Pelvic Bone Fracture - Looking for Recovery Insights

[brodymom]

About 2 weeks ago I fell while riding across a wet slime covered bridge. Long story short - it turned out that my pelvic bone is fractured in 3 places but that sounds much worse than it is. No surgery required....I am expected to heal completely with no residual effects.

I am curious to hear if others have had similar injuries and how you recovered and how you got back on the bike. Any insights will be much appreciated.

[Wahine]

I have not had this injury but I work as a PT in a very sporty community and I've seen this type of injury multiple times.

The most important thing is to follow any weightbearing restrictions you have to a T. Although the fracture may not be a big deal and you may not be in a lot of pain, it's very easy to progress the fracture and end up with a displaced fracture (when the fractured bone ends move relative to one another such that they are no longer in anatomical alignment). Once that happens, rehab becomes much more complicated and the long term implications are greater.

If you are non-weight bearing or partial weight bearing, ask if you can get in to see a PT to get some safe exercises to help maintain your strength while you heal. The things we have to work on the most after the fracture has healed is loss of muscle mass, balance and propioception. So if you can do anything to help keep those factors stronger, you'll recover much faster once released back to activity.

Hope that helps.

[brodymom]

Thanks for the advice. The orthopedist said I could put weight on it and to use pain as the guide....in the interest of maintaining some level of fitness, I have been swimming (and using a floatation device for my legs). I will call about the PT and see if I can start sooner rather than later.

Thanks again!

[emily_in_nc]

I fractured my pelvis in three places also in a bike accident in 2005. However, one of my fractures was quite serious -- all the way from the outer edge of my right ilium into my sacrum. I had to have surgery to put a 5" plate and four pins in my pelvis, so my situation was obviously very different than yours. I was in so much pain before my surgery I had to be heavily medicated until I could get to surgery and for awhile afterwards as well.

Still, with PT and after 9 weeks of no weight-bearing on the right side, I was able to get back to riding only a few months later. Very slowly and carefully, though! I did a 50-mile event 5 months after my accident.

I do still have some residual pain even now, but I am able to ride and run, so I still lead a very active life. Hopefully you'll recover faster than me and won't have any residual pain in the long-term. Hope you can get into PT soon -- I started right after being released from the hospital. In-home PT for the first 8 weeks, then in the PT's office for awhile.

Good luck!

[brodymom]

So sorry to hear about your injuries but very much appreciate the response. It is very encouraging. I am also a runner and was thinking that might take longer to get back to for the obvious reasons. What has surprised me the most is that pain (more discomfort than real pain) was worse the second week. I am hoping it subsides this week (just starting now) but time will tell.

Again, thanks for the encouraging feedback.

[jessmarimba]

Maybe check for aqua fitness classes or water therapy while you heal. I'd talk to the teacher before showing up or signing up for classes, but there are some pretty fun (and harder-than-they-look) classes at some of our local rec center and physical therapy centers that I took advantage of the last time I couldn't run or bike.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

[SallyRides]

I have been through this. About 7 years ago, I went down in a paceline, hit the pavement and ended up with two hairline fracture on the left side of my pelvic bone. For me, the pain was excruciating for the first few days. I'm glad you are not having to deal with that! I was on crutches with no weight-bearing for two weeks, then was allowed to start very minimal weight-bearing on that side and judge by my pain level when I could increase the amount of weight. I went from two crutches to one. And by about week 4, I think, I could walk without the crutch, but I was still limping a bit and couldn't walk fast. I was not allowed back on the bike until 6 weeks post-crash. My first ride was on my mountain bike, on a quiet, paved trail. I had to get my courage back! Once I started riding again, it didn't take all that long to get my strength back. I did not lose much muscle mass, since I was able to partially use the leg on that side after only two weeks. When I had my 6 week x-ray, my ortho was very pleased with the healing. He said I should have no issues with it. So far, that's been true.
No injury is good! But for me, this healed quite well. I did follow my recovery instructions, even tho' I wanted to do more.
Best of luck to you in your healing.

SR

[brodymom]

SallyRides - so glad to read this and thanks to everyone who responded. This is encouraging. I go back to the ortho next week and am anticipating all of the potential outcomes. I am in week 4 and have started to hobble around without a crutch when I can - a bit more each day. But each day seems to be different - yesterday was great and today (after a good swim), I feel it again. He did say to expect 100% recovery so I am thinking the fractures were not too bad (and he never said no weight bearing - in fact, he said some weight was good...). I will ask more about all this when I go back.

I am also concerned about the courage issue. Hopefully, if and when I get an 'all clear' from the doctor, I will confront that in a good way. For now, I am telling myself that swimming and soon walking/running eventually are all good and I will have more time on my hands.

Thanks again for the responses...keeping my fingers crossed for some good news next week (which would be that the healing is progressing...).

Ellen

[r401caw]

SallyRides - so glad to read this and thanks to everyone who responded. This is encouraging. I go back to the ortho next week and am anticipating all of the potential outcomes. I am in week 4 and have started to hobble around without a crutch when I can - a bit more each day. But each day seems to be different - yesterday was great and today (after a good swim), I feel it again. He did say to expect 100% recovery so I am thinking the fractures were not too bad (and he never said no weight bearing - in fact, he said some weight was good...). I will ask more about all this when I go back.

I am also concerned about the courage issue. Hopefully, if and when I get an 'all clear' from the doctor, I will confront that in a good way. For now, I am telling myself that swimming and soon walking/running eventually are all good and I will have more time on my hands.

Thanks again for the responses...keeping my fingers crossed for some good news next week (which would be that the healing is progressing...).

Ellen

There is a Facebook page based in the UK for both men and women to share your experiences. Search Broken Pelvis Cyclists - quite a few female Americans on there - but the more the merrier. I broke my pelvis and acetabulum 3 years ago. Took me a year to get back on a bike - but managed 65 miles in one go yesterday without pain. Not bad for a 52 year old!