broken wrist rehab blues

[jpbayarea]

Hi to all,

On February 4th I broke my wrist/hand running on a muddy trail. I broke the radius and the Triquetrum, a small bone on the outside of the wrist. Ouch!
It's been casted for 6 weeks and now am in a splint. I am so anxious to ride again and rode for about 18 miles yesterday for the first time on the bike since January rains began. I wonder if any of you have hurt yourself similarly and what you found in returning to riding. I found it aching more last night and though I can shift and all that works well the jarring from the bumps and cracks in the road seemed to be felt directly in the healing bones. I doubt there is much more I can do other than try and be patient and some PT when the Ortho allows it. So far it seems to swell if I do too much manipulation and I'm probably rushing things to want to be riding, but....

returning to running full time to get the endorphins my body/mind wants has been less than wonderful for my body. It prefers the riding for sure!

Hope you are all staying healthy in this wetter than usual winter in California and other places. Come on Spring....it's time!!!

jaquelin

[Nanci]

Are you on a road bike? Aerobars will take all pressure off your wrist! Otherwise, I've noticed that I get a lot of pressure on my pisiform, which is the bone just lateral to the triquetrium, so there's probably pressure on that, too. Gel tape with bar phat under that, with gel gloves. MMMMM!

Nanci

[Hammer]

My story is in the new riders, got my ocr1 thread... typing is tough. I have a cast from my hand past my elbow. I broke my arm on Monday after I tipped to the right during a standing stop, left foot on solid ground. GRRRR!!!! Had the bike for 1 whole week... got maybe a total of 30 miles out on the road this season... I have my cast for 10 more days, they'll re x-ray and hopefully a sling for the projected 4 additional weeks. I broke the radial head, I think.

Not certain what my game plan is totally.

I wish you luck though... it's not fun being held back from activities you enjoy...

[tprevost]

Hi There!

I broke my radius on Jan 9th (rollerblading down a hill) and got the cast off March 1st. I did my first couple of rides when they switched from the full arm cast to one that was just on my forearm but it was really awkward! I have to say the bigger problem is the rehab from just being immobile (in my case anyway) in an awkward position. In the area where my actual bone was broken I don't have any problems but I have a pretty limited range of motion even now in April - mostly in the wrist area. I can get through day to day stuff but my wrist gets really sore riding my bike and I cannot bend it down from the wrist very far at all. I have done physical therapy but am told it could potential be a year before I get to whatever will be my maximum range of motion. I guess I just thought, well when the cast comes off I'll have the atrophy to deal with but I'll be back to normal. For me, that was not the case. Although I am seeing progress, just be patient with yourself and ask your dr about wearing a splint for a while if you're going to ride your bike. I wore one for an additional 3 weeks but only when I rode.

It'll get better - be patient! ;)

Tracy

[Dogmama]

I'm finally back on my bike doing some REAL miles (~ 20 - OK, I'm working on it!) after neck surgery (fusion in c4-c6). Here is what I learned.

Your body needs to heal. If riding doesn't feel good, don't do it. You'll be back on your bike soon. Healing takes energy. Recovering from riding takes energy. Energy is limited. Your choice. How long do you want to be recovering? I did a couple of rides way too soon (yup, with the soft cervical collar on - doncha know cars REALLY avoided me!) and set myself back about a week. I'm talking baby rides - 8 miles tops.

I had my surgery Dec 23 and wasn't really able to do any decent riding since Sept 05 without pain & numbness. I completely understand the yearning to get back on the bike. I want to ride 50 and know that I can do it except for my neck.

Patience.

[Kathi]

Me too, except mine is ACL. I've been down since Jan. 11, had surgery on Feb. 28th. The trainer has kept me going. I'm now allowed to road ride but no clipless pedals. I can make it about 1 hr, 10 miles, then my knee starts hurting. The trainer gives me the best workout. The worst part is I'm not allowed to hike, skate, go for walks, etc. I'm starting to use the elipitical trainer at the gym but only about 10 minutes. A lot of my rehab includes core work and pilates. Pilates kept me sane right after surgery when I didn't have enough rom for the bike.

In the summer of 99 I broke my wrist, distal radius, it took about 6 weeks after I got the cast off before I had the strength in my hand to ride. ROM wasn't a problem just my strength. By the next spring I rode without a problem. The wrist healed so well I can't tell it was broken. I spent a lot of time in the gym on the cardio machines and weight lifing on my legs,

In July of 03 I went over the handlebars of my mtn bike and strained my elbow, medial epicondalitis, still hurts sometimes, again it was fall before I could ride. I put areo bars on my trainer bike and rode that. It was mid Sept before I rode again. Again, I was in the gym lifting weights and working out on the cardio machines.

Be patient, if you give your body time to heal, it will come back stronger than it was before. You will be surprised how quickly things will come back once you're truly healed. Find an activity that will satisfy you in the meantime and be patient.