Went down hard. Broke ribs and clavicle. Any suggestions?

[pdxharth]

Went down hard. Broke ribs and clavicle. Any suggestions?

For those who know Portland, I was near the bottom of Northwest Lovejoy in the S curves. It was wet. I slowed and the first curve was fine but the second was completely slick. My front tire went right out from under me like it was on ice. I landed on my shoulder and head, got the wind knocked out of me pretty good. My head was OK, as my new helmet did it’s job well. Thankfully, no cars were involved. I broke three ribs and my clavicle. Needless to say, I’m feeling pretty banged up today. They’ve got me on Percocet, Which works ok but not great, though I did sleep surprisingly well.

I’m sure many of you have been in similar situations, this is the first time I’ve ever broken a bone, and I’m 52 years old. Any advice or suggestions are welcome.

PS – the voice to text function on the iPad is pretty cool.

[Clean39T]

Oh man, sorry to hear about the accident...but very happy for your sake that no cars were involved...I know exactly where you're talking about and with the off-camber, newer pavement, and leaves, it's really hard to keep it upright...and when a front wheel goes out, nothing you can do but tuck and roll if you're lucky...hopefully someone was able to help you up and get you some care quickly...cold, wet, and broken on the side of the road sounds awful!

I've been sketched out by the leaves and rain and dark and awful roads and no shoulders in/around PDX...keep telling myself to be smart and put the road bike away for the winter, or at least until we get a patch of dry days...and yet I've been out riding in the muck most days anyway, playing the odds...been lucky so far and stayed upright despite more than a handful of wheel slips and brushes by the deathboxes...not sure I want to keep rolling those dice though...probably time to get the running shoes out for when I need fresh air and learn to love the indoor trainer...thankfully a 29er is en-route, so at least I'll have a way to get the wheels turning outside with a wider margin for error and slower speeds...

Anyway, good luck on your healing...and if you need to borrow an indoor trainer when the time comes, lemme know, I got a couple gathering dust.

[jimcav]

I'm 3 weeks out from 3 broken ribs, pneumothorax, and new heart murmur that turns out to be mitral regurg, which I didn't have on any prior exam (and I've had dozens over the years, and several in the last 2 years to be cleared for surgeries). Some clavicle fractures are able to heal without surgery, but I'm sure your doc will let you know the severity. Coughing, sneezing, laughing, and yawning still hurt, but I rode a bit this weekend. I imagine with broken clavicle riding may take longer. My initial xray missed the pneumothorax, so consider re-visit to Dr if you aren't feeling better. I tried to ride 4 days after the crash--because I was going off the negative xray--it hurt which is why I went back in, and then learned I wasn't "just sore"... I was told, it takes 8-10 weeks OT fully heal broken bones and pain should be my guide
I got diclofenac, which is just a super motrin, but I don't like the way Percocet or vicodin make me feel anyway, but they do take the edge of much better in my experience. Anyway, good luck with your recovery

[FlashUNC]

Rest and let your body do it's thing. Don't try to rush back.

[joosttx]

Don’t sneeze, cough or shiver right after you pee. All three really hurt with broken ribs.

[BobO]

Advise: If you can help it, don't sneeze.

Good luck with the recovery and as others have said, don't rush back.

edit;

Beat me to it as I was typing.

Originally Posted by joosttx

Don’t sneeze, cough or shiver right after you pee. All three really hurt with broken ribs.

[gdw]

Sorry to read about your accident. If you don't already own a reclining chair, la z boy style, get one. It will make sleeping easier without the drugs. You can probably find an inexpensive model at Goodwill. Use it for a few weeks until your bones start to mend and then return it. Good luck.

[bart998]

Sit back, have a beer and watch the ball games on Thanksgiving. Start planning slow, easy rides sometime after Christmas. Enjoy your family.

[ColnagoFan]

How is your head?
I broke my clavicle, heck almost a year ago, but mine needed surgery. Follow the doc's orders, do NOT try to do more because you "feel ok."

Listen to your PT person like the word of god and you'll be back up there in no time.

Sleeping can suck, it still is uncomfortable for me to sleep on my side sometimes...

[John H.]

Sorry to hear this.

Do you need surgery on clavicle or TBD? If it is an option- take it. A clavicle heals better and quicker with hardware. Get the hardware removed later.
I have a clavicle that healed naturally- It looks terrible- Like a dogs hind leg.

Ribs- can't do much about that- move slowly. Ribs can hurt a lot and for a long time.

Get off the pains meds as soon as you can. NSAIDS are a better option IMO- or nothing. It sucks. But constipation also sucks

Set up a trainer- spin easy as soon as you feel like it.

Resist the urge to sit around and drink beer. Make sure you get quality calories to promote healing- But don't gain weight. In fact it can be a good time to lose weight if you need to.
It will be 10X harder to come back if you gain significant weight, and lose conditioning.

If all you can do is walk- go walk. I know a guy who is a firefighter- He has broke a couple collarbones over the years.
After 1st break he started walking- He couldn't work and had time to do it.
He would walk for hours- When he was finally healed, both him and his dog had lost weight and were quite fit!

[dumbod]

Broken ribs suck.

One tip a nurse gave me years ago. Keep a pillow nearby. Hug it when you think that you're going to sneeze (or laugh). It helps keep the ribs in place which reduces the pain. It won't eliminate pain but it makes it more bearable.

[cnighbor1]

I had a broken rib
1st week sort of ok little pain why because rid hasn't healed a lot and still flexible
2nd week hurts a lot when you cough or move it has healed more an lost flexibility
3. better and hurts lots less when you move it

[CaptStash]

I feel for you buddy. I am about five and a half months out since I went down. Same breaks as you with the added fun of breaking my scapula as well. The good news for me was that since the scapula was broken, a surgical fix for the clavicle was in order, which eased a lot of the pain for me. We have abed that can raise and lower, so I was able to pretty comfortably sleep in a partially sitting position. I slept OK. I was off the heavy stuff pretty quickly and kept up with Tylenol for pain a good three to four weeks.

It always takes six weeks to heal. You should be feeling a lot better in a few days. After that the hardest part is waiting and following directions / not using your arm.

Any word on surgery yet? If it's an option, you may want to consider it. I had pretty instant relief after my surgery.

CaptStash....

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by joosttx

Don’t sneeze, cough or shiver right after you pee. All three really hurt with broken ribs.

Another thing I learned empirically after I broke 6 ribs in a bike crash: Do not watch comedy on TV!

But the best suggestion I got [edit: similar to gdw's advice above] which I followed through on and now recommend highly to anyone else who breaks a bunch of ribs: Rent an automatic recliner with the reversable motor. The most excruciating pain I've ever experienced in my life was trying to lie down -- or, once prone, trying to get back up -- with a half dozen broken ribs. The electric La-Z-Boy allows you to accomplish both rather effortlessly. You can rent them from medical supply shops. I think I kept it just for the first week or two, and it was a godsend. I slept in it.

[shovelhd]

I'm sorry to hear of your accident, and I wish you the best with your recovery.

As part of my last collarbone fracture (and ribs, and pneumothorax), I opted for a removable screw. The bones were shattered into six pieces, and this tied it all together. I had it inserted a week after the wreck as a day surgery. Removal was a very quick day surgery as well. Many people get the plates and screws, and end up with pain later after they've gotten back to training and lost body fat. This screw avoids all that. Ask your surgeon about it.

Don't be afraid to take the narcotics if you need them. Many people rush to get off of them and end up taking large quantities of NSAIDS, which isn't good for your body. The best way to minimize pain is to REST.

Another thing I used this time was a cryo-cuff. It's a small cooler, with tubing and a cuff that wraps around the injury.This thing really worked to reduce inflammation, pain, and speed healing. I still have mine if you need it.

Good luck.