Broken bones - how long before you could ride again?

[Tacet]

I broke my ulna and radius in the 94.7 MTB challenge. From the sound of it I probably won't be able to cycle before about March. In the meantime I'll make do with an indoor trainer.

 

So, what did you break, and how long before you could cycle again?

[Tayyib]

Broke my left collar bone in August.was on the spinning bike 3 weeks later as soon as surgery wound had closed up,was riding on the road by 5 weeks and back on proper mtb trails by 7 weeks.

[ZooBear]

broke my wrist, had surgery and 2 months later was back on the bike, with a wrist brace.

[Clinton H]

Also broken radius , 6 weeks and a titanium upgrade later .

[Tacet]

Also broken radius , 6 weeks and a titanium upgrade later .

 

I'm double-plated. Lost a sliver of my radius along the way, so that is probably the part that is taking me long.

[G...]

I hit the back of a maserati coming down chappies. Cycled back to Blouberg. Only to find out i had 2 cracked ribs, concussion and whiplash. Did the west coast express the following week did my fastest race ever 2:33. Maserati must have rubbed off on me. Lol

[TALUS]

Those freaking slow Maserati's - must be a Chinese copy. Unless you have Diabetes/ smoke heavily/ are older than 65-70 you should heal in 6-10 weeks. I presume you have a triangular piece (a comminuted fracture). As long as you have an apropriate thickness plate and at least 3 screws that penetrates 6 cortices on each side of the fracture you should still be fine. Problem is the falling - plates can not compensate for that. Trainers are safe - put triathlon style bars on and take your weight through your elbows. That should be safe as soon as the wounds heal. Good Luck. BTW - where did you fall? A guy fell right behind me off one of those rock retaining walls.

[GingaNinja28]

Broke my collar bone on national braai day. Had surgery the Saturday. Was on an indoor trainer in ten days

Road bike in 4weeks

Mountain bike in 5 weeks

Complete w2w on the 6th weekend.

[leona]

broke my collar bone in 2010. 2 weeks after surgery i was on the trainer and out on road after 8 which is what the surgeon advised. i broke my back in july and kept riding as i didnt know id broken it til a month later.. it was obviously quite stable but 2 broken vertebrae...

 

i also broke a rib this year and i started riding again as soon as i could breath.

[I am not SomeBloke]

Calling Peach! Get in here, Peach!

 

I think Peach's record is three breaks in a calendar year.

[Tacet]

I presume you have a triangular piece (a comminuted fracture)....

 

Yep, basically a long, thin, triangle. There are three screws each side of the plate, so I'm pretty sure they're strong enough. My fall was at about 40km, next to the Gautrain. ER was flooded with cyclists, however.

 

Seems like collar bones are a favourite to break. I suspect that we all try to take the impact on the shoulder, and if you're off to one side your break your collarbone, and if you're totally off target you break your lower arm.

[Guest Hollow Man]

I broke my ankle November 2012. I started cycling again a few weeks after the cast came off, so 10 weeks after the break. I had to back off and stop a month later due to excessive pain(ankle, foot and Tib.) Lots of physio later: I was back on the bike in July this year. Since then it's behaved itself and progressed steadily; it's almost like new just over a year later, but still complains if I push it too hard. The break itself healed wonderfully even though I opted for no screwing/pinning; it was the tendons & ligaments that took their sweet time to come right.

[TALUS]

Strictly speaking a clavicle is only partialy a weightbearing bone. During cycling the forearm is actually a weightbearing bone and has more leverage on it (due to length of fragments). Dont compare the two iro of healing time.

[Guest]

I broke my ankle November 2012. I started cycling again a few weeks after the cast came off, so 10 weeks after the break. I had to back off and stop a month later due to excessive pain(ankle, foot and Tib.) Lots of physio later: I was back on the bike in July this year. Since then it's behaved itself and progressed steadily; it's almost like new just over a year later, but still complains if I push it too hard. The break itself healed wonderfully even though I opted for no screwing/pinning; it was the tendons & ligaments that took their sweet time to come right.

I had exactly the same. 6 Weeks off the bike was almost as painful as breaking my ankle. It still pops a bit if I twist it 1.5 years later.

[Jigghead]

Broke the bottom of my tibia (upper ankle) in May (1st), doc decided to plate and graft some bone in early July due to lack of acceptable healing (I was walking on it again just prior to the op). The problem was, I thought I'd sprained it and rode for another a few more km's before turning back due to the pain, about 10-12km in total. Doc thinks that could have aggravated it and caused the lack of healing and necessitated the subsequent subsequent surgery. Something about having soft tissue forced into the fracture.

 

My first ride back was mid October.

 

Wait for doc's orders, depends on the bone broken and severity of the break.

 

It still complains a bit if I push too hard, funnily enough not when running but riding.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Jigghead

[Eugene]

I broke my radius a few weeks ago. Over ended when my daughter came down in front of me..........The doc told me 4 weeks in a sling. I just assumed that I could be back on the bike at the end of the 4weeks. Listening to some of you guys is making me worry that it may be longer.

 

I'm supposed to go back early Jan for further x rays.