What Do You Say?

[hirakukibou]

I think when people don't share your passion they have a hard time seeing that the risk is worth it. It does sound like your friends and family are worried about you and that is where their insistance comes from. One idea might be to take a safety course for riding or something to appease those who are worried about you. However, like Kali said, it is your body and your life. I also think it takes some courage to get back up on the bike after two serious accidents. I say, follow your heart. Be safe and heal well.

[bcipam]

As someone who has also had her share of accidents, injuries or illnesses and has had to be off the bike longer than expected or desired, I share your pain and understand your anxiety but... it sounds like you need to stay off, rest, and heal properly. Take up another sport. I started hiking again after my collarbone surgery (which btw was necessary because I did not let the fracture properly heal). Also I was able to do spin classes to keep my legs moving. The doctor and therapist are just concerned about you falling again and getting hurt further. Give it the proper time. You'll be biking soon enough.

[margo49]

You gotta be a bit nuts to recover from serious medical situations.
A good physical therapist knows that there are some of us who have to be restrained a bit from overdoing the recovery *but* that we are also the best rehab cases 'coz we are *motivated*
My experience is that my community know that when they see me on my bike I am *well* and *happy*. They *like* to se me recovering against odds.
I think people like to see someone *really* recover. People love a fighter who will never say die. It gives the courage too and also they tend to prefer to support a fighter, rather than pity someone who is sidelined for ever.
Go for it!

ps sorry about all the *'s for emphasis, this is one thing I really get on a soap box about

[KnottedYet]

I'm surprised your PT wants you to give up riding. Does she just want you to lay off riding for a while, or really want you to give it up? Ask her what she meant?

We often encourage our patients to take up riding, because it's such a good sport for folks who've been injured. But then our clinic owner is a huge biking goddess...

If I had a patient with a situation similar to yours I might ask her to try switching to a recumbent bike for a while to allow everything a chance to heal. Not a flat-out supine recumbent, something more like a RANS or a BikeE, Rush, TourEasy, where your spine is more upright with a bit of a lean back and a fully supported spine. But only if there were no lingering balance impairments from the injuries. If someone's balance and proprioception haven't recovered yet I don't encourage biking.

I would also reccommend my patient take some of the really good bike safety and handling classes we have around here, not because my patient doesn't know how to ride, but because after a brachial plexus injury a person's body needs to relearn some skills that have been taken for granted in the past, and a class with an instructor who can watch a person's body is a great place to retrain.

[Offthegrid]

Find doctors and therapists who are cyclists?

I dunno the answer, but I hope you feel better soon.

[DeniseGoldberg]

You absolutely should not give up something that you love - riding - because of an accident. But I would think that it would be a good idea to give yourself time to heal before you get back on your bike. Riding just 3 days after what you describe as a bad concussion sounds a little fast to me.

I'm not a doc or someone in the healthcare field, just another gal who is addicted to biking. I am also someone who recovered from a very serious biking accident and who had to wait 6 weeks to get back on my bike. My friends and family all expected me to get back on my bicycle, although I know there are some who would have preferred that I stop. They knew better than to tell me that though because they knew that I consider bicycling to be an important part of my life.

You absolutely should keep cycling if that's what you want to do. But taking a relatively short break to allow your body to recover may be a good idea.

--- Denise

[Bikingmomof3]

I am not in the medical profession, nor have I had to recover froma major accident. But, from what you mentioned, I do not see why you should give up biking, after a rest and you are healed, that is.