# Anybody had a bruised kidney?



## FM (Apr 30, 2003)

Hey I'm just curious as to peoples experience with this injury. Trying to figure out if I did indeed bruise it... and what the timeline is for full recovery.

Last thursday I endo'd off a small stunt, and got flipped over on my back. It was a small, stupid crash, no big deal. However Ianded on my back, at first I though a stump hit my lower back but in retrospect I'm wondering if it was my lights' battery. In any case it was pretty painful, I had to lay there for a few minutes, and then carefully walk out. I got cold and wet, and felt almost a little shock/hypothermia coming on by the time I got home. Most of the pain was lower back, but not really structural, more internal. bad enough that it was very difficult to lean over to tie my shoes etc. No visible bruising and no blood in urine, etc.

In the following days most all the pain & tiredness subsided. No back problems, just some vague pain both in my lower back/abdomen but fairly internal, and also above my groin, lower and more in front. I even went for a good ride sunday and was pleased that I could ride fine long as I mostly stayed seated. 

I'm taking this week off to let it heal more, it really doesn't feel serious, however I am wondering about the pain in front, more above my groin, since that area wasn't impacted in the crash. I'm guessing my kidney is swollen from the crash, and this is causing it to rub on my pelvis/ muscles. Going about my daily business feels fine, however I still have that weird internal bruise feeling and I'm wondering if this will go away with time (and how much) It's only been 6 days since the crash and I do feel improved, so I'm not worried about it being serious, just curious as to peoples experiences with this type of injury....if there's anything I should avoid, and if it's OK to ride on etc...


----------



## Darkwing Duck (Jan 12, 2004)

Yup, 
Got 'em bruised racing motocross one time. Symptoms include: dull to acute ache in lower back that cannot be pinpointed exactly, pinkish tint to your urine (and more frequent urination). The blood in urine didn't show up for a few days.
As I recall, I just took it easy for a few days and used a heating pad and soaked in a tub of hot water and epsom salts.
It took a couple of weeks for full recovery.
I resumed all activities as I felt like it.

If the severe pain persists for a few days, I'd see a doc just to be safe.


----------



## Nater (Jan 6, 2004)

*Yep, in HS Football*

I bruised mine in a HS football game years ago...the symptoms were about the same as mentioned above. The injury happened on a Friday night and I didn't observe any blood in my urine until Sunday evening. The Doc held me out of practice for the week, and I sat out of the game the following Friday night. I was cleared to practice/play the following week...although with a flack jacket (an odd peice of equipment for an inside linebacker).

I'd be a little bit concerned about the pain in your abdomen and go check that out since you mentioned that you had symptoms of shock and hypothermia on the walk out. You mave have had some internal bleeding. Oh, and by the way, I'm not a doctor. Just some advice.


----------



## Lucky (Jan 12, 2004)

*Get thee to a doc...*

No one here is qualified to diagnose your injury based on a verbal description. See a doc and get checked out. You might be alright, and you might have significant injury.

A guy I work with had a piece of equipment fall on his pinky a few weeks ago. It really hurt, but the sharp pain subsided, and he could move it, so he figured it'd take care of itself. Fast forward 3 weeks. It still hurts, and now that the swelling has gone down, it's as crooked as a dog's hind leg. A belated x-ray shows it's busted and has started to heal with a pronounced kink in it. He's having surgery today to re-break it and set it properly, possibly with hardware. Had he had it x-rayed at the time of injury, the doc said it could have been set with a simple splint and he'd be darn near healed by now, instead of starting from scratch with more scar tissue.

Don't mess around with your health.

Kathy


----------



## NuMexJoe (Jan 12, 2004)

*Page Lidarman...*

on the Passion board to compare notes (he bruised his last Fall), but go to a doctor for advice ASAP. That's nothing to screw around with. Get checked out, and then get healed up! Best wishes,
- Joe


----------



## JimC. (Dec 30, 2003)

*yeah! check fast with*

lidarman over in Passion, and just to underline the seriousness, Kenny Maude that sold you the NORCO frame LOST a kidney after a bad Norshore stack.

this ain't to be ignored.

Jim


----------



## FM (Apr 30, 2003)

Well thanks to all for all the input. It does indeed sound like a kidney injury, especially based on darkwings description.

I have no doubt that kidney injuries can be very serious, but I think this one's gonna be fine. I say this cause I am noticing a marked improvement on a daily basis, and also at this point I am experiencing about %2 of the pain I had immediately after the crash. Today for instance, is TONS better than yesterday. I'd say %98 better and it's been a week, feels like I'm on the home stretch!

I think riding sunday probably didn't help it much, but it was a beutiful spring day and I had a new fork to try out....



JimC. said:


> lidarman over in Passion, and just to underline the seriousness, Kenny Maude that sold you the NORCO frame LOST a kidney after a bad Norshore stack.
> 
> this ain't to be ignored.
> 
> Jim


----------



## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

NuMexJoe said:


> ... (he bruised his last Fall),
> - Joe


 Hardly bruised it...I lacerated it very deeply and lost a quart of blood in my abdomen.

Anyway...If you are not urinating blood you are probably ok...but watch your urine for blood and you may want to consult a doc anyway since even if you don't pee blood, you can leak it into your adomen. I sliced my kidney all the way into the urine collection area so I had a really serious problem.

I did my at the GITA gathering and urinated blood...a lot of blood. Went to ER and the nurse with us at GITA, Dave, made some comment back at camp, "you pee red, you're dead"

It was a scary situation and even the doctors were not calm. They told me if my vitals dropped, I was going to be airlifted 150 miles to Albuquerque for emergency surgery. I stabilized but a week later I was hospitalized again for peeing blood--with another scare of losing my kidney.

Turned out I seemed to heal ok but it took 6 weeks. This happened in August and I will still have to go back to get a followup CT scan.


----------



## FM (Apr 30, 2003)

Wow. Thats quite a story- I hope it heals well for you. That must have been quite a crash....

I haven't seen any blood, things are improving daily, so hopefully I've gotten off easy. I'm gonna give it through the weekend resting, if it doesn't continue to improve I'll call the rX on monday.

I have to say, I think MTBR is a pretty good resource for typical MTB injuries, at least a good place to share stories and get opinions from other people who recieved similar injuries. Makes me wonder if MTBR should have a "triage" forum, kind of a support group. If nothing else it could provide some good perspective, as Lidarman has for me!



lidarman said:


> Hardly brusied...I lacerated it very deeply and lost a quart of blood in my abdomen.
> 
> Anyway...If you are not urinating blood you are probably ok...but watch your urine for blood and you may want to consult a doc anyway since even if you don't pee blood, you can leak it into your adomen. I sliced my kidney all the way into the urine collection area so I had a really serious problem.
> 
> ...


----------



## lidarman (Jan 12, 2004)

FM said:


> Wow. Thats quite a story- I hope it heals well for you. That must have been quite a crash....


 Funny enough, it was hardly a crash at all. Fell slowly about 6 feet and just happen to land on a potato size rock on that part of my back/side. Glenx posted the footage here once since he was filming it. You would have thought it was a typical endo.


----------



## BadHabit (Jan 12, 2004)

Took an unusually pounding ride in 2000, blood in urine after (no pain), went to doc, he insisted on MRI, aggressive malignancy in left kidney, kidney gone. The pounding had broken up tumor tissue, otherwise likely dead before now. Another 6-month check on Monday. Lodestar saved my life--so far.


----------



## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Yeah I know this reply is 8 years later but I found this thread on Google while searching mountain biking injuries. My left side still hurts a bit after my wreck last week. I landed pretty hard on a rock right after the crash.


----------



## 006_007 (Jan 12, 2004)

Rep to the OP - its not often you can rep someone for an 8 YO thread lol.


----------

