Advil???

[bouncybouncy]

"it is not IF you are gonna fall, it is WHEN you are gonna fall"

there is this AWESOME new trail at our local Bent Creek MTBike trail system...smooooooth rolling whoop-dee-dooos, berms, little creek crossings, without a root in sight! ...of course this is AFTER the 5 1/2 mile UPHILL!!! anywhooo, i almost lost it on one whoop-de and landed front wheel first so i decided to take it easy and not over do anything and just cruised down at a moderate pace...we got to the bottom grinning in my usual $#!%-eatin grin and started back thru another not so smooth single-track back to the car....and then it happens...

BAAAAM!!!!!!
i miss-judged a root & loose rock and did MY FIRST ENDO!!!! ...screaming to DH ahead..."STOP!!!!! I'M OK!!! I THINK I JUST DID MY FIRST ENDO !!!"
now, most are wondering "what's with the smileys???" weeeelllll, i have been terrified about how i would handle such a fall? would i freak and put hands out resulting in a broken something for sure? would i carefully watch where i was about to land guaranteeing a face implant? noooooooooo...I TUCKED AND ROLLED!!!!!! yippy!!!! (thank goodness for the love of gymnastics as a youngen!)
so all is OK...even my pride BUT....a little sore in the neck and shoulders...nothing major (kinda like i slept wrong kinda kink) taking advil...here is my question:

how many days do you take advil (or any pain relieving type pill) before it might occur to you that you really might have hurt something? btw...it has only been 2 days! (and i know from weight training, it is always the "day after the next" that is the worst)

[CorsairMac]

actually for some odd reason, in my case it's always the day after the day after! I did smile at your question tho: you're asking a bunch of women who ride thousands of miles (sometimes all at once) on bicycles and you want to know how long we take OTC before we think something might be wrong? If there is no swelling or the swelling isn't gotten any worse and I don't have limbs that are unusable, I don't usually consider it a problem. But then - that's me. Sorry to hear about your endo but wow woman....well done on the landing! It's always the first fall that's the scariest yeah? So when are you tackling that trail again??

[bouncybouncy]

actually for some odd reason, in my case it's always the day after the day after! I did smile are your question tho: you're asking a bunch of women who ride thousands of miles (sometimes all at once) on bicycles and you want to know how long we take OTC before we think something might be wrong? If there is no swelling or the swelling isn't gotten any worse and I don't have limbs that are unusable, I don't usually consider it a problem. But then - that's me. Sorry to hear about your endo but wow woman....well done on the landing! It's always the first fall that's the scariest yeah? So when are you tackling that trail again??

AAAHHHHH!!!...but corsair, i know exactly who i am asking!!! in my aging wisdom i have come to realize that the female pain tolerance is soooooo much greater than their counter-parts (why were we the chosen ones to reproduce??? like a man could EVER handle pregnancy) so how could i get relatively accurate input on something like this?
btw...i have been mtbing for over a year now and mentally practicing the tuck and roll every time i see a potential place for something like this to happen...i have even thought about going out to a grassy field and practice falling (with helmet on!) it could really save time in recovery!!! if you fall right!
...also...it was the day after the day after and i did cruise right down that same hill...but apparently someone else had issues with the loose rock cause it was put off to the side of the trail!

maillotpois - neck is A-OK today!!! but i did sprain ankle last year falling off a bridge and never saw anybody for it (i don't think it helped i got on an 8 hour flight 2 hours after the fall) still a little twinge here&there...stubborn!!!!

Lesson Learned - practice, practice, practice!!!! (even falling!!!)

[maillotpois]

Great going on the tuck and roll!! Nicely done!

The issue of whether there's something more seriously wrong is kind of a matter of degree: What does the pain feel like? Where is it? Is it consistent? Is it sharp? From what you have described, like sleeping on it wrong, my gut says nothing major is wrong - but if you have any doubts you should see someone to be sure. (As you'll see, I don't necessarily follow my own advice...)

My last major (road) crash was the end of November in a race in Tucson. I still have occasional pain in my lower back with occasional radiating pain down one leg from this crash. Mostly when I climb. I know that there's some inflammation there in my back, and when it acts up the advil knocks the swelling down. So I take advil on and off to treat that. If I am going to be riding for a long time, I take it as a preventative measure. I'm kind of pig headed and stubborn about it and I did not go see anyone. I know that it is getting better over time - it's really MUCH better now.

But a crash injury can take longer to heal than a sore muscle from workout injury.