UPDATE: Cracked humerus NO LONGER! (And with X-Rays)

[FlashUNC]

So out on a ride on my new custom bike, when I hit the deck thanks to some awkward train tracks I've crossed a thousand times.

X-rays show I snapped off a good bit of my humerus at the elbow and the joint is pretty hosed.

I'd like to know what I can expect from surgery, of anyone's been through this before. And just some general commiseration.

And the bike has a ding in the top tube and a small paint chip, but is otherwise fine.

[thinpin]

1st thought - OUCH!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . but so sorry this has happened! What a bummer . . . :crap:

BBD

[Gothard]

You'd need to show us the X-Ray so we can have a good idea.
Then, we (at least I) would keep the idea for ourselves.

Seriously find a good orthopedist that is familiar with athletes and explain him what you do. He will adjust therapy accordingly.

But generally an intra-articular fracture with displacement needs to be realigned, quite often surgically.

Good luck! better lose a few months now and heal completely than hurry and botch the job, then be in pain forever.

[thinpin]

On a more serious note joints are seldom simple, each of these fractures are unique. The people best placed to tell you what to expect are the team who put it together and plan your rehab. Best of luck with it.

[roydyates]

I feel for you. My wife fractured her humerus in a fall last summer but hers was near the shoulder and did not need surgery or a cast. Even though her injury was a lot less bad than yours, it was extremely painful and the rehab was extensive. Good Luck!!

[FlashUNC]

Thanks all. Just saw the ortho surgeon. Said surgery's going to be required. Humerus was cracked in three places. Looks like I hit pretty much square on the elbow.
At least I'll be getting some titanium bling, I suppose.

[DfCas]

I snapped mine off at the age of 12 pitching baseball, and they reattached it surgically. That was in the dark ages, so I'm sure the surgical procedures are better now. I regained almost all my range of motion, and have had no problems.

[jpw]

Damn train tracks. I cross a set every time I ride. Not too difficult at right angles. Tram tracks, being parallel to the direction of travel, are much trickier to negotiate - hate 'em, but trams are cleaner than cars, buses, etc.

I broke my elbow once by falling from a tall stool at home. Painful, but I made a full recovery. There is hope for you. Good luck.

[Johny]

Speedy recovery!

[Viper]

6-9 screws.
Maybe a plate with screws.
Dunno.
Where was it fractured, the head?
Hopefully there isn't a lot of soft tissue damage (ligament, tendon, muscle, cartilage).
6-8 weeks in a sling.
3-6 months of rehab to re-gain motion in links of the shoulder, elbow, wrist and strengthen the entire chain.
Would've been awesome to have broken a collar bone.

Good luck dude. You will be fine.

[rugbysecondrow]

Get well Flash.

[MattTuck]

Wishing you all the best. Your post is amazingly cogent given the pain and/or pain killers you're taking.

Common sense stuff is all I can pass along. Do the rehab. Take your time. Better to do be slow/do it right now, than have problems later on.

Sorry about the new custom frame! With time, you and your bike will return to full health.

Chicks dig scars.

I remember reading an article about injured athletes (I think the experiment involved javelin throwers) that were injured. One group did normal rehab. The other group did normal rehab plus lots of mental exercise. Watching themselves and other people throw the javelin, mental visualization of them throwing the javelin, etc. Long story short, there is some neural development that can happen even if you're not actually doing the sport, and the second group of athletes came back from their injuries better than the regular rehab group.

Will give you a good excuse for watching all the classics!

[FlashUNC]

Doc has me scheduled for a CT scan today, with surgery on Wednesday.

He said the humerus is cracked in three spots. So looks like I did quite a number on it. Will post some X-rays once they're up.

[stien]

Mojo sent your way. I'm at the tail end of an ulna fracture from a cycling incident. I busted up my elbow joint as well.

Chances are you won't get a cast. You get pinned or plated back together and will start physical therapy (which I'm about to leave for!) right away. The muscles atrophy quickly and your joints get stuck. It hurts. Don't let that happen, trust me. Keep 'em moving. 6-8 weeks for it to heal. I got my pins out last Thursday because they were interfering with pronation and supination. With that came another surgery but I am now pain free and have 85% mobility back. Rides will come soon.

Just a reminder, oxycodone is the devil. It turns your brain to mush, you get all itchy, and your erm...bodily functions come to a halt. It sucks, and is frankly not worth it. You couldn't pay me to take those again. I found extra stength tylenol helped well for pain management, beyond that, just yell.

More when I get back from PT! Be well.

[Fixed]

sorry to hear the good news is ... this is something docs are good at imho
cheers

[sc53]

In Dec 2007 I fell while riding over an icy bridge on a bike trail--left arm (and forehead--helmeted, luckily) smacked into a big wooden beam guard rail on the way down and humerus was smashed to bits, literally too many fractures for the doc to count! But because no fractured bit was displaced more than 45 degrees he gave me the option of no surgery. I chose no surgery, cast for 12 weeks, then extensive 3 x week PT for the left shoulder that froze up while immobilized in the sling for so long. My first bike ride was in early May and I haven't fallen since! My fall did not involve my elbow though; the fractures were all pretty centrally located between elbow and shoulder joints. I still have a painful shoulder blade over on that side, something about adhesions, spasms of some deep muscles in that area. I've been seeing a chiropractor for that and it's helping.

[akelman]

I'm so sorry about your injury and your bike, Flash. That's rotten luck. Hopefully better days are on the way.

[jds108]

So our injuries are certainly different, but I dislocated my elbow, shattering the end of the radius and breaking the ulna as well. I now have a silastic radial head implant, as they had to permanently remove the end of the radius. Kind of like the eraser at the end of a pencil.

After surgery I had essentially zero range of motion and it was through much physical therapy that I regained it. Apparently the body's propensity to build scar tissue was the challenge.

After a year i was far from recovered and wasn't riding my bike. But after three or four years it was pretty good. Mine will never be 100%, but it doesn't cause me any trouble or anything more that the most trivial amount of discomfort. Apparently that's a pretty good outcome based on what the docs laid out in the days/weeks after if happened.

So best of luck, and follow doc's orders!

[old_fat_and_slow]

Wow, was it this little lady that got dinged?

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=102730

Very sad.

Hope your surgery goes well, and your rehab.

[thwart]

Who cares about the elbow... you say you dinged the bike?

That really sucks.

;) :D

All bad humor aside, good luck with the surgery and rehab!

[FlashUNC]

Yup. Ding in the tob tube.

Thankfully that seems to be the worst of it.

[tiretrax]

Go to the best sports medicine orthopeadic surgeon in town. I wish you a speedy recovery. I hope the ding is be repairable, too - beautiful bike.

I wiped out on some tracks a few years ago in the rain. It was mile two of my first day to in Seattle - 75 mile ride that day. I took a big chunk out of the top of my hand, but was otherwise ok. Fortunately, there were only minor scratches to the bike I was renting, and the only casualty was my badly torn glove. Four more fantastic days of riding followed.

[pitcrew]

Sorry to hear you took a digger.....

[FlashUNC]

Sorry to hear you took a digger.....

Thanks. Lets try to get a ride in down in your neck of the woods this summer.

In other news, spoke with my ortho this morning. He said I'd be getting three plates, one to hold together the ulna they need to cut to get to the humerus, and two to hold the humerus together. Screws all around and maybe some pins for any smaller, floating bits of bone.

Then rehab will start...

[R2D2]

Yup. Ding in the tob tube.

Thankfully that seems to be the worst of it.

Hi:
What track in Charlotte did you in? Just curious.
We have a lot of trains here.
Charlotte has always been a transportation hub.
Hope you heal up well.
If you need anything help etc, I live in Charlotte.

[gomango]

Sorry to hear of your great misfortune.

Get well soon!

[FlashUNC]

Hi:
What track in Charlotte did you in? Just curious.
We have a lot of trains here.
Charlotte has always been a transportation hub.
Hope you heal up well.
If you need anything help etc, I live in Charlotte.


Rozzelle Ferry Rd.

[FlashUNC]

Just an update for you guys and gals.

Surgery on Wednesday went well, though a bit longer than expected given the extent of the break. Docs used plates and screws to get everything back together. No pins. First couple days were pretty painful, but I'm starting to get up and move around a bit. Scheduled to see the doc later this week for a follow up and so I can start physical therapy.

He seems pretty confident I avoided nerve damage and can get my range of motion back. And thanks for all the kind words, have certainly helped these last few days.

[FlashUNC]

Latest update all:

Just got back from the ortho. Called the humerus' healing so far "textbook" with no complications. Have some range of motion back and physical therapy is going to continue three times a week for the forseeable future.

But now for the great news -- I can get back on the bike outdoors. Have been restricted to the trainer the last few weeks, but now I can ride fo' realz. Doc said I have no restrictions as long as my arm tolerates it. Said to ease into it and pay attention to what's good pain (breaking up muscle adhesions and scar tissue) and what's bad pain. Obviously said to back off and not push through the bad pain.


I'm thinking of getting out for a slow, easy spin this weekend if the weather cooperates and I handle a short ride around the parking lot without much issue.

And for those of you who like looking at such things, here's shots of my post-op X-rays:


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8157/6961450368_15dd9ce3b3_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8159/7107520533_0ca66494f2_b.jpg

[slowgoing]

HOLY CRAP! Best of luck with the recovery!

[MattTuck]

That's great!

Now, let's just be clear. Since you've been on the trainer, we expect no drop off in form. ;)

Keep up the good work!

[rice rocket]

I think they need to hire some engineers in medicine. That's looks like something from ThereIFixedIt.com (http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/).

Good luck w/ the recovery!

[FlashUNC]

I think they need to hire some engineers in medicine. That's looks like something from ThereIFixedIt.com (http://thereifixedit.failblog.org/).

Good luck w/ the recovery!

That was my reaction too. Modern medicine is basically parts you an find on the window and door aisle at Home Depot.

[tiretrax]

Glad to hear the good report. Looking at the x-rays makes me want to wear an elbow pads. Ouch. Best wishes for smooth riding.

[William]

YOWZA!!:eek:

Happy you're getting better!





William

(Looks like they let Tim Allen loose in there with a Binford 5000;) )

[Louis]

That was my reaction too. Modern medicine is basically parts you an find on the window and door aisle at Home Depot.

Yeah, but at least they usually run them back and forth over a candle to stun the bugs before they put them inside of you. :eek:

[FlashUNC]

Update #2:

Was released from any further physical therapy today by my therapist, after the doc gave the blessing last week to wrap up our therapy work. I've got my laundry list of exercises to do and will be hitting the gym three times a week to work on it all. Range of motion continues to progress in both extension and flexion.
Doc is confident I'll get back just about everything. He did note there may be some limitation in flexion, but I'm only about 15 degrees off what my other, undamaged arm can do anyways right now and I'm still making progress. I've been ahead of all of his milestones so far, so I'm hoping to get everything back.

I've got a couple splints I'll be wearing a bunch to continue to stretch out the arm in both directions for the next few months, but everything's progressing in the right direction.

Thanks again all for the kind words and support these last few months.

[MattTuck]

Update #2:

Was released from any further physical therapy today by my therapist, after the doc gave the blessing last week to wrap up our therapy work. I've got my laundry list of exercises to do and will be hitting the gym three times a week to work on it all. Range of motion continues to progress in both extension and flexion.
Doc is confident I'll get back just about everything. He did note there may be some limitation in flexion, but I'm only about 15 degrees off what my other, undamaged arm can do anyways right now and I'm still making progress. I've been ahead of all of his milestones so far, so I'm hoping to get everything back.

I've got a couple splints I'll be wearing a bunch to continue to stretch out the arm in both directions for the next few months, but everything's progressing in the right direction.

Thanks again all for the kind words and support these last few months.

Awesome. :)

Curious if they gave you any diet advice during recovery?

Have you been out on the bike outside yet? I gathered from my previous post that you've been on the trainer.

[FlashUNC]

Awesome. :)

Curious if they gave you any diet advice during recovery?

Have you been out on the bike outside yet? I gathered from my previous post that you've been on the trainer.

Been riding consistently outdoors since week 6, so about mid to late April. Its been really slow going. Surgery knocked me on my rear, and the fitness has been somewhat slow to come back but I'm now back to about where I was before the break. Little frustrating to have basically lost a Spring and Summer, but it could have been far worse.

I asked them about dietary issues, and they made pretty clear that my body would let me know what I needed. I wasn't placed on any kind of restrictions. Eating left handed (my non dominant hand) with one arm useless for the first month was fun. If we made steak, the girlfriend had to cut it up for me. They said any calcium supplements or the like for the bone wasn't needed, though that's likely because the bone wasn't healing on its own, but rather trussed together between two bridge girders and a bunch of titanium screws. I did notice I was craving a lot of protein (mainly beef) in the weeks immediately after surgery. I ended up gaining a little bit of weight (about 5 pounds), but nothing that I couldn't trim with a month or so of decent mileage.

[bambam]

Glad to hear your recovering well. :)

[FlashUNC]

Just got this today, oddly enough, from the medical rep who is handling my use of their therapeutic splints for the next couple of months.

I had not seen the xrays of my damaged elbow until now. Girlfriend saw them and said it was probably best I didn't see the damage I did. Seeing them now five months after the fact, I can see why.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8020/7706305324_2fc030ca55_b.jpg