountain bike world cup downhill from Fort William. There's definitely a message in there somewhere. Quite possibly I'm suffering from a bad case of need for speed disease and should be outdoors instead of stuck in front of the TV.


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## YamaDan (Mar 24, 2011)

Ahh...you win.. Ouch. I'll never complain about my little scar again. Dude...so sorry for you.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Most of those scars are old ones. The seven small black dots are where the external fixator pins were.

I've been having 2.5g of protein per kg of bodyweight each day, plenty of supplements and calcium, no painkillers, trowelling on the arnica cream to minimise the bruising and it all seems to be working so far, surprisingly well really.


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## solidass (Jan 20, 2013)

What did the doctor say?

I'd trust medical professionals instead of...


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## YamaDan (Mar 24, 2011)

YamaDan said:


> I'm 7 weeks post op today.. It's healing well. I went out for a little spin on the road bike yesterday, during the ride it felt fine, today the shoulder is sore. I'm gonna do a light PT day today, mostly ROM stuff, and give it another week before I road bike it again. It's hard to be patient.


So I did a short 28 miler RR yesterday..felt fine on the bike, and ok today.. gonna head over to the gym in a few to work it out a bit.. It felt so good to be back on the bike!!


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

YamaDan said:


> So I did a short 28 miler RR yesterday..felt fine on the bike, and ok today.. gonna head over to the gym in a few to work it out a bit.. It felt so good to be back on the bike!!


Good to see you progressing well!


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

WR304, no one would complain after seeing what you went through.

Rest well, heal up and share with us your progress!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

solidass said:


> What did the doctor say?
> 
> I'd trust medical professionals instead of...


When leaving the hospital after the day surgery I was told to not put much weight on my left leg (20% weight only), given a couple of fresh opsite dressings, a tubigrip bandage and some co-dydramol pain killers by the nurse and an appointment to come back 17 June for an outpatients appointment. That was it for instructions.

*Edit:*On the plus side I managed to lie on my front this morning to do some back stretches and extensions. That's the first time since August 2012 that I've been able to do that. It was good as the muscles were really tight and I've had a lot of backache.

I then tried to do some hamstring curls whilst lying on my front (without any weight added, just bending the knee). I managed 1 1/2 before my left knee was about to explode. It's a starting point anyway.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

I put my cycling shoes on today. The first time since 18 August 2012. Psychologically that was a big step. Live to ride. Ride to live.










My knee is getting more bend each day now so assuming I get the go ahead to do more it might even be for real next week, starting with turbo training to build some basic fitness.

I then took the shoes off, put my slippers back on and skilfully piloted my zimmer frame through to the front room, returning to sitting in front of the TV again.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

You look great on cycling shoes!

Good to know you are progressing. I am sure you will be up and riding in no time


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

Good to see that you are progressing well, Be patience and you will be in the bike very soon!


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## LaXCarp (Jul 19, 2008)

You could try grounding yourself to speed up the process. Do a google search on it. It is what animals do in the wild


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Here's a thread from Slowtwitch about having collarbone plates removed:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin...7021;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25

I had my first outpatients appointment and x-rays after the operation to remove the external fixator this afternoon. The femur is mostly in one piece at any rate, although not as good as I was hoping. It's still going to be at least another two months before I can possibly ride a bike outdoors.

Although the bone is together where the break itself was there is a dodgy section of bone just above the knee. This section of bone was where the lower pins of the external fixator had been drilled through. In the past it's also had another external fixator drilled in the same place, plus the lower fixings for a nail down the centre of the bone drilled through too. That piece of bone has had a tough time. It's also hollow and very thin. Where it had the MRSA infection inside the bone never grew back after having the nail removed late 2004.

It doesn't appear to have cracked but it isn't very strong either. I'm not allowed to do any weights work on that leg at all, no squats, curls etc. I'm not allowed to really push at bending the knee more or do any twisting either. It's still partial weight bearing, 20% currently, but I can gradually increase it over the next few weeks to full weight bearing in a month or so, but only when standing directly on it, not with the leg at an angle.

On the plus side I'm allowed to start going out for walks on crutches again, carefully, and also riding a stationary bicycle so long as I'm not putting pressure down through the left leg or forcing the knee. The next outpatients appointment is in two months time, bringing it up to a full year with no cycling.

If the bone directly above the knee doesn't heal up and strengthen after two months it will probably need more work doing to it. The consultant didn't specify what.

I've requested copies of my x-rays so I'll be able to show what it looks like soon. You have to pay for them but then they burn the full set onto a cd.


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## gera72 (Jan 14, 2012)

WR304, Hope you are doing well in your recovery !!! Yesterday I was able to ride my bike in the road for the first time and felt very good!! Still need to take it easy !!! Be patience and two goes by quick and hopefully you can start riding the bike!! Good Luck!!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

gera72 said:


> WR304, Hope you are doing well in your recovery !!! Yesterday I was able to ride my bike in the road for the first time and felt very good!! Still need to take it easy !!! Be patience and two goes by quick and hopefully you can start riding the bike!! Good Luck!!


That's good to hear. One positive about coming back from injury is that I think it makes you appreciate riding more. You realise that being able to get out and ride whenever you like isn't something to just automatically take for granted.

I've been doing walking on crutches every day, 30 minutes a day last week, 45 minutes Sunday and 50 minutes today after physiotherapy. After doing that walking it's been taking a few hours lying down to recover but it is getting better. The leg is aching afterwards with quite a deep dull ache at the pin sites and break location. At physiotherapy today I went up and down a flight of steps, the left leg was actually close to full weight bearing I suspect. It was twinging but held up without breaking, which is encouraging. A big part of it is building up confidence again. At the moment I'm mostly balancing on my right leg.

I'm supposed to be starting hydrotherapy next week too. It should be fun.

One thing that I'm getting asked a lot at the moment is how I'm going to avoid falling off again. I still haven't come up with a good reply to that one. I'm not sure if there is a way really.


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

Just tell them you learned your lesson and won't fall _like that_ again!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Unfortunately I've overused that one already. :lol:

"I was just riding along and then an incredibly unlikely string of events caused me to fall off. Who would have thought I'd end up crashing by highsiding into the neighbours wall whilst turning into the driveway / having severe brake fade on a descent / riding between two bollards on the cycle track / snapping a chainring / putting my foot through the front wheel"*









* delete as appropriate, all true stories.

With hindsight I'd probably do some things differently.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

Did my first trail ride 5 weeks after ankle surgery. No hopping or agressive ride, just easy and careful ride. Feel good to be back into the forest with 2 wheels again


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## Simplemind (Jul 17, 2006)

chris9888 said:


> Did my first trail ride 5 weeks after ankle surgery. No hopping or agressive ride, just easy and careful ride. Feel good to be back into the forest with 2 wheels again


I guess if there's a bright side to these injuries, it's the appreciation of what you have once you get back on the bike. 
Stay safe!


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## YamaDan (Mar 24, 2011)

chris9888 said:


> Did my first trail ride 5 weeks after ankle surgery. No hopping or agressive ride, just easy and careful ride. Feel good to be back into the forest with 2 wheels again


I was on my 2nd real ride today, and I almost hit this!!



I locked the brakes and stopped about 10 feet short, he was on the trail at the time, I got my cell phone out and snapped pics cuz no one would believe me!! They weren't afraid of me at all.. I need a new trail apparently.

Glad to hear you're healing up. Take it easy though, and try to stay out of these threads for a while


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

YamaDan, good to know you back on saddle too. Awesome trails you have there. Down here we have deers, wild boars, monkeys and snakes, though I have yet to hear any rider hit them. They usually disappear before we arrived, not as bold as yours!

Yes, will try to stay out of these threads for good.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

chris9888 said:


> Yes, will try to stay out of these threads for good.


Normally I wouldn't even open the MTBR injuries forum, in case the bad luck contained within rubs off on me. I'm superstitious like that.

My first hydrotherapy session at the hospital was yesterday morning. It's quite a small shallow pool, around chest height, with warm water and rails along the side. There were around five patients at a time, supervised by one physiotherapist. I was lowered in via hoist and spent twenty minutes doing range of movement exercises (holding onto the rail then bending left knee up toward chest, moving left leg out to the side, trying to bend knee towards glutes and then straight leg extended backwards). Supported by the water it was much easier to do without the added weight of my leg as my hamstrings and glutes are very weak. They then put a seat attached to the edge of the pool and more similar exercises for the rest of the session.

It seemed helpful as my hip definitely felt a bit freer after twenty minutes of being in the warm water and doing exercises. My posture seemed better. It's the usual problem though. Just one hydrotherapy session per week isn't enough really. I'd probably benefit from doing that session twice a day seven days per week.

When we got home I did an hours walking before sitting down to watch the Tour de France on TV.

The MotoGP at the weekend was ridiculous. Jorge Lorenzo crashed in practice, broke his collarbone, was flown to Barcelona, had a plate put in, flown back to the Netherlands and 48 hours after breaking his collarbone finished fifth in the race! That's how it should be done.

Riding in the Cotswolds you see wild deer occasionally but it's mostly farm land with cattle and sheep. That presents its own problem sometimes. This picture is from July 2012 heading along a bridleway. I went through that field quickly.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

WR304, this shot was taken by my riding buddy in one of the usual trails we ride. The monkeys were seating on his Nomad!


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

3 months after ankle surgery. Ready to rock!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

chris9888 said:


> 3 months after ankle surgery. Ready to rock!


That's good to hear.

Since the start of July I've been continuing to improve too.

I've been doing hydrotherapy twice a week in the hospital pool. It's good because in water it allows moving the left leg through its range of movement with less weight on it than normal out of the water. Typical exercises would be putting a flipper on my left foot, and then using the flipper for resistance whilst swinging the leg forwards and backwards. Another one is holding onto the side and then stepping up onto a step using my bad leg before stepping down again leading with my good leg. Exercises like that are hard for me to do out of the water so it's been good for getting the muscles started to work again. It's really helped to get the muscles of my left leg going.

I've been doing 8.5 hours per week walking on crutches, hydrotherapy twice a week (45 minute sessions), weight training two or three times per week and I'm now trying to add 30 minutes of turbo training in each day also.

Trying to ride the turbo trainer showed up some major new bio-mechanical problems with my left leg. Compared to before I've lost some knee bend, the left femur is even shorter and it appears that I damaged my pelvis/ hip, as when sitting on a bike saddle with both sitbones on the saddle my back forms an s-shape now.

After a few days trying to pedal last week I resigned myself to fundamentally changing my position, so that the left leg can go round clipped in within the knee's limited range of movement. That meant a new crank, new swing crank from Highpath Engineering and trying to work out some new measurements.

Swing crank explanation:
https://www.highpath.net/highpath/cycles/swingcrank.html

The swing crank allows you to pedal without bending your knee as much as normal.










Using a crank shortener (three holes) and swing crank (three holes) I tried several combinations to see what would work best. This picture shows my previous setup which had been right before crashing last August.










Testing with crank shortener










Current setup with drilled and tapped crank. Once it's finalised I'll have a proper custom crank made to correct the q factor.










My previous left hand crank setup was a 145mm crank length (115mm crank and 30mm swing crank). It's now going to be a 125mm crank length (75mm crank and 50mm swing crank). The right hand crank is a standard length 170mm crank.

A shorter crank and longer swing crank means that the knee doesn't have to bend as much. Crank length decides how big a circle is pedalled whilst swing crank length decides how high the foot has to be lifted at the top of the stroke.

So far the change appears to be ok. I've been able to sit on the turbo trainer, clip my left foot in and pedal fairly pain free. The post exercise muscle soreness was ridiculous for the first few days but after a week of 30 minutes per day it's settling down.

There's still no real timescale for when I'll be able to ride a bike outdoors though. I'm hoping for good news at my next Hospital outpatients appointment next week to give me the all clear. Realistically it probably won't be August because the left leg has to be strong enough to stand on when starting and stopping. It's not quite there yet.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

The modified crank looks cool, ingenious invention. Hopefully overtime you would be able to ride with normal crank. You either use it or lost it. Unless the condition is permanent and nothing can be done. Why are you using clipless? I will not be using clipless for at least a year later.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

I have to use clipless pedals for cycling as my left leg only does maybe 5 to 10% of the work that the right leg does. Using clipless pedals allows my right leg to pull up on the pedal for returning it to the top of the power stroke again, whilst it stops the left foot falling off the pedal.

The restricted left knee bend is fixed at 90 degrees now. There's no chance of it ever returning to normal unfortunately.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

Today is 18 August 2013. Exactly one year since I crashed and broke my leg last summer. 

Although still not back riding properly the turbo training is going quite well. I began with 1 hour 30 minutes walking on crutches today, arrived home and immediately got on the turbo trainer for 35 minutes on the 42x19 @82 rpm, which felt ok. I've been trying to pedal 1 rpm per day faster until I can get up to holding around 90 rpm. The first 20 minutes were genuinely easy and I was nowhere near as out of breath as I have been. I'll do some weight training this evening also.

After around a week and a half riding I'm probably more than twice as fit as I was last week. Starting from such a low baseline level it's easy to make big gains in a short period of time. The post exercise muscle soreness has decreased massively and my right leg (which does all the work) is visibly starting to regain some additional muscle bulk and definition.

Whilst riding the femur isn't hurting and I can essentially get on with riding quite hard on the turbo trainer. There are twinges from my hip, knee and the break site post ride but nothing too serious. Rubbing arnica cream into the affected areas and having plenty of protein shakes is enough to deal with it.

I've been finding that walking on crutches first and then riding on the turbo trainer works best. The other way round I'm too dizzy and struggling to concentrate or think clearly when walking. That's a bit of a problem when using crutches!

This picture show the difference in position between my left and right legs. Compared to the top tube my left leg is still going out quite a long way to the side. When pedalling the right knee is very close in whilst the left knee is way out to the side. This difference is partly down to the different legs (my left knee probably shouldn't come inwards fully) but it does seem as though a narrower left hand crank would help to even it up a bit. I've ordered a cheap Shimano Tiagra chainset (175mm RH crank) to modify for a narrower q factor.


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## chris9888 (Feb 27, 2011)

You are progressing well bro. Keep up the momentum and never stop pedaling. Cheers!


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

My hospital appointment yesterday went well. They did some more x-rays and there was lots more new bone after two extra months of walking and exercises. The consultant was pleased and said that the femur counted as healed! If there were any problems within six months to make another appointment but otherwise they didn't need to see me again! Full weight bearing is fine, I'm ok to go cycling outdoors, swim and do whatever as the bone looks good. The only thing is to avoid big impacts such as jumping up and down for a few months yet (not something I do anyway.) 

The actual appointment took ages waiting beforehand. The first patient was in there for an hour! There were some gnarly injuries on display. There was an old man with an amputated leg but the stump was bandaged with ooze seeping out. An old woman went into the plaster room but must have fallen and banged her head as she was carted off on a stretcher a bit later.

Even though in theory I could go cycling tomorrow I'm not ready yet. The fitness isn't good enough and I need to work on starting and stopping safely. There's a minimum standard that I want to be at, so that I have the confidence to safely ride in traffic and get up at least some local hills. I also want my left hip as strong as possible. The concern with that is if I get tired and the muscles seize up far from home. Post ride it's been giving twinges, although fine whilst riding.

I don't actually have a working mountain bike either. I dropped some donor cranks off at my friend's factory to be made into new custom cranks but that won't be ready until at least next week, especially as it's a bank holiday next Monday.

I'm hopefully going to get copies of my x-rays sometime. I requested them back in June but nothing has arrived from the hospital yet (they had 40 days to do it officially). Knowing that the bone is strong enough to stand on is a real game changer because now I can put more weight on it - walking with no crutches, doing exercises such as stepping up with the bad leg and squats with resistance from weights are all things that I haven't been doing much of. It looks like I'll be referred back to normal physiotherapy soon also.

At hydrotherapy today I was doing walking up and down in the pool without holding on to the rail and without holding onto a float either. I then moved onto stepping up and down onto a step (holding onto a rail with one hand and float in the other) but really working the left leg hard to take more body weight on it whilst stepping up and down. Getting out of the pool my left leg initially weighed a ton as it was quite tired.

That was followed up with an hour walking on crutches and then 42 minutes on the turbo trainer pedalling @85rpm on the 42x19 with a middling resistance (about what I'd use for the initial easy warmup normally before beginning intervals). Even so, I was up to a heart rate of 175bpm by the end! 42 minutes riding is enough for now. I'm good for 30 minutes then the final 10 minutes I really start to feel it (the extra two minutes are just for luck  ). After that short session I had to go and lie down for three hours. It was a case of where you see the bed, stagger over, lie down and then unable to move your limbs until much later.:lol:

I'm having around 150g of protein per day currently, which works out at about 2g per kg of bodyweight. Training three times per day most days I think it works quite well to try and maximise results. Comebacks from injury are something that I've done so many times now that I've got a pretty good idea of what will work for me. My right leg (which has been mush with no muscle tone all year) is visibly getting more like a cycling leg every single day. It's quite a dramatic improvement in just over two weeks of riding. The muscle memory is clearly there and it knows what to do.


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## thrill21 (Aug 27, 2013)

*Rib Inuries Suck!*

I like hearing the inures and recovery, some of you hands down have had some tough injuries to recover from, however based on your (cough cough) ages, it's fair to say we are all fairly close...

August 5th I went to bunny hop a 10" log on a single track on my hard tail and the rear tire slapped hard on the front side of the log, my front went down fast, compressed my suspension against a root on the other side of the log and catapulted me over the handle bars and landed on my chest. At the time of the incident, adrenalin etc, really didn't think I hurt anything, but that night was very sore in the left side rib area. So I decided to rest for the week. Decided to ride on the Sunday, but I was def. protecting the left side on my ride. Decided to ride through a technical section of a trail where there is boulders, logs etc, just to see how I felt and wouldn't you know it... Endo and over I went. That was painfull, smashed my leg against a boulder, broke 3 ribs in the process (perhaps maybe fractured from the first incident?) a hairline fracture in my shin bone, a sprained wrist and, the worse part about all of this is I had a wicked mount for my iPhone, didn't cost me a dime, and it broke in half!!!  All in all, lesson learned, as I recently posted on my FB page, note to self, you need your day job... All the best guys, hope you enjoy my stellar week! I have been missing the bike a lot more then I thought, total pain in the ass at home lately, like a kid that's lost his favourite toy and went for a light ride last night and enjoyed every painful stride in the process...


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## bing! (Jul 8, 2010)

One word, IMMOBILIZE.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

I finally got a copy of my x-rays from the hospital (requested back in June! ). They sent them on an encrypted CD which uses a viewer program for medical images called Gearview. Fortunately you can export them as jpegs.

I've made a single timeline so that you can see the progression from the original break, through the external fixator frame being fitted, the Ilizarov technique stretching the bones apart, the frame being fixed in place to allow bone growth and then finally the frame being removed. I broke the femur 18 August 2012 but the first x-rays weren't done until late September 2012 at A&E (after which they sent me home again :madman: )










The dark line running across the femur is the break. On x-rays a strong white colour indicates new bone growth whilst dark lines are gaps or breaks in the bone. You can see how over time the scar tissue (hazy areas around the break) becomes solid bone and the gap gradually fills in.

The most recent x-rays are from 21 August 2013 so there should be continued improvement since that date also with more bone and increased strength.

The shoulder picture shows my dislocated clavicle, which is still like that now. It was never treated or looked at beyond this x-ray. It sucks.










I'm riding every day on the turbo trainer now. I'm still not very fit though. The WKO+ 3.0 graph below is from 29 August 2013 and a high intensity ride. I don't have a power meter on the turbo trainer bike so the only sensors being recorded are cadence and heart rate. The current format is three days steady state riding and then every fourth day a faster ride with an additional 1 click of resistance on the magnetic turbo trainer. I've done a few of these now and it's quite hard. This time I was up to 186bpm by the end.

If you look at the cadence for 29 August 2013 I was starting to fade a little after 30 minutes, not quite holding the target cadence for the final 20 minutes. On the plus side I felt ok afterwards. I had to go and lie down for three hours after doing 40 minutes at this intensity last weekend the weekend before.:lol:



















I'm still battling to get my weight down. The additional cycling each day seems to be helping but then I get off the bike feeling hungry and need food... This Withings wifi scale graph shows how my weight is gradually coming down but it's still a long way from the 149lbs I weighed when fully fit in August 2012. I'm finding it much more difficult to lose weight than it was to put it all on originally.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

This is quite an interesting article about bone health and density.

http://www.alternativemedicine.com/...ing-link-long-term-bone-metabolism-and-health


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

The turbo training has been going quite well. I did 7 hours 51 minutes on the turbo trainer last week, riding every day, including three interval sessions, the longest session being 1 hour 15. I'm not fully fit but definitely a lot better than I was a few weeks ago!

I still haven't done any riding outdoors but my mountain bike is finally ready to use. I picked up my new shortened crank from the factory this morning. It's the same as the turbo trainer crank with a 75mm crank length and a 50mm swing crank. The pedals are new Shimano M-540 with the release tension on the minimum setting. My previous Shimano M980 pedals had bad bearings so I decided to replace them.










I was doing some track stands (wearing trainers not clipped in) and gentle scooting to see if my left leg would be able to handle being stood on when starting and stopping and it seems ok. Apart from some minor shooting pains in the thigh my leg appears strong enough to be able to do the job. I've been working on clipping and unclipping the left foot and it's a lot closer to being a smooth action, only taking one try to unclip, rather than the two or three that it was previously.

The plan is to try and do an actual ride outdoors early morning Saturday or Sunday.


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## tahic (Jul 21, 2008)

@WR304 

I want to thank you for your intelligent posting and courage in the face of what must be quite a journey back from injury (sorry I don't know the full story)

I shattered my R) knee in May this year and after some hard work I got back on the bike (road only). This weekend as I headed off for my first off-road ride since my accident I went over and broke my L) tibia and fibula. I couldn't quite believe it so here I am back to being really immobile being weak on the right due to all the muscle wasting of the knee injury and non weight bearing on the left. Feeling quite sorry for myself (my biggest pleasure in life is MTb) I checked in here for a dose of your reality!!

thank you and all the very best with your recovery


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

tahic said:


> I shattered my R) knee in May this year and after some hard work I got back on the bike (road only). This weekend as I headed off for my first off-road ride since my accident I went over and broke my L) tibia and fibula. I couldn't quite believe it so here I am back to being really immobile being weak on the right due to all the muscle wasting of the knee injury and non weight bearing on the left.


Falling off and hurting yourself first ride back really sucks. The first rides are where you're most vulnerable, being relatively unfit but also having rusty handling skills. Being cautious and building up slowly is safest.

If you haven't already got one a zimmer frame (with basket) is great for getting round the house with limited mobility. Look at all the things you can carry in one. I didn't actually eat _all_ of these.:lol:










Is your previously broken knee smooth or clicking through its range of movement? My left knee and left hip are rubbish with clicks. To try and help with that I have glucosamine, chondroitin, rosehip and turmeric supplements each day.

Of those the turmeric seems to help the most with joint smoothness. I've been having four of these per day (two in the morning, two at night) and it's been the most successful thing that I've tried so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Swanson-Premium-Turmeric-Powder-Gelatin/dp/B00068UBI2

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/547249

https://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1910028,00.html

https://www.arthritisresearchuk.org...eumatoid-arthritis/rosehip/trials-for-oa.aspx

I also trowel the anti-inflammatory cream on after any exercise, and every evening, to try and reduce swelling and heat in the joints.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/natures-kiss-herbal-relief-rub-90g/

One of my friends crashed on ice and broke his hip last winter. He recovered from that but a few weeks ago was 1/4 mile from home after a 50 mile training ride when he hit a pothole on his road bike, the front wheel got trapped in a slot in the road and he went over the bars, breaking his collarbone and three ribs. He's having problems with discomfort from the collarbone plate next to the skin and it's taking him a long time to get over this second crash.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

I managed to get out for my first proper ride this morning. I did a quick 25 minute shakedown ride on Saturday and then a longer more serious ride today. I set off at 7.48am so missed the rain, just. It was spotting at the furthest point and raining properly a few minutes after I got home. The route was flat and all on road. 20.2miles in 1 hour 21min 42 sec.

The main thing is still sorting out the technical aspects of riding - going in a straight line (much better than yesterday), taking a hand off the bars whilst pedalling to indicate at junctions, shifting my weight around for right hand corners and stopping and starting. With the altered swing crank my legs are out of phase when the cranks are at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. It makes for interesting times when trying to get my weight back for braking and cornering. I can get used to it with time but there's a definite learning curve. When I first set off yesterday it took a few minutes of weaving and trying to find my balance before the bike would go even vaguely where I wanted it to.

On today's ride I went over the roundabout where I crashed last year so it was nice to finish the ride that I didn't complete last August. There was a small worry approaching that point but I've fallen off at so many different places nearby over the years that it's just one of many really. I was fully focused on riding and stayed concentrated.

I didn't feel too bad on the flat but being 10lbs overweight really showed whenever the road went up. Small slopes were like hitting a wall! I was down to 8 mph and the 32 rear sprocket on the rise up to the shop on the A38! Compared to the last time I did that route (15 August 2012, 12.4mph on same rise) I was a lot slower today than then, but that was to be expected as I was fully fit 15 August 2012. The power summaries from each ride show the difference in peak power output between then and now.



















Compared to the real reference point (7 April 2008, doing the same route after the previous round of health issues) I was slower too. That was disappointing as it's a direct comparison on exactly the same route with almost exactly the same build up (around 5 weeks of turbo training), only using different length swing cranks (different mountain bikes too off course, Marin Mount Vision in 2008, Specialized Epic today). I was really hoping that I'd be as fast as or quicker than I managed in 2008 but it wasn't to be.










15 September 2013: 20.2miles, 1hour 21 min 42 sec, avg speed 14.8mph (Lap 1 outbound: 40min 2sec, Lap 2 home: 41min 40 sec)
07 April 2008: 20.2miles 1hour 20min 42sec, avg speed 15.3mph (Lap 1 outbound: 41min 12 sec, Lap 2 home: 39min 30 sec)

15 August 2012: 20.2miles, 1hour 4min 55sec, avg speed 18.5mph (Lap 1 outbound 30min 5sec, Lap 2 home: 34min 50 sec)


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

After intervals on the turbo trainer yesterday I decided to risk the weather outdoors again today. You know what happened of course... At the furthest point from home it started raining. The final 40 minutes were in the wet. I was worried the muscles in my left hip might seize up in the wet weather as it was pretty cold. They did ok though, holding up for the remainder of the ride. They're tired now however.

The only bits I found difficult were a short descent in the wet with corners. I went down it at 16mph dragging the brakes as I couldn't get the bike loaded up for the right hand bends. If you imagine sitting on the saddle, taking both feet off the pedals and then trying to go round corners like that that's how it is currently. Quite scary and relying on the bike to get me down in one piece without much rider input. The other difficult bit was a set of traffic lights that aren't triggered by bicycles (there has to be a car for them to change). I was stood at those lights for a full 2.5 minutes trying to hold the bike stood on my left leg in the rain. I wound up unclipping the right foot to stand on both feet to rest the left leg as my left leg was shaking.

The overall ride wasn't too bad. I had better pace than Sunday and the rain was motivation to push harder: 20.1 miles (different route to Sunday) 1hour 18min 31sec, 15.4mph avg speed, 155 watts average power and 8.6mph up the final steepish drag on the bypass (a sprocket higher than Sunday). The main thing I'm lacking is being able to carry the speed up the short rises. It's a case of gritting my teeth and trying to avoid too many downshifts currently.


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## WR304 (Jul 9, 2004)

So far riding outdoors is going fairly well. I did 9 hours on the bike last week and it was ok. I even passed a couple of cyclists one time! I'm very slow uphill but using the granny ring I've been getting up some of the easier local climbs. This shows the first proper climb I rode last week.










The longest ride so far was last Sunday - 29 miles on the road in 1hour 55 minutes, average speed 15.1mph and 154watts average power. I've been really working on my cornering and right hand bends are becoming a bit less fraught than they were earlier in the week. On the final descent yesterday my apex corner speed for the right hand bends was 27.8mph (I'd usually take them at 32-34 mph in the dry) which I was quite pleased with. For the final 3.2 miles home on the flat I kept trying hard and managed to average 18mph on the flat too.

My next target is to be able to drink from a water bottle whilst pedalling at the same time. I'm ok freewheeling and drinking but haven't quite got the confidence to pedal and drink simultaneously. I went past some trails on Sunday but I'm going to stick to road rides for now until riding is a bit more natural again.










The main issue with cycling is still my left hip currently. It's getting shooting pains from time to time so I'm being careful not to push too hard overall. I really don't want to find what happens when it reaches its limit.

Hydrotherapy has been helping with this too. Today in hydrotherapy I was holding onto the pool side with both hands, balancing on my left leg and then doing squats using just the left leg (the water taking some bodyweight off and making it easier). I managed to do quite a few which was encouraging.


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## ziashani (Jan 2, 2021)

Consuming 1200-1500 mg of calcium and 800 to 1000 IU vitamin D can help keep bones strong you can also seek out foods that contain these key nutrients some high calcium foods to include in your diet each day. but a broken bone should not a prevent you from a good night's rest. here are the some expert at Ocean of Pillows - Relax Yourself! have some quick tips for how you can catch your Zzz's while resting a broken bone injury


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