General Cycling Discussion - It could be worse - you could be me

I was playing a game of touch football on Saturday, and while running (not full out), I felt my knee give a bit and felt a sharp pain. I rode my bike home in a lot of pain. I got an MRI yesterday, and the result is a fractured tibia. Actually, it's a " cortical break @ the lateral aspect of the tibial plateau indicative of a minimal depressed fracture". I see an ortho-guy tomorrow. I can't explain how bummed out I am. My 2002 cycling year was wiped out with a knee injury, and from what I've read about this type of injury - this year is now toast also.

To add a bit of icing to this crap cake, I was to leave (May 12th) for Italy for a trip I've been planning (and saving for!) for the past 2 years. I was to see @ least 3 stages of the Giro while there - now, I'm just trying to get back a small portion of the money I've already laid down on this trip. Two years of savings lost, as much of the outlay is non-refundable. Now, I just get to pay for the trip, and go to work in a cast. I was to have a great cycling year after logging over 700 miles so far this year. I was - I was ... not now. I am soooooo bummed. I can't describe how down I am now.

Anywho, I'll quit crying now. Has anyone had this injury? I'm 37 years old, and in very good physical condition. I don't understand how this fracture happened. There was no traumatic event - I was just running. I was just running. :mad:

That's a major bummer. Can you still take the trip even if you can't ride? It seems a shame to miss out on it.

Running is bad for you.

jeez, that really sucks. out of biking for a year!?!?!?! I think I would go crazy...


Why can't you just take the trip in the cast? IMO I think the trip would be fun even if you can't ride, Iv always wanted to go to Italy....

I'm with Allister and forum*rider... just go on the trip with the cast. It's better than losing the money you've put into the trip so far. It might not be the trip you planned, but it might be even more fun. Who knows?

Hope the ortho has good news for you.

*crosses fingers*

Yeah, I'd go on the trip regardless. It's a shame you won't be able to do any riding in Italy, but you might be able to salvage something from a bad situation.

Real bummer, mate. Particularly a shame to have to miss out on your trip - I assume beacuse of some surgery involved?

You've just helped convince me to keep on not running.

If the price of the trip is not refundable, perhaps it is transferable. You could attempt to unload it on E-bay at a reduced price.

I don't know if this is practical or not, just a thought...

Sorry to hear about your leg. All I was able to get out of your explaination was <mumble>, <mumble>, fractured leg. Is this something that will heal quickly and completely with rest ?

You could take the time spent in the cast and hit the weight room to work on your upper body and then try the pool when the cast comes off, or get a rowing machine (much cheaper than a treadmill, and easier on the legs). You'll be in better shape for the Spring 2005 cycling season.

Dan

Man that sucks.
Have you asked your doctor whether it could be osteoporosis?
It's quite possible that years and years of hard cycling could leech so much calcium from your bones that you might have the bone density of someone twice your age.

http://www.beezodogsplace.com/Pages/Articles/Osteoporosis-Cycling/Osteoporosis-Cycling.html

bac, dear boy, I feel so bad for you. I wish I could loan you one of my knees for a month or so. I would want them back though. I've been on a lot of organized tours, and rarely do they ask for I.D. They usually request that you pick up your packet and sign a waiver release. I've ridden a couple tours and had a guy pick up the packet and sign the person's name whom I was replacing. (I know it is not right.) You might only be out the plane fare.

ThanX for the replies, folks. I'm sorry for the whining, but this news really hit me hard. Regardless, I see the ortho doc @ 2:00pm, EST today. Since the MRI, I've read a lot about this injury, and compared that information with the radiologist report. It appears that it all comes down to the Type (grade) of injury I sustained to the tibial plateau.

There is a Type (grade) I through Type (grade) VI. These grades are determined by the location of the fracture; the type (depressed/split/depressed and split) of fracture, and the amount/length of split/depression in the bone. My PCP lead me to believe that surgery/casting would be my fate. However, after doing some research, it seems that management/treatment varies from surgery - to casting - to simply splinting the joint and using crutches. It all seems dependant on the Type/Grade of the fracture to the tibial plateau. Anywho, I'll know more by tonight.

ThanX again for the replies, and wish me well! Right now, I still have hope! :)

even if you don't go you coulld sell the trip to a freind.

I'm back from the orthopedist with pretty damn good news. He was amazed that the swelling was nearly gone, and that I had nearly 100% ROM. He stated that surgery or casting isn't necessary, but I will have to keep the weight off the leg for 4-6 weeks via crutches. However, after hearing me cry and whine about my rapidly approaching trip to Italy, he ordered a brace that will off-load the body weight from the lateral (where the break is) to the medial side of the tibia.

I will sport crutches until I see him 2 days before I leave for Italy (that's right I said it!) just to insure that all is well, and the fracture is healing. At that point, I will go off the crutches, and simply go with the lateral off-loading brace. If all goes well, I may be able to begin cycling again in 6 weeks.

I won't be biking (it wasn't a trip based solely on riding anyway), but I will see a good part of the Giro, drink the vino, and eat the pasta. I'm back!!!! I can't believe it - I'm back!!!!!!! :) :D :D :)

Congratulations! Have a great trip and quick healing.

Niiice, aren't you glad you ranted in the first place though.
It makes the good news just so much more sweet when you panic first :)

Awesome news!

Cool news. I did have a friend of the family break his leg answering the door. He was 62, a jogger, in great shape. He went to answer the door, slipped on the rug in the hallway, tensed his body so he wouldn't fall. Snap, his muscles were so in shape he snapped his tibia, as it is the slimmer of the two bones, that's easy to do.

Hey, hold up a banner "Bike Forums.net" and we'll look for you on TV.

Enjoy your trip!

Enjoy your trip!

As it turns out, I will now not be going to Italy, and it doesn't bother me a bit. My fracture is now a non-issue. My girlfriend (with whom I was taking the trip with) was in an automobile accident on Wednesday night. At this point, there is every indication that she will make a full recovery; however, for the life of me, I don’t understand how she even survived.

She was the passenger in her car (2001 Nissan Maxima), and she was not wearing her seatbelt while the driver was. To make a long story short, Gina was ejected through the passenger side glass during one of the car’s three rolls. She flew 30-40 feet, and landed in a field. She was life-flighted to the nearest trauma center where I met her about 30 minutes after the crash. To my, and the trauma center doctor’s, amazement she was awake and alert. She suffered a lacerated tongue, a badly bruised right shoulder and ankle, and fractured vertebrae. The broken vertebrae is obviously the most concerning injury. The driver has only bruises, and cuts.

The bottom line is that, as of right now, she will be in a hard plastic back brace for @ least 3 months. She was released from the hospital last evening, and I got her home and into her own bed. Again, the long-term outlook is good. If all goes to plan, and by the grace of god, she should will make a full recovery. I still can’t seem to reconcile how she even survived such an accident. The drive down to the hospital Wednesday evening was unbearable for me.

Anywho, sorry to go on, but I feel better after @ least typing that out! We are not going to Italy for the Giro, but with any luck, we will @ least be able to make the trip later this year, and enjoy Italy sans the race. If we don’t go @ all, that’s still okay! I don’t care about the race; I don’t care about my fracture; I don’t care about the loss of money due to the cancellation. None of that means anything now. It’s funny how this sort of thing reprioritizes life.

Wear your seatbelt!!!!