Riding fixed after a broken ankle
 

Hey y'all I know but I've been gone for quite some time but I've still been riding my trusty Flite 100 nearly every day--well I was until February 6th when I broke my ankle skateboarding. Since then I've been on crutches (thank god nothing's atrophied), but on Monday I'm gonna have one of the screws in my ankle removed and doc says I'll be able to walk out of the hospital. Not trying to rush back into riding, but I was wondering if anyone else here has had a similar experience? When I eventually do hop on the bike again, I'll probably have to dig up my brake, since I doubt my left leg is gonna be strong enough to skid.

I had to get back to biking from surgery once.. it wasn't a broken bone, but after sinus surgery. It took a while to build up the stamina again. Don't work yourself too hard-just go back gradual and work your way up.

Dave

Thirteen weeks no walking and no atrophy? Get the tape out. I bet that calf is skinny. I was off my left foot for 3 months due to a broken heel and my calf shrunk down to a needle. "Walking out of the hospital" is WAY different than being strong and stable. It took a long time for my Gumby to go away.

In all seriousness, you might start with a freewheel until the break feel less tentative. Go back to fixed when the ankle feels super solid. I hope you recover fast and whole.

Die hard fix gear rider here. Going freewheel on those bikes is (for me) a sacrilege. I would start my riding on my geared bike until I had built up some strength.

Now, skidding is something I never did and never will. All my fix gears have brakes. When I am in recovery mode I use them more.

Ben

I'd combine a slow return to the bike with a targeted rehabilitation program that promotes bone density (walking at first, then some light jogging and jump rope) and strengthens the muscles and connective tissue all throughout the affected leg.

Your bones have likely lost a lot of density due to the lack of weight-bearing demanded of them for the past few months, and my strong suspicion is that riding a bike (especially fixed gear) applies the kind of chronic stress that is enough to endanger the integrity of compromised bones without being enough to really promote strengthening. Plus, if you crash, compromised bone density plus a lack of muscle for cushioning puts you at a higher risk of injury.

Both of my legs atrophied when I was on crutches with a broken ankle.

Post the X-ray! Here's mine:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/428/31...df0dee51_n.jpg

I had a month in a cast, a month in a boot, and then I was riding on a trainer for a month before I ventured forth. Recovery took a lonnnnnng time. It was almost 3 years before I could stand up on the pedals to pound up a hill for an extended period of time.

I'd ignore Ben and consider riding freewheel for a bit if for no other reason than you've been off a bike for a while.

How's your range of motion in that ankle? Are you going to be able to tolerate foot retention? If not, consider a single freewheel and brakes until you get that range of motion back.

Hi, I just wanted to reach out to you. I broke my heels, had hardware in them. You should be concerned, because at least with me eventually the peroneous longus tendon abraded on the hardware resulting in the tendon to lengthen. Unfortunately the big toe ended up lifting 3/4" supinating the foot. Then a surgeon ended up having to do some major surgery to flatten both of my foot.

I still say we need a Post your X-Ray thread.

See if I can dig up the cat scans from my broken knee.


-Tim-

I don't see the point of asking here. Get an opinion from doctors, esp. doctors who treat sports injuries.

After any serious injury such as yours or even after grade 2/3 ankle sprains, it's common sense that you go through physical therapy. Even if you can't afford a lot of sessions with the copay or don't get approved for a full set of treatments (I have no idea what your insurance situ is), at least go to a few sessions so you know what exercises to go through.

Here's the X-Ray from when it broke:
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t5...48614656_n.jpg
Techically I broke my leg and not my ankle since it's my fibula, and you can't tell from that angle, but my tibia was partially dislocated as well. My syndesmotic ligament was disconnected which is why I couldn't walk for six weeks after the bone itself had healed. There's a plate and a few screws in there now.

I'd probably start with some long walks until I hopped on the bike.

That's the plan, not gonna hop on until I feel like it's strong enough

question... do they tap those screw holes, or do they just drill them bad boys right in? :foo:

I know I should HTFU, but I wasn't fully conscious for the surgery. They need to tap the holes; just cranking the screws in would shatter the bones.

I met a guy on the trail about a year and a half ago, who had the same break, the same surgery, and the same surgeon I did. He said the screws were really bothering him and he talked the guy into removing a few screws in his office! Mine, fortunately, haven't bothered me at all, so even though it is an open invitation to TSA gate-groping, I haven't bothered to get mine removed.

I'm sorry, did you say that they would remove the screws at his office?

:eek:

I have one of my pelvis, but it shows all of the... soft tissue as well.

There have been a couple of instances where I thought I could just slit the skin open and crank a few out with my torque wrench, but it would kind of suck to back one of those screws half-way out and then have the screw head strip or snap off. Imagine having to crank the rest of it out with a vice-grip wrench, or hammer it back in with a ball-peen hammer.

It's always amazing how many people seek medical advice on the internet. Are deductibles and copays that bad? That, and a large percentage of people are uncovered.

If you can't visit a doctor I can understand. But if you can, there's no point asking here.

Update guys: Got out of surgery this morning, my left leg is super weak and I still need to use crutch to walk, but that was expected. Saving old tubes has really come in handy in the way of rehab. Also, I'm not seeking medical advice per se, I'm just trying to hear what other people in a similar situation have done, I don't think my doctor knows much in the way of fixed gear bikes.

Damn, get well soon!

By the way, checked out your Pedalroom and dig your bikes. Are you really that young? You're a better and clearer writer than most of us olds. :eek:

Actually I'm 18 now, broke my ankle the day before my birthday :lol: I appreciate the compliments though; and I guess I can be a stickler for grammar at times.

While I agree that in principle, one shouldn't seek medical advice solely on the Internet, the point to asking here is that only a fraction of medical professionals are cyclists, and an even smaller fraction ride fixed gear bikes to any extent. And who knows, maybe some of the forum participants might be in that small subset of fixed gear riding medical professionals.