Broken collarbone & weight training

[BillBB]

Hello, everyone-
I broke my right collarbone and fractured five ribs (puntured lung) about three and a half weeks ago. I started spinning on the trainer about two weeks ago and am now wondering if it would be safe for me to start doing some weights in the gym (for legs only). I still experince some pain and have very limited movement in my right arm. I'd appreciate the input of anybody who could share his/her knowledge or experience.
BTW, I'm 49 yrs. old so it'll take me longer to heal than the young ones.
Thank you for your time.

 

[DVad3r]

This is the collarbone thread just a few spaces down


http://www.cyclingforums.com/t133419-broken-claviclesurgery-or-not.html

I too have a fractured clavicle in 3 places and it has been almost 4 weeks now. I personally won't start weight training until after my sling comes off and I do some physio. Doing legs can still stress your upper body muscles so personally I would wait it out. At 49 years I would really try and take it easy, and if your doing bike, thats good, at least your getting some leg stimulation, ill probably start that also in a few days. Good luck with your recovery.

-Peter

 

[BillBB]

Hi, Pete-
Thank you for sharing your experience. I did get an ok from my Dr yesterday and went ahead and did some weights for my legs. Everything went fine. I only did leg presses, leg extensions and hamstring curls. I used about 85% of the weight I normally use. However, I can see why in your situation, you may require more caution as you broke your collarbone in three places. Mine was a clean break in the middle with a 2.5 cm. displacement.
I wish you a good recovery.
Bill

 

[Felt_Rider]

Bill, I responded to your question the other day suggesting those 3 exercises, but I deleted my responses out of fear that the leg press could possibly cause a greater injury to the ribs if a deep range of motion caused the thighs to press in on the rib cage.

I am glad to hear that you were able to do leg press and that everything went well. With those 3 exercises you can at least keep your legs from muscular atrophy during the recovery phase.

 

[BillBB]

Bill, I responded to your question the other day suggesting those 3 exercises, but I deleted my responses out of fear that the leg press could possibly cause a greater injury to the ribs if a deep range of motion caused the thighs to press in on the rib cage.

I am glad to hear that you were able to do leg press and that everything went well. With those 3 exercises you can at least keep your legs from muscular atrophy during the recovery phase.

Thank you, Felt_Rider (the intention is what counts). You may be right in your fears. But when I do leg presses, I lower the weight just a little past the 90 degree point, not deeper.