# Anyone here have experience with riding post Scaphoid Fixation? (screw in the wrist)



## Bobby12many (Apr 28, 2004)

Ill start my post off with an intro to my situation...

While riding in a group event (25th annual Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee) in mid June, I was looking back over my shoulder on an unfamiliar trail and hit a stump dead-on, which sent mell over the handlebars and I smacked my right hand against the ground and then slid on my elbow.... (below is a pic of what I thought to be the worst of teh damage)










After riding on for another 9 miles or so, I became less and less able to use my right thumb/hand at all and had to abort the tour and pilot myself back home, one handed. When I got home and managed to painfully take off my glove, I found my right hand to be pretty swollen and in more pain than ever...










So, after waiting for a few days I came to find that the pain had not subsided and that I needed to get Xrays, which came back with a resounding thud....









I had suffered a complete waist fracture to my Scaphoid bone. Bummer.

My Ortho Doc put me in a Fiberglass cast, and had me come back in 3 week intervals for Xrays and re-casting..... A long, boring summer of no biking, disc golf, fishing, softball or volleyball leagues etc 

Fast forward to the end of August.... I had been in a fiberglass Spica (thumb immobilizing) for 12 weeks and my bone was still broken (non union) and CT scans showed very little internal bridging of the bone which represented about 1/8th of the bone diameter had begun the healing process.

So, about 2 weeks ago (sept 10 to be exact) I underwent surgery to install a Herbert Screw through the bone in order to Union the bone and compress it to promote healing.








At this point, it feels better than it has in months and I am about 2 weeks away from not needing the brace and getting the go-ahead to start working again and slowly getting back on the bike. 
*
My question now goes out to anyone who has had internal fixation of a carpal bone, and how they have dealt with protecting it while on the bike *? My surgeon told me to use my spica brace (wrist guard with thumb sheath, basically) while riding for the first 2-3 months of being back on the saddle, and after that I may want to continue to wear a supportive wrist sheath or heavily padded glove to help with the pressure and vibrations associated with cycling. These are all things I plan on doing, but I truly worry about my first foray back onto the singletrack, and how I can keep my wrist supported while still allowing enough flexibility to shift and not interfere with my grip on the bars :madman:

For right now, I came up with this setup which will keep my hand in a comfortable position so that my wrist isnt flexed awkwardly and will allow me to keep my right hand on the bars without pain (just using my trainer for now  ). From what I can tell, from riding in one place on the trainer, it will keep the pain away on the streets and paved pathways while riding with my brace....

my current "fix" to the riding with a brace on was basically to throw barends on there and cover the Right side with a couple layers of old tubes, then come cork tape...lol Its ugly (and I hate that my bike now has risers + barend lol) but it keeps my hand in a comfy position while in the spica brace.

















If any of you have had a carpal fixation or fusion, I would love to hear about your experiences with getting back on the bike, and how you dealt with the pain/soreness/fragility it introduces, especially while riding technical stuff.

/longwindedrant


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## Bobby12many (Apr 28, 2004)

and before anyone mentions it... Yes, Im putting some suspension back up front on her


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## clarkalewis (Mar 2, 2004)

6 yrs ago had a far worse injury than yours - severe perilunate fracture/dislocation - the lunate is the central carpal bone - tore all the ligaments around it, fractured through scaphoid, radius, and ulna. had a couple surgeries and a 4-month rehab. have a scaphoid and an ulnar screw left in. i ride hard on the bc coast and have no issues, though that's not typical, i'm really lucky. your injury is really not a big deal since you didn't disrupt any ligaments or have an intra-articular fracture (ie. into the joint). you'll be fine.


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## Bobby12many (Apr 28, 2004)

clarkalewis said:


> 6 yrs ago had a far worse injury than yours - severe perilunate fracture/dislocation - the lunate is the central carpal bone - tore all the ligaments around it, fractured through scaphoid, radius, and ulna. had a couple surgeries and a 4-month rehab. have a scaphoid and an ulnar screw left in. i ride hard on the bc coast and have no issues, though that's not typical, i'm really lucky. your injury is really not a big deal since you didn't disrupt any ligaments or have an intra-articular fracture (ie. into the joint). you'll be fine.


Thanks for your input, and encouraging words.

Its amazing that you bounced back in less time than it took my single scaphoid break to get sorted out! Sounds like you were pretty torn up!

Once you did get back in the saddle, was there any type of grip or maybe a certain brace you wore during the first few months to ease the pain?


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## nuggets (Jul 7, 2008)

I've just come out of the hospital with a right wrist fusion. I still have the sutures but get them out tomorrow. I have similar concerns as you and have my bike rigged with risers and stubbies. Not crazy about the looks but if it works I can' t argue. Well typing left handed is a bore good luck and see you later.


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## Bobby12many (Apr 28, 2004)

nuggets said:


> I've just come out of the hospital with a right wrist fusion. I still have the sutures but get them out tomorrow. I have similar concerns as you and have my bike rigged with risers and stubbies. Not crazy about the looks but if it works I can' t argue. Well typing left handed is a bore good luck and see you later.


I will do my best to update this as I begin my rehabbing.

It would be nice to hear your stories as well as your process furthers


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## clarkalewis (Mar 2, 2004)

fusion? that's not good. can't see how you'll do much beyond road riding like that, sorry dude.

i didn't ride much for about 6 months after my injury. a year after, i was riding hard on the north shore, no pain. i ride real hard up here nearly every day with no issues, but i know i'm lucky. eventually there will be arthritis, since i had some intra-articular fractures, but by then i'll probably be wearing spandex and riding an xc bike!


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## Bobby12many (Apr 28, 2004)

clarkalewis said:


> fusion? that's not good. can't see how you'll do much beyond road riding like that, sorry dude.
> 
> i didn't ride much for about 6 months after my injury. a year after, i was riding hard on the north shore, no pain. i ride real hard up here nearly every day with no issues, but i know i'm lucky. eventually there will be arthritis, since i had some intra-articular fractures, but by then i'll probably be wearing spandex and riding an xc bike!


:thumbsup:

Unfortunately for me, I already had some ligament and muscle damage due to a complicated "boxers break" I had in my (same right side) hand 4 years ago. So now I have 2 herbert screws in the hand including this new scaphoid one, and according to my Ortho Doc "a high probability of ongoing and increasing Arthritis".

bah, it wont keep me from riding...

but if I eat it again and break another carpal bone he did tell me a fusion would more thanm likely be the only way to further stabilize my hand


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## bcramlet23 (Jul 31, 2009)

hey, i broke my scaphoid about 6 years ago an aside from my wrist not rotating in i have no problems, i'm assuming the bone has fused but it doesn't hinder my riding and i have no pain whatsoever, i'm sure there will be arthritis in the future but oh well, don't worry, you'll be fine


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## nuggets (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks for the encouragement, bcramlet23.


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## DMOS (May 31, 2008)

*Take your time*

I had 4 of the 8 bones in my wrist fused a decade ago, and I'm still riding. However, take your time coming back from the injury, as the last thing you want is to make it worse while you are still in the process of healing. I stuck to road riding upon my return to cycing 6 months postop, and slowly dialed in the offroad portion about a year after surgery. Granted that was a much more dramatic injury than what you have, but my advice is still the same. Being able to ride 10 years from now is worth taking some time away from the bike. Think of it as a chance to get really talented with layups from your off hand.

You'll know you are ready for the trails when you can do pushups on the bars without pain or having to position yourself oddly. And for your poor wrist I'm glad to hear you are going to put a suspension fork back on that rig! That'll make a lot of difference.


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