# Riding after fracturing humerus...how long



## amairphoto (Apr 2, 2014)

So i got into mountain biking this year, rented a bike a couple times and absolutely loved it. Fell off a couple times on my first ride but it was all good. 

Finally decided to invest in a bike and was really happy with everything. Onlyu the second time out on my new bike and im at the end of my 3 hour trail and i go down a hill really fast, got my front wheel caught in some loose rocks and it turned my handlebars 90 degrees left and i went flying.....fracturing my humerus in two places. I put it down to inexperience, i was feeling a bit confident at the end of the trail and just didnt notice those rocks, i thought my bike could handle it haha

Anyway i am 8 weeks in and my bone is healed, but the doctor said i cant ride anything with boulders, or anything where i risk falling. This was pretty much the news i didnt want to hear. Ive been living vicariously through youtube videos of other mountain bikers anxious to get back on. Every time i go in the garage i see my bike hanging and just want to go out on it!

So my question is to anyone who suffered a similar injury, how long did you wait to go back out on a trail? another 8 weeks like the doctors orders are going to kill me!


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## mtnbikej (Sep 6, 2001)

I fractured my humerus a few years back. I pulled a large chunk of bone off up high where the rotator cuff attaches, and had a hairline fracture almost all the way across above the tricep.



























I had surgery for plates and screws 2 weeks after crash. 4 Weeks later I started PT....after 2 weeks of passive PT, I was allowed to begin strength training PT. About a week and a half after that, I got back on the bike and just did some light rides. So for me it was almost 10 weeks. But it was a good 15-18 weeks before I felt strong.


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## amairphoto (Apr 2, 2014)

thanks for the reply, thats what im thinking of doing this light trail. Its only 30 minutes long but its better than nothing. I just need to find a few more light trails out here.


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## amairphoto (Apr 2, 2014)

im also thinking of getting shoulder pads but unsure if that would even help


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## mtnbikej (Sep 6, 2001)

amairphoto said:


> im also thinking of getting shoulder pads but unsure if that would even help


Probably not...

I did crash again about 6 months to the day and landed pretty hard on that shoulder....held up fine.

In general bones will bond back together in a short amount of time....but it usually 6 months before they are completely healed.


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## amairphoto (Apr 2, 2014)

sounds good, ill skip the pads then. Theres a trail right by my that is not meant to be bad at all, ill do that. Only problem is its connected to the one i crashed. Once i spend a few minutes on the bike again im going to get the feeling for more!


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## clarkrw3 (Feb 21, 2011)

I broke my Radius very similar. Broke it end of Oct, had a plate and 7 screws placed middle of November, was cleared to ride first of January and raced the 24hrs Old Pueblo middle of February. I used an OTS brace and really pushed myself in getting mobility back but have had no pain while riding.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## fooldall1 (Apr 18, 2013)

Broke my Humerus on 3/22/14 in much the same way.. How was your pain level? Mine is def still in the "hurting"/ "aching" stage in between pain killers, and this is week 4. Can barely lift my arm in front of me, perhaps just 8 or so inches from my leg. I'm at the start of mine and was wondering the same thing..and frankly a bit scared to get back out there. LOL


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## amairphoto (Apr 2, 2014)

fooldall1 said:


> Broke my Humerus on 3/22/14 in much the same way.. How was your pain level? Mine is def still in the "hurting"/ "aching" stage in between pain killers, and this is week 4. Can barely lift my arm in front of me, perhaps just 8 or so inches from my leg. I'm at the start of mine and was wondering the same thing..and frankly a bit scared to get back out there. LOL


i was aching at four weeks, but at four weeks i was also active, i was hiking with my sling off. I think it may have helped moving it a lot. Unfortunately for me i missed some good work opportunities so got back to work asap. I was taking my sling off at home after 3 or 4 weeks. I couldnt life my arm forward in front of my face too well but to the side i wasnt bad. I really was moving it around more than i was told to. Probably not the smartest thing to do but when i would go back to the doctors he always said i was healing really fast.
Im 10 weeks in now i think and it still hurts every once in a while. Im going to wait 6 more weeks like the doctor said to go back on my bike. When i dropped my bike off to get fixed the guy who sold it me said that he had went against doctors orders in the past and it has bithim in the ass. So i have decided to be patient and its only 6 more weeks. In that time im trying to get healthy again!


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## fooldall1 (Apr 18, 2013)

Update: almost 5 months post-op (horribly fractured proximal humerus + long titanium plate and 14 screws) and doing great. Pain level is manageable, definitely- down to 1 per day before bed because of PT pain. PT really, really sucks.  Regained most of my range of motion, external rotation is still a challenge though. Luckily, I was cleared to ride again, albeit carefully at first. Cant\'t put a LOT of weight on the joint yet, but riding doesn't really hurt all that bad. Still can tell it's there and don't feel really strong in it yet. But, it's getting there.


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## mtnbikej (Sep 6, 2001)

5 months post-op and you are still on meds? If we are talking Advil or Aleve, then ok....if we are talking something harder, then you need to get off them and deal with the discomfort caused by PT.

I have a very high tolerance for pain, so 1 Aleve a day after surgery was all I allowed myself to take.


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## fooldall1 (Apr 18, 2013)

mtnbikej said:


> 5 months post-op and you are still on meds? If we are talking Advil or Aleve, then ok....if we are talking something harder, then you need to get off them and deal with the discomfort caused by PT.
> 
> I have a very high tolerance for pain, so 1 Aleve a day after surgery was all I allowed myself to take.


I hear you. My fracture was not just a crack in the bone, it was completely separated and off center and, had it not been for my deltoid development, would have easily become a open fracture.The ORIF I had also dealt with muscle tears, tendon re-attachments, etc. It was a real mess in there. So couple the incision and Ortho surgery pain with the others....and yeah. I needed pain killers. just taking Tylenol 3, though nothing crazy. If I knew how to post pics here, i could show you the pics. It's messy.


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