View Full Version : Riding again after an accident.
Doinitmyway
09-02-12, 11:47 AM
Well there is always one of them out there and I found him. An old codger who misjudged speed/distance etc turned right, into my path, and sent me flying after I hit his rear quarter. The winter hack, an FZR600 has been written off.
Ended up with a broken Radius bone right next to the wrist :pale: currently plated across to the wrist. This (luckily?) is my first big off since passing in '95 so no experience of broken bones.
Anyone else unfortunate enough to suffer similarly? How long was it till you rode again? What helped & what didn't.
I had just started to plan this years Eurotrip over to Austria in late July with a few friends and am still thinking I could make it....:shaking: am I being a tad optimistic?
Chris
shonadoll
09-02-12, 12:18 PM
If you're not taking it already, I'd highly recommend a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement to help with the healing. It hellos attract water and thus helps the ligaments and tendons. Also a good diet, maybe a calcium supplement but ask your doctor if you're on any other medications. Good luck! Holland and barrett are probably best for these supplements.
Hope you get well soon mate.
Me and the wife came of back in may 2011 after hitting some gravel and me panicking on the front brake causing the front wheel to skid and throw us both off. The wife was ok apart from scratched and bruising but i broke me elbow. One of my friends who was with me took my wife home to leeds on his bike as we crashed just outside whitby and although i had broken my elbow i jumped back on the bike and had a steady ride home with a couple more of my friends.
Only thing is that the elbow i broke was my right elbow so turning the throttle was really bad but i got there, didn't put me off riding at all, just learn't from my mistakes.
Broken collar bone and shoulder blade in June last year, someone pulled out in front of me. Havent been back on a bike since as the bike was a write off and I can't afford another one. I really don't want to leave it any longer but as all my gear was destroyed in the accident I really have no choice.
Red Herring
09-02-12, 08:24 PM
Fixing the bike is always a good place to start. Live and learn, just watch out for old codgers turning right......
As for healing, your body is unique to you and there are just so many variables. Much will depend on how healthy/fit you are, and just how much time you can put into mending yourself. Don't make the mistake of saying "I just have to wait six/eight weeks then back to normal" because you need to build up slowly. The sooner you start the sooner you will get there, but just make sure it's healed enough to take a little light exercise first (you should be OK with it plated).
Fixing the bike is always a good place to start. Live and learn, just watch out for old codgers turning right......
As for healing, your body is unique to you and there are just so many variables. Much will depend on how healthy/fit you are, and just how much time you can put into mending yourself. Don't make the mistake of saying "I just have to wait six/eight weeks then back to normal" because you need to build up slowly. The sooner you start the sooner you will get there, but just make sure it's healed enough to take a little light exercise first (you should be OK with it plated).
Good advice... again!!
AkiraSV
09-02-12, 08:59 PM
+1 to Red Herring
I came off last year and dislocated my shoulder. I wore a sling for just three days before having to make do without it and start using the shoulder, otherwise I'd have lost a lot of movement and rotation in the joint (doctors orders). Hurt like hell at the time but it's pretty much fine now.
Been there. Knocked off by a car that didn't see me changing lanes. Broken bones in both hands, wrists the size of melons and head trauma. Fortunately I has all my gear on.
My GS500 was written off funnily enough, but I got a full pay out from my insurance and was able to buy a replacement within a couple of weeks. Oh how my boys laughed as I tried to adjust the levers with one hand in plaster and the other pinned.
I was finally able to get out for a ride after six weeks. Five weeks until plaster came off the left hand, and pins came out of the right, and a week for the holes to close over where the pins were.
The worst part was getting gloves on again, because of the scar tissue and tissue damage to the wrists.
Riding itself was fantastic, although scary for a while.
I presume that you have been referred to a physio or similar for rehabilitation. Just follow their regimen, and you'll be fine.
Doinitmyway
10-02-12, 11:35 AM
Yeah trying my best to follow the physio routine. Cannot no way make a tight fist yet though. Doing some of them feels like I am working against the plate. Would be my right aswell :toss: I think what I have is called a Colles fracture, 8 on the scale of 1 to 8 according to my consultant.
Winder - were you not fully comp, no legal expenses etc. Seems harsh mate.
My bikes a Cat B write off but i have asked for the salvage as loads of parts would fit my trackday FZR400 project. Get the feeling they aren't going to let me keep it.
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5255/dscn1054d.jpg
[QUOTE=Winder - were you not fully comp, no legal expenses etc. Seems harsh mate.
[/QUOTE]
TPF&T insurance. Waiting on liability etc as she reckons it was my fault that she pulled out in front of me. My girlfriend done the same injury from a crash, had a plate put in and is now a trauma orthopaedic nurse. She recommends the "wrist flexing exercise" is done as much as you can as your scar area can heal very tight and if you don't bother will cause your pain in the future.
She also recommended massaging in bio oil that women use on stretch marks after pregnancy so you don't look like a self harmer!
EssexDave
10-02-12, 05:16 PM
I broke my collarbone in 5 places and had a metal plate inserted shortly after my accident.
I HATED being off a bike and I rushed back on. I think it was around 4 months before I rode again with some mild discomfort - but the brake was pretty severe.
The best thing you could do is try riding closer to the time and see how it is. Take it easy and don't push yourself if you can't do it.
mister c
10-02-12, 08:12 PM
Had a really bad "off" 4 years ago. Split my pelvis open & broke my back, off work for 4 1/2 months. I didn't ever want to see another bike..................................for 2 weeks, but then started looking at getting another.
The lure of riding just got too great & I picked Custard up while still on crutches. I rode 60 odd miles home & my son had to help me off & put the bike away when I got there.
12 months later I dumped it on track & cracked 3 ribs on my FZR, I was back on a week later.
Just take your time, go out on your own & ride as far as you think is possible at your pace
Broken pelvis June 2004, back on a bike October 2004. It didn't put me off but it did make me very nervous and try as I might I still can't quite shake it off.
I had a, umm, incident in 2006 that left me wondering whether I'd ever want to drive again, let alone ride a bike.
A few months later I found myself playing TT Superbikes on the PS2 every waking hour, and 8 months after the off I bought another bike.
You'll either do it or you won't, I've known people go either way. Only way to find out is to try. In my case I took the hint from my subconscious and it was fairly obvious which way I was going to go.
Sebulba
11-02-12, 06:51 AM
Hi Chris,
I had the same kind of fracture, broke my right hand snowboarding four years ago, before I got my licence and started riding. So a couple of tips from my experience.
If you're still in a cast, don't try to use your hand too much. I did and they had to operate on it to pin the two pieces together so the bone could heal properly. Wikipedia suggests that this type of fracture is very unstable which leads to it having to be operated on in the majority of the cases.
Once I was out of the cast (8 weeks :( ) it took me about 6 months to regain range of motion and for the pain to dissapear.
Also, there is a big possibility that you won't ever regain the range of motion you had before the accident. I'm not talking about major stuff, just at the limits, you won't be able to do the motions you were used to. An orthopedist friend says that's because there are a lot of small bones in the wrist which, once out of place stay there.
Your injured wrist will never be as strong as it used to be. Again, I'm not talking about major stuff, just that you'll feel the difference.
Some of the problems I have, relevant to our hobby, is that, having broken my right hand, using the throttle isn't as easy it it should and right hand turns put more pressure on my wrist than they should (aforementioned small bones in wrong places). As I understan from your post, you've been riding for a long time, so you should be used to holding your weight off your wrists. If not, you'll start to feel the injured wrist complaining after about 100 miles.
So, to sum up, after you regain total use of the wrist, you shouldn't have many problems riding. As for your eurotrip, you should be able to do it, but I'd decide closer to the date, depending on the state of the wrist.
Cheers,
Mihai
goz1960
11-02-12, 09:07 PM
Broke my tibia and fibula in my right leg, collar bone (told will never mend) and also my scapula and lastly my ulna in my right arm. 1 month in hospital and 12 months off work. This all happened in 2006 and did not get on another bike until last year.
Broke my tibia and fibula in my right leg, collar bone (told will never mend) and also my scapula and lastly my ulna in my right arm. 1 month in hospital and 12 months off work. This all happened in 2006 and did not get on another bike until last year.
That sounds ****! At the hospital I was told less than 1% of bone breaks are the scapula so we are part of an elite few.
Bluefish
12-02-12, 12:27 AM
It's up to you, if you want to do it you will, if not you won't, peoples opinions aren't worth diddly squat, it's up to you, go for it i say :grin:
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