Narly Bike Crash
I had a bad bike accident yesterday. i can only type
left handed but an " a-hole" honked and then got real close to me no bike lane, i kind of jerked, bike got caught between narrow gutter and curb and hurled me over front. landed right on my right shoulder, heard it crack or snap. went to ER xrays show complete break of clavicle no other injuries, hit head hard but had helmet .....laid there stunned and coulndnt move for several minutes. he never came back, cant even bare to look at my bike. i got help and a ride home .... hubby took me to ER. now "resting" in a very uncomfortable "S" sling which basically yanks my shouders back as break shows one part of clavicle above the other part so needs to be pulled down and calcium deposits heal it? and having terrible muscle spasms. icing every 15, super down in the dumper
Comments
So sorry to hear about your crash. Luckily, for the most part, you're okay and your body will heal. Remember that, it could have been so much worse.
Wishing you a speedy recovery.
Cary
That is a total bummer!!! Sorry to hear about your crash. I had a friend with the same injury and he needed surgery on his clavical and ended up with a rod and some pins...The good news (if you can call it that) is that he was back on his bike indoors in 4 weeks, outside in 6 weeks and back in full aero in 8. From the looks of your races, you have time to recover. Keep up with the Ice for the first 72 hours, that will help keep the swelling down and reduce tissue damage at the injury sight. Make sure you get an MRI on that shoulder ifyou think it broke while you were trying to catch yourself with your arm befor you hit. This will show soft tissue damage that may need more than some PT and massage.
Good Luck, and I hope you feel better soon!!!
Ebe
Sorry to hear this Linda! Bummer for sure, glad u are ok. I broke my clavicle in a bike accident once upon a time, they gave me the same sling to pull the shoulders back, but unfortunately did not work very well for me. The bones ended up healing on top of each other resulting in surgery to reset the bones with pins. I then had another surgery to take pins out...long and short was a long process of healing. I'm no doc, but my experience says make sure the bones are healing properly. Hopefully one of the docs in the haus can way in on whether a sling to pull the shoulders back is the best remedy for a clavicle break.
Linda -Sorry to hear about your crash. Sounds like a bad one. Can't believe the "a-hole"didn't stop to help you. Good thing you got some medical attention!! I had a bad crash last August in the Chicago oly tri. Another racer cut in front of me, I swerved to avoid, hit a pothole, and smacked into the concrete meidan on Lake Shore Drive. I tumbled over the median, lots of road rash and bruises everywhere, but nothing as bad as a broken clavicle. My bike was totaled beyond repair. Net, I have some empthy for you. Just keep your chin up and you'll be back in the saddle soon. It is still early in the year so you have time to heal for the summer races. One last thought: look for a silver lining. Maybe now you time to read that novel you've been thinking about, or go see all the movies up for Oscars. My silver lining was that Santa brought me a new tri bike for Christmas. Hang in there.
linda:
sorry to hear about the crash. bad human hurt you and good human helped you. this is life unfortunately.
broken clavicles, if broken in one spot, can heal without surgery. it's important to endure that sling, since it places the two ends of the bone in relative close proximity for a bone callus to eventually form. it may leave a bump there but other than that you'll recover fine from the fracture with no permanent effect on triathlon athletic performance. i speak not only from the physician perspective, but i broke mine too. just a bump, but i am not limited in anyway.
the stories in the forum regarding surgeries are interesting, but not the norm for a single fracture point. some docs like to operate for any reason! so, if your doc says surgery, then get a second opinion!
hope this helps.
drgh
Come on folks, let's not start off this year like this. Keep the rubber side DOWN!
Linda, please direct your rude aquaintance to the Austin, TX area. We have plan for him.................... nuff said...........
Sorry to hear about the accident and wish you a fast recovery........
Hi to all (and physicians), and so much gratitude for all of your input. I know Patrick broke his and his pelvis and required no surgery, but he is a youngster and I am 57.......So this is an extra piece of info Sort of extra info for physicians here....
I have pretty severe osteoporosis and take daily injections of Forteo ( a strong bone growth medication for advanced osteoporosis), my doc has said for a long time "just please don't fall", so duh! he knows I am a cyslist. I try to do as much indoor training as possible on a really good indoor trainer (cyclops 600 pro with power) but because I "was" attending a rather intense bike camp with my son is 5 weeks I was trying to get some outside rides in. I know that trip is scratched but do . think my having osteoporosis will hinder the "normal time line"? The ER doc said he wasn't sure (I am out of town right now), can't drive home on Monday but hope to be able to drive in a week to see my ortho....just wondered what your thoughts were on this additional piece of information? Thanks for your thoughts....ugh.
I am being really good with the sling and the ice by the way, having lots of muscle spasms which keeps making it "jump" and make awful grinding noises, so he called to check on me and ordered mylan ( a muscle relaxant but similar to valium) along with a strong pain reliever.
thanks again for your time
hi Linda:
good info.
great that you have a bit more help now for pain and muscle spasms.
the osteoporosis history, only means that your bones are more likely to break with less impact force. also, when in your normal not injured state, your bone resorption, due to your age and gender, is greater than your bone growth. however, weight training can balance that out even for people into there 70's and 80's with osetoporosis. in other words, the trend in bone weakening can be over-ridden.
similarly, you are now injured, so your body is going into overdrive to heal. so, your healing will occur just as with any other adult bone (i.e. kids are MUCH different, they heal over night practically). it may even be helped out more by your membership in EN (i.e. active 57yr old vs. sedenatary 57yr old). last i checked, precise differences in healing rate or the mechanisms were not yet clear, but the differences amongst adults were not too far off.
as for how osteoporosis relates to surgery, then that's a different story. imagine trying to re-enforce (did i spell that right?) a piece of wood that itself was no longer so strong. any piece of hardware would have very to little to anchor itself on. makes sense, right?
so, take the pain meds, muscle relaxants, ice, TLC and endure the splint. you'll heal and be up and gowing before you know it. surgery will not likely be necessary.
once healed up, definitely include weight training for upper body, if you don't already do so. lower body should be fine with EN training.
drgh
sorry for typos!
Best wishes for a speedy recovery - EN style!
Glad to hear your helmet protected you...since it has been in a crash, don't forget to go buy a new one!
Heather
Sorry to hear about your mishap! Suggestion: Notate the date, time and location. If you were near an intersection, contact the Newport City Police Dept. or the City of Newport to see if they tape that particular intersection. They may have pics of the incident and may be able to pick up the license plate number!
Please heal quickly!
thanks againso much for all your kind words
Gilberto, I really appreciate your expertise and advice, WILCO (will comply) as they say in my "student" flying lessons....which is also on hold for up to 6 weeks
today is 3rd day and the worst so far (this am), but just following all doctors orders and gonna do everything I can to heal quickly! GAWD I love EN
thanks, thanks, thanks!!
@ Linda - It has been a couple of weeks since your crash. How you doin? Are things healing up? How are your spirits?