Commuter doom - Fractured elbow and wrist...any advice?

[tweedsteed]

I had my first crash in 3 years of London commuting on Thursday morning. I was travelling through Holborn towards Tottenham Court Road at a pacey but acceptable speed in the glow of an early autumnal morning. A cyclist in the lane to my right suddenly cut across me at a right angle to get into a side road, cutting me up despite braking hard and I hit his rear wheel spilling over the handlebars and landing in a heap. As it was happening, I was thinking, I wonder how far I'll skid on my face...whack...oh not so far...and got up dragging my bike to the side of the road as the other cyclist apologised profusely for not looking (too damn right).

Anyway, dusted myself off, fixed up my bike (loose front wheel and severely bent derauilleur which was bent back into shape) and cycled the remaining 3 miles to work. After a while my left arm stiffened, grazes scabbed over and bruised came, all fine until late afternoon when my arm was bent at 90 degrees whith little other movement.

So A&E here I come - apparently I've fractured my radial head and possibly my scaphoid in the wrist. I'm in a solid support with a sling but still can't move too much.

Anyone had any similar experience of what I imagine are common bike injuries? I guess i'll be pretty stiff for 6 weeks plus but before I see the physio next week it would be good to seek your advice too...

 

[twobiker]

Broke one side off my Radius at the wrist end five weeks ago, just got the plaster off, no wrist articulation and no strength in hand , it could take up to three months to heal properly.

 

[machew]

Advise from a friend who is a Dr; if you have broken your elbow, then just a sling is best and try to keep the elbow moving otherwise you will loss movement when it heals

 

[Jonathing]

Fractured elbow and wrist...any advice?

Don't do it again?

 

[gbs]

After an olecron fracture of R elbow that required pinning and 2 weeks in a cast followed by 8 weekly sessions of NHS physio I was discharged given that I had 95% mobility. However mobility is not a proxy for strength or ability to absorb road vibration. Despite a careful build up over two months, my second 100K+ ride produced severe tendonitis.

So, swop the brakes over to relieve the injured R arm and back to the physio and accupuncturist; all in all I spent over £1000 in post discharge treatment.

I suggest an extensive series of muscle rehabilation exercises before extending yr rides. Good luck.

 

[fossyant]

Only one thing - follow what the Consultants/Docs/physio says about exercise and stretching - you need movement back asap.

 

[Tasker]

Don't do it again?

What a helpful (and VERY PITHY-WITTY) post. Perhaps you'd like to suffer the same injury before posting.....

Ps: have you got a bike yourself?

 

[Jonathing]

What a helpful (and VERY PITHY-WITTY) post. Perhaps you'd like to suffer the same injury before posting.....

Ps: have you got a bike yourself?

Yes, I have a few. One of which has just been repaired after being crashed.

On a serious note my rather flippant answer was meant only partially in jest. Don't do it again can mean learn from your accident, consider how you could have handled the situation differently. While sitting around with a broken bone I find I have plenty of time to consider the finer points of bike handling. Also I find being a little light hearted with my A+E patients had help to stop them getting morbid and overly worried while in my room. Clearly that didn't translate onto the interwebs.

I hope your elbow heals well, make sure you get the scaphoid assessed about 10 days post injury, they don't often show straight away.

 

[Tynan]

I was appalled at some of the riding I saw today, at least two instances of flinging a right hand signal and then swerving sharply across another lane to turn right while the vehicle in the lane they crossed braked and swerved, and some aggressive rlj through pedestrians crossing en masse, in one instance the cyclist went fast through a gap between two vehicles unable to know who was crossing into the space he was entering, relying on luck and a swerve as he got there

condolences on the injury

 

[smokeysmoo]

Elbows can be a bugger! I broke mine about 4 years ago and I cannot fully extend it anymore . It doesn't affect me day to day as it is only slight, but it did put an end to my golf career, so every cloud and all that

Plus the money I got when I sold all my gear bought me a new bike

Seriously though, listen to the quacks, I'm a naughty lad when it comes to doing what I'm told and it usually back fires on me one way or another.

Hope your healing well and back in the saddle soon.

 

[tweedsteed]

Thanks for the advice guys...so far the arm's healing well. So far I've got 90% of the movement back in my arm but my wrist still feels weak. Apparently no cycling for at least another 2 months but I got off lucky. I'll be wearing my wrist support for a while after that on my bike and having to build up my fitness again.

I'm pretty thankful though that I'm not trying to cycle through this wind though and I've got a decent excuse to get the tube in the mornings!

Oh, and Jonathing...that's actually pretty good advice...I'll try and follow it