Hoping some of you experienced lads could help me with a bit of advice please. So on the the 21st Feb I crashed the bike at Donington Park at Craners, 1st track day of the year and cold conditions and cold/old tyres = disaster (bike was OK luckily). I broke my wrist unfortunately so had it plated at Derby hospital on the 22nd.......thing is I'm booked with Redline at Aragon on the 10/11/12th April, has anybody had a similar experience and is it reasonable to expect to be able to ride at Aragon? Cheers PS Advice not advise...grrrrr
How serious was the break? What did you actually break (what kind of wrist fracture)? I think you will be pushing your luck trying to ride in April. You will need to be able to push and pull on the wrist, and you risk more permanent damage if the bone is not fully healed or you damage it again. Wrists are complex joints and some of the bones have limited blood supply, making healing a slow business. I broke my left wrist mountain biking (colles fracture) in my mid 30s and it took longer than two months to heal.
agree, if scaphoid was fractured then you might only get one go at healing it properly unless young/very healthy.
As someone who has broken both their wrists, including the scaphoid, I concur with the above. The scaphoid requires time and is a slow heal. Even then it may never be the same and you will suffer a dull ache. I'd advise, if it is indeed a scaphoid, to allow yourself more time to recover before you put it under pressure. Note I had my schaphy out of plaster/plate for 1 week before I broke it again falling of a scrambler onto soft muddy ground. Thus another 6wks or so of plating etc. Its never really recovered and I get a dull ache after an extended ride. That was over 20yrs ago. I think you only get 1 chance mebbe. Good luck.
wrist or arm? radius & ulna are classed as arm, scaphoid and similar classed as wrist. subtle, pedantic, even, but does make a fair bit of difference in healing, etc lat year I had a displaced fracture of the radius and a fracture of the ulna. this was classed as an arm break, despite being right at the wrist joint. but, given they are fairly straight bones, they are easier to heal/pin, etc. but, even given that, I was in a cast for at least 4 weeks, and then the wrist was so stiff and weak, I could barely use it for several weeks after, and then had to gradually build it back up and get it mobile again. my 2p worth, fwiw, is that you have little reasonable chance of making the 2nd track day, but then I am only an engineer, and not a doctor. Get well soon. Pete
Thanks for the advice chaps. It was a colles fracture, a bad one they said but aren't they all. They tried manipulating back into place prior to casting (not nice at all) but it didn't work so they said an operation to plate it is the only way to go. Very very good point about the travel/repatriation insurance cream_revenge, didn't really think about that one, its looking like you've all confirmed what I dreaded......that I wont be able to ride in Aragon. Hey plus the 1199 isn't the friendliest of bikes to ride even when fully fit is it? Gutted:grimacing: PS I'm 52 so a spring chicken!!!
Left or right hand? If its left and you have Qs and autoblipper, and no chance of cancelling, I'd strap it up and give it a crack If you get there and its too much, just enjoy the beer and the break (pun intended )
You can get insurance they just won't cover the existing injury and may exclude any injury to the whole arm. I rode after having my shoulder pinned last year but they excluded any injury to that arm. It may have to be signed off by the doc as healed as well.
Did my scaphoid, falling off a ladder 25 yrs ago, took em 9 months to diagnose it, multiple visits to the doctor and a&e, 1 visit to a specialist and it was plastered that day, still have pain in the winter Let the healing process take its course
Get one of these.....helped me get the best movement ever (....Well nearly. ...... Readers Wives got them nice an supple) Get the backwind starter one.....avoid the string start. Get a battery clock if you want to monitor progress.......
If it were me (and it's not) I'd just crack on. The power balls are excellent as suggested above. Early mobilisation is good after internal fixation apparently. Whether you'd feel comfy on the bike I don't know but it's now plated so unlikely to do harm unless you give it another wallop. Good diet, exercise, sleep are always a bonus in healing broken bits. Bone & Joint
Thanks again people for the advice. Paid for Aragon in full today so I'm committed 100%. Hopefully I'll be able to bimmble around for a few laps and enjoy the scenery, worst case I'll be the pit bitch (no offence ladies) and enjoy the sun and booze whilst helping the lads faff about with the bikes.......all good stuff either way Cheers
You can buy codeine over the counter in sprain, if you haven't got any. 0900 warmers on, 0910 pop two, 0915 take 30 min nap, 0945 waken up and start getting ready. Last session before lunch, repeat Tried and tested formula
If i were you I'd let it heal fully before you do anything other than whatever physio has been recommended , broke my radial and scaphoid December, soon as soft pot off, tried to get back into normal usage of the wrist , continual swelling after use ,now to undergo second op on tendons. Remember it's not just the bones it's the extensive damage to ligaments, tendons and soft tissue, which can take longer to heal than the fractures.
Well I'm back from Aragon and did, following advice on here (sort of), ride the bike. Was a bit of a struggle but got out there and enjoyed every minute...what a track Aragon is. I'm thinking, looking back, how wrong it could've gone given some of the corners there but it was all good thankfully. For anybody else with a recently broken and plated wrist, yes it is possible to ride 5 to 6 weeks later but with caution. Do what I did, steady away and don't try to break any lap records.
