Broken hip? Will I ever come back from this?

PB Forum :: Fitness, Training and Health

Author	Message

Dougdirt

Posted: Apr 29, 2018 at 7:32

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I had a really bad crash the other day and had to be rescued of the mountain. Long story short I dislocated my leg and broke my hip. I'm in the hospital and have multiple surgeries planned but the docs aren't giving me much hope for being a competive mtb again. I've been riding for 20 years and it's pretty much everything to me. I'm devastated to say the least. Has anyone else had a similar injury and came back? It will be at least 6 months till I can even pedal again...

lblizzard

Posted: Apr 30, 2018 at 5:38

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I'm 54 and did this June 21, 2017.on a table top jump (oh and i also shattered my clavicle). I was riding again by October, but i live in NH and it started snowing early so my riding didn't last long. BTW i was hauled out the woods too, went to the local hospital who then shipped me off to Maine Medical, which wasn't a pleasant ride.
I've been riding a lot this spring, yes my hip is sore and i was told it would take a year to be 100% My surgeon is a biker and he said there's no reason i can't live a normal life.
I've read a ton of stuff on this injury, i was on a tri-ironman forum the other day reading comments about broken hips and recovery time. There were lots of athletes that have broken their hip, some where contemplating taking out their screws and plates and lots of info on that too...if i can find it I will post.
anyway here is mine

June 21 2017 Red Tail Trail crash this is my 7 week xray

15062639

lblizzard

Posted: Apr 30, 2018 at 6:03

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More thoughts

After surgery my leg was very swollen (yours will be too) and they didn't seem to want to bring me any ICE!!!, so i said very politely can please bring me a giant bag of ice. Don't underestimate the ice, keep it iced, i iced mine daily for over a month. It's free, very simple and it's your best friend. it will help your recovery.
And don't be afraid to move your leg, the more you move it now the less atrophy will set in. i was on my stationary bike a couple weeks after surgery, unless your doc for some reason says otherwise..

Dougdirt

Posted: May 1, 2018 at 9:22	Quote
Thanks all. My surgery went well and I start PT today. At least I have hope

lblizzard

Posted: May 2, 2018 at 16:18	Quote
many bikers have broken hips, you will recover, don't neglect the therapy, you will be back riding before you know it.

Dougdirt

Posted: May 13, 2018 at 19:51

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lblizzard wrote:

many bikers have broken hips, you will recover, don't neglect the therapy, you will be back riding before you know it.

It sounds like our injuries are very similar. I hate to bother you with more questions but you seem very educated on this type of injury and I’m still trying to figure all this out. It’s been two weeks and my pain level during the day is tolerable with just a couple Tylenol’s. However at night the pain is pretty intense and I can’t sleep without painkillers and even they don’t seem to work long enough for me to get a decent nights sleep. Did you have this to? I really want to get off the painkillers but I don’t see how I can at least at night.

lblizzard

Posted: May 15, 2018 at 4:53

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Dougdirt wrote:

lblizzard wrote:

many bikers have broken hips, you will recover, don't neglect the therapy, you will be back riding before you know it.

yes similar, nights were the toughest. I had two pillows under my leg to elevate it, seemed to help, it actually felt awkward to lay my leg flat. I also iced it good right before bed, don't forget the ice. The hospital i went to was big on Tylenol, not sure why, i found ibuprofen worked much better, and for some reason i notice name brand was better; iv'e gone back and forth (generic) a couple time and did notice a difference. I would take 4 ibuprofen (liquid gel) and 1 5mg pain pill right before bed, and i would set my alarm for 4 hours later and have 4 more ibuprofen ready next to the bed to take.

BTW i shattered my collar bone the same time, which i just recently had to have 2 plates to fix (waited 6 months to try and heal, didn't) I haven't' had a good nights sleep in 9 months, about the time my hip felt good i had the collar bone surgery. HOWEVER i am riding my bike pretty aggressively now and my hip and should feel good...that is until i go to sleep and now my should aches all night...if you need something to pass the time my xray is uploaded.

but i still feel really blessed that it's just broken bones, broken bones heal, your health is more important than fretting about being able to bike, and constantly pondering "why" did this have to happen...i found myself doing that a lot!, but it was just meant to be. The hard part is over, lots of bikers get busted up, rest and heal.

if you think of more question, by all means ask

lblizzard

Posted: May 21, 2018 at 15:16	Quote
How you doing dougdirt?

Dougdirt

Posted: May 21, 2018 at 16:39

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Hi thanks for asking. I’m still just laying around not doing much. My doc said he wasn’t gonna have me do any real PT until I could put full weight on my leg . That probably won’t be till August. I should probably note that I actually shattered my hip socket and not the femoral neck so apparently this is a bit more rare. He is hoping for close to a full recovery. Can u recommend any exercises to do during this stage?

lblizzard

Posted: May 22, 2018 at 13:10

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Dougdirt wrote:

Not sure since yours is a bit different than mine, i had a Intertrochanteric Fracture, which is the dog ear part of the femur bone before the ball. when mine broke it created a nice spear tip looking object that almost protruded out my butt cheek, lots of torn muscles.
My surgeon didn't mention therapy until my 6 week visit and then it was just walking and no resistance on my stationary bike.
i had an ongoing note pad i i wrote questions down on for my doc visit, because i knew i would forget them : ) always good to take notes as questions pop into your head, take them to your next appointment

Dougdirt

Posted: May 22, 2018 at 18:26	Quote
I’ve been doing the same thing with the notepad. I go for my six week checkup and X-ray at the end of June. I’ll probably take it pretty easy until then. Thanks again for the info and checking in. Cabin fever is already setting in. I had so much riding planned this summer. It makes me sick that I’m gonna miss it all.

adespotoskyli

Posted: Jun 2, 2018 at 13:31	Quote
Browsing through and the title caught my attention, hope you get better soon and finally get in your routine, pretty nasty what your going through but you'll get out soon. A friend had a motorcycle accident, simillar injuries and after 6 months was ready to hit the gym to strengthen the weak leg. Don't forget ICE! Keep it up!

Dougdirt

Posted: Jun 2, 2018 at 18:06

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Thanks! Im about 5 weeks post op and I’m in the gym every day now. I’m on crutches and am still non weight bearing but I am using a layback style recumbent bike with very little resistance. I’m also doing a lot of core exercises that do not put any strain on my hip. I have a lot of nerve pain but it’s getting a little better. I’m hoping to be back at work and back on the bike by the middle of August. That’s a pretty aggressive goal but I’m really shooting for it.

asctlc

Posted: Jun 3, 2018 at 6:54

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iblizzard: I didn't break my hip, just my collar bone but am checking this thread for the bone healing results all the same.

Ibuprofen has been shown to impede bone healing. I don't know to what extent or that every Ortho agrees but my Ortho told me "No Ibuprofen until the bone has healed up good".

Sucks because Ibuprofen is so much more effective on me than Tylenol.

re: your "I feel really blessed it's just broken bones..." I keep thinking how lucky I was it was plain dirt I slammed into and not a rock field. Had I hit that berm at the estimate 20+ mph that I did I'd surely be in the hospital still with more than broken bones (ribs& clavicle) As time goes on, I'm sure the possibility is only going to scare me worse.

A few years ago when I first started riding, I dropped a 6' blind drop, saw a pointed rock sticking up about 12" right in the middle, freaked out, went over the bars, and landed just above my temple squarely on the pointed rock. Just a few inches lower and my eye socket/jaw would have been destroyed from that big of hit. The thought how that one could have ended up scares the bejesus out of my to this day!.

Dougdirt

Posted: Jun 3, 2018 at 10:44

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asctlc wrote:

I was told the same about ibuprofen. Tylenol doesn’t help me at all with the pain. It’s been tough because the doc won’t prescribe anything for pain anymore. I’ve been doing a lot of stretching exercises and electrical stimulation stuff to lower the pain and promote blood flow and bone healing. Nights are still the worst for me but it’s getting slowly more tolerable. Not the summer I was expecting

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