Cycling After A Leg Injury

Hi to everyone,

I used to cycle with my dad, and alone, before I broke my leg. I was not a professional cyclist, but rather I rode my bike mostly for health issues and because I loved it. Dad has been riding like forever, still is. We used to ride up the mountains, and had some great fun together - also riding through forests.

I miss all that, especially when like two years ago I broke my leg in half..only the skin and muscles held two parts together. I broke both my tibia and fibula on my right leg...

After two yeas of barely being immobile, spending time in bed or on the cruthes, plus once in a year (twice in two years) going to a rehab for 40 days, I am back on my feet. I have been walking on my own for almost two months now, but I am still pretty much afraid to get back on my bike.

Yesterday I set myself on a home training bike, for the first time in two years, and I had no trouble with peddling, just I felt kind of weak, and got tired easily..

What do you think? Do I need to train some more (and for how long) on my house bike (or whatever it is called) first, before I set myself on the riding adventures, again?
Can you suggest anything else to make my leg stronger..?

I would appreciate any piece of advise

Thank you guys in advance

Maja ♥

 

Just listen to your body. It is individual thing so you need to feel how ready you are. The fact you are feeling fatigue is because you are out of shape. So, you take it slow. Work your own pace and do it alone. Sometimes, people are insensitive to other people and you may hurt your self if you try to follow somebody. I believe that right now is not a good time to ride a bike in Serbia so either wait for some sunnier days or use your indoor bike. Adjust the resistance to 1 and start like 5 minutes a day. If you gradually continue to increase time then resistance you are going to be more than fit for the spring. And , more importantly you will not hurt yourself or risk an injury. After your accident your ligaments are still recovering , even though it happened a long time ago.

 

Holy shitsnacks, that is a horrible injury. Did you fall or were you hit by a car?

What Djordje87 said is pretty good advice, you're feeling week and fatigued because you're out of shape and you definitely need to set the bar lower and work your way up. I'd also definitely recommend checking that you're physically ready. I know 2 years is a lot of time, but if it took you that much to get better, there may be something worth checking out. Also, I would advise you to start cycling on smaller distances with less traffic since there could be some psychological effects on you if you were in a car accident when you broke your leg. I definitely recommend building your conditioning through a stationary bike or whatever before you go back to riding in the mountains or whatever long distance riding you did before.

Best of luck to you.

 

I'd say to start gradually and increase the effort slowly so that the body can get accustomed to it. If it start experiencing some issues I'd go to an osteopath for advice, if not just have fun!

 

Start slowly so that whole body can start worrking,
Thanks ,
[SIZE=10pt]Discover more architectural and interior design inspirations on[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]http://www.thecheesyanimation.com/Interior-Design-&-Rendering.html[/SIZE]

 

I love your piece of advice. I belive I would just do what you said, and start step by step, very carefully. All to not have the same thing happen again to me. I would not want that for sure!

Oh yes it was an awesomely terrible and terryfying experience for me. I fell on the ice, in my flat shoes, and even the doctor himself argued that it looked like i skiied down the mountain, looking at the way it was broken...
Yes, there is some fear involved even when I attempt to walk alone in the street. When I go to town, I usually take very small steps. I guess my wish to be more active needs to wait for some time until I am really ready for something more than just walking. I might go on with my bike inside the house, and just build up step by step.
Thank you for you wishes.

 

I can't even imagine what's worse, if the fact that it hurts a lot and all the inconvenience around that or the fact that we stay for a long time being unable to do what we love...

 

I agree to make a sensible effort and don't over exert but I have also found that you can do more than you think you can.The mental aspect is a large part of the equation. I was told I would need 6 month therapy after knee surgery but I was on the road about 18 days after the surgery doing steep climbs, at a slower pace. I was in good form before the injury but my state of mind accelerated my recovery.

 

Yes you are right. Being immobile was a very strange, new, and very scary experince I had to go through, no matter what.
I used to lie in bed, thinking I would maybe never be able to stand up, walk properly, let alone ride my bike again..I still can't run for instance, not even a little bit, so I am glad so far no one was chasing after me.

@jhuskey, I am happy you 'cheated' your mind, and went agains what doctors said, and in your case it turned out to be a possibility, whereas my injury was pretty messy and bad, and I was advised to not move at all, sometimes a little bit only. I had a lot of screws and a two panels inside, for more than a year..
I know what you are saying, that mind set is really important, and I am now striving towards that, now when I actually believe I can.

 

I didn't really go against the doc. I just exceeded the therapist's expectations. The ortho pretty much let me free lance my therapy.

 

Holy... Wait, I still don't get it, were you riding a bike or were you walking? I hate to say it, but I think you may have some psychological issues with this. Your injury was a huge and shocking event in your life and those sorts of things can always leave some trail. I'd recommend getting some counseling as well if you're able to. I can't give you any good advice on how to cope with this, but hopefully a professional will.

 

Yeah, it's really bad that you endured it for that long, but you are now fully recovered right? I can't even imagine being unable to move for such a long time, it would be a huge change in my life.

 

No, I was getting out of my building, on foot, in flat shoes..There was a huge chunk of ice in front of the building and maybe if I thought about it more, I could have managed to pass without falling, but you can't know when you are going to fall..:S Probably I do have some issues, people are telling me they notice the way I walk, like I am afraid of stepping forward..I can't pay for any help that you suggest, I guess I need to deal with it myself. But, thank you.

Well, I am recovered, but I can't really say fully, since I can't run, or walk fast, just at a normal pace. Yes, for me it was also unimaginable, I thought I might never get back on my feet. It changed me a lot, too, changed my views on life, made me take it slowly not rush into things, etc.

 

Aw man that is just so unlucky. Well, if you ever have to walk on ice I recommend doing the penguin walk. Small steps and putting weight on your heels. All the best to you, I hope you conquer your fears and get back to a healthy and happy life you had before

 

Oh a penguin walk? Don't you think that putting weight on your heels would be a good way to walk on ice? What is my heels are slippery? :S
Anyway, I think I would have to buy some chains for shoes, like the ones you put on the car tires in winter. I am not sure they sell something like this, but if they have not yet invented them, perhaps I should make some business. I believe many people will find them useful. I would for sure.
Thank you for your nice words and wishes. This winter will be very scary for me, it is my first one without any metals inside..We will see how it goes.

 

That is the best advice that I see. It is only your body which can tell you if you can go on biking or you have to hang up your cycling shorts. I had a fractured arm in 1994 and I thought I couldn't use it in the normal way anymore. But as time passed, a year or two, I was back to my normal self although I'm still somewhat favoring my right arm until now. Take note, the metal brace is still there. But in your case, maybe you take is by the day, slow and steady wins the race.

 

But that is something temporary or permanent? I mean, you can't run because you had that issue for a while, but slowly you'll be able to run again right?

 

Well, I just hope I would run one day. For now I am walking, but very cautiously, paying special attention and thinking about each step far ahead.
I dunno about running, I only wish..

 

With that condition, I don't think you are fit to ride for now. Pardon me, this is not a discouragement. I am just a bit worried of your leg problem. The worst that could happen is a recurrence of the fracture. A broken arm which I had is not that delicate but a broken leg is something to be worried about all the time, take note, all the time. I guess you have to hang up your cycling shorts until such time that you get comfortable in trotting (that's a slow jog).

 

See my Avatar? That's me winning the local A grade race, in the same week as setting a time trial power best at UCI world cup 4 years after a trans-tibial amputation resulting from injuries sustained following a bad training accident.

Coming back from injury takes time and the more serious the injury, the longer it takes. It requires patience and perseverance. How much of each you have depends on your personality as well as the strength of your desire to achieve certain goals.

The indoor trainer is exactly where I started, and I just gradually built from there. Eventually I tried a ride outdoors. It was like learning to ride a bike again, lots of little things you take for granted that I had to re-learn, and that was strangely enjoyable experience.

The process of training to get back to fitness is the same whether you have been injured or chronic illness or other long layoffs. It just means you may need to dose your efforts more carefully and increase how much you do at a lower rate, but the bike is a great way to do that as the impacts are low. You will encounter set backs along the way, but realise that normally these are temporary, not permanent blocks to progress.

The most important element is your motivation and desire to ride. If you have a passion for it, you will find a way.

All the best with your efforts.