Cycling UK Forum

francovendee wrote:I've found this thread very interesting and sometimes a bit upsetting hearing of the accidents.
I worked for nearly 40 years in the industry making these products.
It have always thought that the success of the operation largely relied on the surgeon rather than the implant. All the major orthopaedic companies products were very similar.
Removing bone screws that had been in place for a long time could prove very difficult and various patented head designs have been offered to help get a grip on a very tight screw. Very much like carpentry in a butcher's shop.

Ive been advised that mine is staying in, this is with the Ortho knowing I will be back to riding and racing as soon as my body will allow it. With the design of mine though as the bolts aren't proud (being recessed into the plate) i shouldnt have an issue with them.

Due to various other injuries through the years I know when it's going to rain anyway so the hip will just be another indicator haha.

So glad I found this forum and post, I've just read it start to finish and feel a lot better about my situation.

Three weeks ago today I and the 20 other rides in my bunch were met with an oncoming 4wd on the wrong side of the road as we crested a turn, thankfully we all moved over enough to not get hit by the 4wd but in doing so 6 of us went down after wheels were touched. I hit the bike in front of me when it hit the ground and did a forward flip at 20kph onto my left hip. 4 riders escaped unscathed short of some skin lost.

Two of us went to hospital, other guy went down head first so was not in a good state when the first ambulance turned up, with a face covered in blood and a hand crafted brace made from jerseys around his neck the ambulance crew naturally saw him as the priority, his glasses that exploded on impact made a few entrances to his face, thankfully he got away with some plastic surgery and some small scars that will heal well. I was assessed by the ambulance person and deemed to be No2 of importance, that was fine as I was sitting up and chatting with people I just happened to have no use of my left leg. As someone that raced motorbikes for 15 years has been racing pushbikes for 10 it's the first time I've not been able to get up post crash, this seemed like a omen of what was to come.

Shot off via ambulance to hospital I was ushered to ER and assessed, had some xrays to check things out and then waited for the doc and my wife to turn up. My wife is a theater nurse, specializing in orthopedics............ she walked in, lifted up the blanket, looked at my left foot hanging off to the side like a dead rubber and said "ahhh bugger shoot" and got on her phone. Doc turned up and confirmed I had a non displaced FNF, seems the in vogue hip fracture to have.

I was very lucky to go from sitting in ER at 8m to being in surgery at 11am, I had a Stryker Omega 3 inserted (https://ibb.co/Bzk6Wdc) and by all accounts the surgery went very well. As per other peoples accounts it was a strange thing being on the ward post op where I was a junior to say the least, I'm a young looking 41yr old to the point that when the physio turned up she opened the curtain, looked at me, closed the curtain and walked off asking where I was because surely this young man couldn't have broken his hip. The physio came back and had a giggle, I laughed too, you have to see the funny side of these things. My instructions as per others were to not bear weight and do two measly exercises per day, the physio did apologies and say that the exercises are aimed at people in their 70s, not a very active person in their 40s.

So, three weeks down on crutches, three to go before I can weight bare. Like others here I went and saw my personal physio that is cycling specific and have a range of exercise to help keep range of motion and some semblance of muscle tone. I've already lost 2cm diameter from the quad / thigh and calf, eeeeek.

For me the worst thing isn't the loss of time on the bike, the lost week of work or the random pain I get via a nerve in my groin twinging when the leg goes from bent to straight (this only happened once the swelling went down post op, anyone else?) it's that I have 1y old twins that for the next few months I'm useless at helping with and unable to play with them as I was before. All because of a careless driver..... we have footage of the car via Fly6 so hopefully the Police will actually do something.

Anyway sorry about the long post, I've been sitting here feeling a bit sorry for myself due to not really finding anything about people my age and interest having the same break. It's given me great pleasure to read about other peoples triumphs long term as it is and getting back on the bike. I know it's going to be a hard road but I feel more equipped go through it now.

I've already got a great trainer setup at home with a Kickr, Climb, big screen and Zwift so am aching to get back on in hopefully another 3 weeks and start spinning.

Thanks again all, I will post with updates as they happen and am happy to receive a pm if anyone has any questions or just needs to chat, it's a hell of an injury that can leave you feeling a bit isolated that's for sure.

Cheers
Roger