Need cheering up...

[Catrin]

I need some cheering up. As you may remember, I had a small fall on the trail in mid/late October. It was just a freak fall, and I came out of it with a significant case of whiplash. It took me a few weeks to see that it wasn't going to heal itself and I started the doctor/MRI/injections route, and started PT the first of January.

While my neck is a mess - most of it existed prior to the fall and isn't really responsible for my stiffness and pain - almost all of that is STILL due to the severe muscle strain (sternocleidomastoids are severely strained, as well as the scalenes and the sternohyoid). These muscles are extremely tight and not healed as of yet. My PT is working to manually loosen and stretch these muscles and, when they have healed more, will start strengthening them. He is afraid to start the strengthening work too soon for obvious reasons.

There is progress, the constant headaches are gone, the muscle spasms are basically gone, I am now sleeping well (finally), but there is still pain with all of this.

Part of me is starting to worry that if it is still like this after 3 months, that it may not heal enough for me to get back on the trails. Now, I know that is an irrational fear, but it would be encouraging to me to hear about others who have had similar injuries and are back to their mountain bike. So, please share your stories if you are comfortable doing so.

[tealtreak]

Speaking as someone who has recovered from two car wrecks (neither my fault lest you think it is my driving!! hahaha) Several surgeries and broken bones, also several fibroid surgeries and 4 babies....................Don't worry! You will get back on the trails- but in the meantime for peace and recovery and maintaining fitness try hiking, swimming, etc...I had a whole year of "stuck in the water" but time heals all! (: It also helps me to think about my CF kids at the hospital who will never have the wind to do half the stuff I do- not sure if that is "cheery" or more depressing....but it always helps me (:

[Catrin]

Thankfully I can ride on the road, but since I discovered my love for the trails I find I really don't want to spend a lot of time on the road...not that I won't do it I do hike when I've a chance, but right now that is my only other allowed activity.

I guess that I am still remembering my lengthy recovery from overuse injuries LAST winter that took me off the bike entirely for about 4-5 months. Time indeed does heal all and no, your thought about the CF kids isn't depressing but a reminder of how fortunate we are. Poor kids...

It would help if my supervisor didn't keep telling me how silly it is that I am not planning on giving up mountain biking, but that's ok. He only does that because he is concerned and really doesn't understand the love for riding.

I think this is bothering me more right now because some of the swelling has returned to the front of my throat and I thought I was past that

[Wahine]

Three significant car wrecks with significant neck issues that lasted about a year, one bad mountain biking accident with head trauma and a fractured wrist. I just did my first 100 mile mountain bike race this year.

You'll get better. Hang in there.

[jessmarimba]

I'm in a slightly different place, but for me the choices are either ride - with pain, or not ride - with pain. And while riding (especially off-road) increases the pain a little, it doesn't cause any further damage and the enjoyment for me is worth the increase in discomfort (most of the time). So sometimes your body just has to reach a compromise with your heart.

However, if the pain is due to further damage or causes you to do something that might cause further damage (change in form, balance, etc.) my way doesn't work.

I'll also point out that I took a lot of time getting back fully off-road - I stuck to jeep roads, etc. for awhile so I could get that exploratory, outdoor-woodsy feeling without anything too technical. I had to learn my limits and figure out my relationship to what hurt, first.

[Catrin]

Thanks for the responses. I've been having a pity party these past few days, but of course focusing on positive things is better for healing than the pity party. I so glad that all of you were able to get through and heal. This will take as long as it takes and I am looking forward to eventually having a rematch with that root.

Jessmarimba, I am glad you were able to reach a compromise with your body. I will certainly need to ease my way back on the trail when the time comes...take my time, focus on skills, and so forth.

I think living by myself makes the pity party easier...but will work on that

[Aggie_Ama]

My husband and I had a significant car wreck in March. I was lucky to not be injured but he had whiplash. He was a bit cagey about how bad it was but it lasted throughout the summer, it interfered with training through the summer. Eventually he got where he could ride more without pain. He has just come into the best form of his life after pain. He is racing for the podium in our marathon series, last race is at the same one we raced the day of the wreck.

I am a big advocate of positive thinking. You will be back on the trail and you will love it as much as ever!

[Kathi]

I haven't been on skis for 5 weeks due to my cranky SI joint. I ignored it too long and this time it's slower to heal. I was ok at first because the snow conditions were pretty bad but now I'm missing the best snow so far this season. My activities are limited to walking flat terrain and riding my bike on the trainer. I'm looking at another week or 2 before I can ski.

My friends from Cincinnati are here skiing. They've been here since Jan. 1 but I haven't seen them yet. It's an hour + drive to the mountains and there's not much for me to do there except clean the condo. My SO drives up on Sunday and returns on Friday afternoon so I'm alone all week.

My thoughts, this too shall pass, just like all the others (rotator cuff and acl surgery, broken wrist, and a few other crazy injuries).

It's best to take care of yourself now so you can get back on the trails in the spring and not have to worry about future problems with it.

[Catrin]

Thanks again to everyone, I do appreciate it. I don't know why I was so depressed over this during the weekend, I threw quite the pity party for myself. This can be one of the downsides of living alone...no one there to take my mind off my little obsessions...

It was helpful though, and I do appreciate it. Also my PT said yesterday that I am actually progressing a bit above schedule, I am just in the "step ahead, fall back" stage of things.

[Catrin]

I seem to be "falling back" more than springing forward these days. Think positive, think positive, think positive!

On a positive note, I am going to work with a mountain bike coach who I worked with last year, but this time we will focus on my basic bike skills. I've been riding on the road under 2 years, and I figure ramping up my over-all skills will certainly help me on the mountain bike. Falls must come on the trail, that is a given, but more advanced general skills will hopefully mean fewer of them I've only about 3,500 miles on the bike total, and that isn't very much. I've no idea how many miles I did on the mountain bike last year, but I don't track trail miles.

Aggie-Ama, did your husband totally recover from the whiplash - no pain at all?

[Catrin]

I've actually been behaving myself since my fall (if you can believe that)...and I am probably the slowest person on the trails in the entire state That being said, I am not back on the trails just yet, hoping to by spring.

All summer I took the trails bit by bit, what happened when I fell was just one of those freak things that happen. I do focus on my hear-rate on the road, but not on the trails. On the trails I focus on what I am doing and enjoying my surroundings. I also stop and look at bushes and flowers that get my attention

So I am doing everything they tell me to do, but part of me is beginning to wonder if this is as good as it will get - but I refuse to go there for longer than a few seconds. Positive thinking helps healing!

[bmccasland]

Catrin,
Hang in there. And there's nothing wrong with stopping to smell the flowers - unless you have pollen allergies.

[indysteel]

Catrin, I believe in the power of positive thinking; I do. But I believe more in the power of resilient thinking. In that vein, my therapist sometimes actively encourages me to consider the the "worst case scenario." In the case at hand, she might ask me "Okay, so what if you can't MTB this spring as intended. Then what?" From there, we'll talk about my Plan B (and maybe Plans C and D, too). She's not trying to discount my fears or feelings about something. Rather, she's trying to reinforce my faith in my ability to cope with what life throws me, especially when it comes to things that are largely out of my control.

So, with that in mind, I guess I'd ask you this: So what if your whiplash is slow to heal and you can't start MTBing again this spring as you'd like. What then? Can you devise a Plan B that you can live with? Can you embrace the idea that Plan B, while not your first choice, may be sufficient to sustain you through a difficult time? Are there other things you can do to offset your disappointment or help you more actively deal with the issue?

In sharing this, I'm not trying to make you feel worse; really I'm not. I'm injured too right now and have had to revise my game plan substantially. It's hard and some days I feel really sorry for myself. It's sometimes not easy to accept our bodies as they are day to day. I'm just trying to show you a possible alternative to your current thought pattern.

[Catrin]

Good points Indy, and thank you. In a way I've already gone there, which is part of the reason why I am going to pursue a few sessions with a cycling coach this spring. Before I hit the trails again I will need to know that my neck is strong enough for me to ride without pain - and I also learned last summer where my basic skills are a bit lacking and I will be safer on the trails if I address what I know is lacking first.

Yes, positive thinking is good, and while I've never called it thus, "resilient thinking" is even more important. Thank you for the term, I've never really come up with a name for it.

[OakLeaf]

I don't have anything to add but hugs and "hang in there."