small accident in clontarf last saturday week = broken hip

crol

cycling along the track in clontarf towards howth early last saturday week where you wriggle around the car park.

had just started raining and i guess i didnt slow down enough for the corner in those conditions.

leaned in a little too much, the back wheel slipped out from under me (gatorskin tyres) and my right hip *whacked* down on the path.

when i got up i could not put any weight on my right leg. couldnt believe id done any serious damage at such a slow speed so spent 20 minutes limping along leaning on the bike hoping the pain would go away.

eventually, i faced up to reality and got a taxi home (one was conveniently parked in the car park itself and the driver had helped me to my feet) to drop off the bike and then went on to beaumont with the missus.

x-rays quickly identified the problem, a (happily still in place) clean break right through the widest part of the femur from the point of impact at the side of my hip.

operation the next day to drill a titanium pin across the break, and a plate and screws to hold the pin in place.

surgeon said my bones were like flint and that i was just unfortunate that all the force of my fall ended up in my hip.

spent the week in ward full of 70-90 year olds, which seems to be the average age for hip breakers!

one week later i can walk on one crutch but it'll be quite while before im back to normal.

i'm actually lucky because the location of the break meant that once the pin was in place, it could fully bear my weight. this means i can exercise the leg and quickly build up to walking on it again in another week or so. others have to rest the leg for 1-2 months before being able to walk on it.

i dunno if being clipped in contributed to my problems, im not sure i could have gotten my leg or knee down quickly enough to break the impact.

be carefull out there!

colm

tomasrojo

Wow, I wouldn't have classed that as a "small accident". Hope it all mends well for you.

Jawgap

Sounds sore and nasty - all the best for a quick and full recovery.

On the plus side - the titanium shouldn't add to much weight when you're back on the bike:) (sorry couldn't resist).

My Dad had a spill from his bike recently on the track near the yacht club, but other than some bruises he was fine- a lot probably depends on how you fall.

Lumen

Ouch! On the upside, you're now bionic.

Be careful with the recovery, as you could develop some asymmetry from protecting the healing limb (I'm not a physio, but someone posted such an experience here recently, sorry I can't remember who).

Hope you make a full recovery.

Caroline_ie

Ouch ... best of luck with the recovery... enjoy the pampering from the wife and keep the mince pies away

gman2k

mmmm titanium bones! - The ultimate upgrade

Seriously though, good luck with the recovery!

niceonetom

Hard luck crol, I hope your recovery goes well and quick. Don't skimp on the physio, it's worth it in the long run.

It's greasy as hell out there these days and I've had a few low-grip moments too. I think everyone should be knocking 10 or 20 psi off their running pressures these days and being extra careful what you run over. I'd rather be repairing an occasional pinch-flat than sitting in casualty (again).

alfalad

Ouch, and best of luck with the recovery!

crol

thanks for your support and words of wisdom.

here's hoping we all stay out of casualty this winter!

colm

Greenmachine

How many break did you have OP. It's just that the femor is a leg bone.

mockler007

sorry to hear about your fall man,
shudda went With maxxix ignitors:rolleyes:

Men tires, For everything else theres girl's tires

WakeyTyke

Get well soon Colm, I can completely empathise with you as I too have managed to break my hip cycling.

Three years ago next February took a sharp left hand corner on a descent too quickly for the road conditions and came down hard on my left hip, breaking the acetabulum hip bone.

Like you I couldn't wait bear on my left leg and thinking it was only groin strain somehow managed to get back on the bike to cycle the last km home. Then I drove myself 30 miles to Ennis hospital for an Xray.:eek:

Somehow, through great good fortune, I managed not to displace the fracture, which saved me from having to have surgery to pin it together but I had two weeks in traction in Limerick and Tallaght Hospitals, only being allowed to shuffle up and down the bed by a few inches in that time.

After 24 weeks on crutches I made a complete recovery and have been happily cycling since

lescol

Hope the recovery goes well, a severe injury for such a minor fall. I also slid off gatorskins, was very nervous on them for a while (guess we have to hold something responsible), but now feel that any tyre would have gone in the same circumstances.

uberwolf

crol wrote: »

surgeon said my bones were like flint and that i was just unfortunate that all the force of my fall ended up in my hip.

do you mind me asking what broad age bracket you're in?

Alanstrainor

All the best with the recovery.
It is very greasy out there these days, and don't get me started on manhole covers! Absolutely lethal, have gotten very close to coming off twice in as many weeks, sending me on a bit of a slide that i've recovered from both times. And i'm using Gatorskins too. Be careful out there lads and lasses.

SleepDoc

Best of luck with the recovery. You should seek advice on ways to build up your bone density to reduce the risk of further fractures.

cdaly_

OP, was it the carpark at the bottom of Vernon Avenue with a double chicane? Or the one near the Alfie Byrne road?

The Vernon Avenue one is pretty nasty with a seriously tight chicane with bushes on one side and cars parked half over the path on the other leaving you with no visibility. Oh, and peds getting out of cars and making sure the kids are safe on the 'path'...

The Alfie Byrne one has the cycle path currently covered with a layer of slippery rotting grass clippings on one of the bends...

Never mind the tight chicane at the carpark entrance opposite the Bus garage...
Hope the recovery moves right along.

crol

Greenmachine wrote: »

How many break did you have OP. It's just that the femor is a leg bone.

from what i can tell a break of the femur at or above the point where is starts to turn inward towards the pelvis is called a hip fracture. thats certainly what all the doctors called it.

i had a single intertrochanteric hip fracture which looked pretty like this one. luckily the bones stayed almost exactly in place which greatly aided the surgeons.

uberwolf wrote: »

do you mind me asking what broad age bracket you're in?

i am 36 and the average age for hip fractures is literally 80 or so.

WakeyTyke wrote: »

Get well soon Colm, I can completely empathise with you as I too have managed to break my hip cycling.

Somehow, through great good fortune, I managed not to displace the fracture, which saved me from having to have surgery to pin it together but I had two weeks in traction in Limerick and Tallaght Hospitals, only being allowed to shuffle up and down the bed by a few inches in that time.

After 24 weeks on crutches I made a complete recovery and have been happily cycling since

yikes ... and i thought i was unlucky! i only spent one week in hospital and i'm on schedule (fingers crossed) for complete recovery within 3 months.

cdaly_ wrote: »

The Vernon Avenue one is pretty nasty with a seriously tight chicane with bushes on one side and cars parked half over the path on the other leaving you with no visibility. Oh, and peds getting out of cars and making sure the kids are safe on the 'path'...

thats the one!

colm

hardCopy

I hate that spot, it's the darkest stretch along there and people are regularly hanging around putting leads on their dogs etc. Lately I keep seeing a running group warming up here as well and the current roasworks don't help either.

Sorry to hear about you OP, I took it extra handy tonight after reading this

sy

Lumen wrote: »

Ouch! On the upside, you're now bionic.

Be careful with the recovery, as you could develop some asymmetry from protecting the healing limb (I'm not a physio, but someone posted such an experience here recently, sorry I can't remember who).

Hope you make a full recovery.

I posted a note here 4th post down. Didn't break hip but damn sore for months. Also on gatorskins:eek: lost front wheel on sharp bend in the wet and hit the deck at speed, hip and head(helmet) in that order. Hope you make speedy recovery crol and make sure to work on keeping your symmetry correct as stated by Lumen.

Victor

My brother was hit by a Landrover over the summer when cycling to work. He's only back on his feet in the last week.

Take care.

crashoveroid

I feel your pain i broke my hip in August 08 only climed back on the bike in Jan 09 good luck with recovery dont but on 15 Kilo,s like me.

seamus

Ouch, good to hear the prognosis is good. Unbelieveable what surgery can do nowadays. There was a time when such a break meant sitting for 6 weeks in plaster up to your waist and then a long, slow recovery cos your leg muscles had turned to ****.

DeVore, the admin here, has a great story about when he hit a tree snowboarding and badly broke a leg. A day later after a short operation, as he was lying in bed sadly contemplating the long convalescence, a woman comes up to him and tells him she's taking him for physio. This cued a long drawn-out argument where he lambasted her for being a complete idiot (he was off his head on morphine) and not being able to see that his leg was smashed and fncked. About 15 minutes later, he was standing and hobbling around, feeling like a complete idiot for going off the handle.

nak

Good luck with the recovery. Fractured my superior pubic ramus on the RHS on holiday when I first started cycling, mostly due to my inexperience on the bike. Also thought I had groin strain and didn't go to hospital until I came home (even though I could barely move). NHS sent me home with some Ibuprofen, no physio, or crutches. Had 4 weeks of hobbling round the house, took 3 months or so to get back to normal.

Swimming helped a lot, painful, but worth it to get the muscles moving.

uberwolf

crol wrote: »

i am 36 and the average age for hip fractures is literally 80 or so.

wowser, did you learn any reason your bones might be in that sort of shape?

nak

uberwolf wrote: »

wowser, did you learn any reason your bones might be in that sort of shape?

I was 26 when I fractured my hip, nothing wrong with my bones, just the way I fell. Have never broken anything else.

crol

uberwolf wrote: »

wowser, did you learn any reason your bones might be in that sort of shape?

there was/is nothing wrong with my bones and i have never broken a bone before.

the surgeon who operated on me said my femur was like flint and he had to try a few different drill bits before he could get the bolt in. he reckoned i was simply unlucky that my hip took all the force of my fall.

my personal opinion now is that anyone could break their hip cycling if you fall on it just the right (or wrong!) way.

colm

biomed32

good luck with your recovery, that was some nasty injury. I gotta admit weather is unbelievable at the moment, cateyes on the roads are a total nightmare!!!

doctor evil

Ouch, good luck with the recovery.

Mr. Skeffington

Sorry to hear about your fall Colm, get well soon!

fenris

Oooch - I have done the busted acetabulum thing




- not much fun - apart from reading lots of sci-fi and fantasy while under the influence of morphine and friends, leads to interesting dreams - especially when you think that you are awake! (the warhammer 40k stuff bought in by some friends was the best/worst). Bear in mind that whatever you read may be different if you revisit in in a few months :-)

Do what the physios tell you and you will be right as rain (remember never mess with cute girls that inflict pain for a living) and never ever ever limp or you could be stuck with it - forever.

After a few weeks on crutches get your shoulders deep tissue massaged (painkillers are good) as you can get really tight but not notice from the other stuff going on and wonder why you now need six pillows and are even grumpier than usual.

The last bit for me was an osteopath when I felt that I was back to normal - really took down the residual pain and got back a decent chunk of range of motion.