Riding With Stitches
 

Pardon me if this has been discussed; I did a forum search but nothing quite fit the situation. Last Friday (9/30) I fell on the top chainring (Brilliant!) and got 7 stitches on my inside right calf at the ER. Pretty deep cut (1/4") but not too long (~2"). I was really looking forward to my 1st big group ride this Saturday (10/8) but am a little wary of biking for several hours (around 55 miles). Muscles feel ok; any pain is associated with the cut itself. There is no infection that I can detect.

My question is, "For anyone who has had their leg stitched, how long did you wait before getting back on and doing some distance riding."

By the way, my neighbor is a hospital RN and she recommended that I not do the extended ride.

Opinions?

Okay... I am not a doctor, a nurse, an x-ray tech, an orderly, an acupuncturist, a holistic healer, nor am in anyway qualified to give a medical opinion. So here goes...

Heras won the Vuelta with stitches in his knee. This is a 55 mile ride, not a three week stage race. Are the stitches on a part of the calf that moves while pedaling? If there is no movement, I would say you're good to go. If it feels like the stitches and the area held together by the stitches could tear, don't ride.

And ask your doctor.

You bring up a good point. The site of the injury moves slightly with the flexing of the calf muscle. I believe the actual name of it is the soleus. I think I'll just sit down and work flexing/relaxing, and see if any discomfort or stretching of the stitches happens. Thats amazing about Heras. Thanks for the input.

I would think about covering it just so you are sure it stays clean. Also a bit of a spin before the longer ride is in order just to be sure it does not stress things. Otherwise I see no problem. Guys play football, any version every week with fresh stiches.

I recently had nine stitches on my forearm from a fall. It did not seem to pull when I rode, so I didn't let it slow me down. It healed just fine, thank you. I think your spot is a little more questionable. I'd test it out to see if you notice anything before going on a longish ride.

had stiches in the calf before, i use micro tape over the injury.

i had no problems, but follow it at your own risk.

After 10 days, your wound should be fairly strong (30% normal strength?). By fairly strong, I mean that you could easily remove the sutures and go about your daily business without fear that the wound would reopen. Wounds that are on joints are more problematic, but it seemed from your post that your laceration was not on a joint. So, I would say that if you are not putting a lot of traction on the wound you would be ok so long as you do not reinjure yourself in the same way. When I cut my chin in a recent crash, I went riding the next day. Sure, I could have reopened the wound if I fell on it again, but otherwise there was nothing really that would pull it open.

ask your doctor.

don't listen to any rubbish on here.....your health is at stake.

Not a bad idea, if possible without a 2 hour wait. But if you do make sure your doctor (or anyone else you ask) knows just what 55 miles means to you. Many will look at 55 miles as the Battan Death March, while many cyclists will look at it as a nice moderate ride.

Years ago I broke a finger playing Rugby, minor break, just a greenstick fracture. I went to the training room for some ice and ended up having to see the orthopedic guy. After the x-rays, splint and instructions I asked him what I should do for next weeks match. Up til that point it had been treated like a broken finger was a big deal. That changed. His reply was something like 'Why didn't you tell me you are one of those, just tape it to the one next to it.'

While reasonable cyclists are not usually as much 'one of those' as Rugby players are (Some of the all time greats of cycling are however) you still are probably in the 'one of those' class and should be aware of the fact.

Hmm im guessing you have a doctors visit tomorow most likly right? As this would be right around the 7 day mark and theres a better than even chance your stickes will go by by on that visit. I had near bone deapth cut on my fingure that took 8 stiches to close and mine were out in 6 days. If you have a doc visit tomorow ask him about the ride or call him tomorow. My gues is he will say do what your confortable with. Somethign you may want to do if he says its ok to ride though is apply some butterfly bandages to the cut along with the stiches. That will help to reenforce the stiches and keep you from busting them. It wont suprise me if your doctor recomends something along the same lines.

I usually take my stitches out myself after about 10 days(yes it seems to be way to frequent, I'm accident prone)

Don't do the ride.....listen to those that know. Amazing how many times people get into trouble mainly due to the fact that (a) they don't listen to advice from those that know and (b) they don't learn from the mistakes of others.

So....the question then remains....are you looking over both (a) and (b) and if so, why ask the question to begin with?

Just an update and maybe some closure. 1st, I appreciate all the points of view. What I did was this; I took a 13 mile ride (around my neighborhood circuit) this morning and again this afternoon. Now with this type of injury you expect to have some bleeding internally. The evidence is the blood bruise that will (and did) develop around your heel. This morning is was not large at all; by this evening it had grown somewhat. In fact, it grew more than I'm comfortable with so I've decided to pass on the fifty-fiver tomorrow. There will be others.

On a more positive note, while stopping today and unclipping my right foot, I started to fall to the left. Instinctively my left foot kicked out (instead of lifting up) and unclipped in time to stay upright! Finally, some muscle memory kickin' instead of visits to the emergency room!

That is all!