Broken ribs...recovery time?

bulaboy

Was pedalling thru a downhill corner this morning, when my inside right pedal hit the ground. The rear wheel left the ground and I somehow catapulted myself over to the left before landing on my left side. I broke 5 ribs. Anyway I am wondering if there are any folks out there who have had similar experiences. If so how long was it until you were back on the bike either on the road or the trainer? Fortunately we are just heading into winter here so I was expecting to ride the trainer a lot in the next few months anyway.

Bigbananabike

==========================================================
Yek, poor you
Are you sure they're broken and not cracked - it's hard to tell the different.
I've had cracked ribs(about 2 each time) and they HURT - even healing.
Moving much, laughing etc was not nice.

Mine took months to heal fully - it seems to be the usual story. Because they can't be set like other breaks and because they move with lungs they take ages to heal.

CannonChick

how long were you off the bike after your injury?

__________________
CannonChick
'06 Cannondale Six13
'05 Quintana Roo Lucero

Do or do not, there is no try.

Bigbananabike

===========================================================
The first time it happened I wasn't cycling(apart from occasional rides and commuting a bit) but I was doing a lot of running. I couldn't run for about a month and a half. It would've been less time off the bike - but not a lot as the upper body movement would've meant pain

CannonChick

i bruised my ribs three weeks ago (the doc says bruise, but it feels like a break).
i do time trials but i can't get in the aero position to save my life!
probably be the full 6 weeks for me too.

__________________
CannonChick
'06 Cannondale Six13
'05 Quintana Roo Lucero

Do or do not, there is no try.

Bro Deal

When I cracked a couple of ribs, I seem to recall getting back on the bike in about two weeks. I could not ride out of the saddle and needed to keep my torso straight and unmoving. Taking shallow breaths helped. I also rode easy and took no risks.

With five broken ones I think you would live in fear of crashing if you go out too early.

__________________
"You are like the wind and I like the lion. You form the tempest. The sand stings my eyes and the ground is parched. I roar in defiance but you do not hear. But between us there is a difference. I, like the lion, must remain in my place. While you like the wind will never know yours." -- Mulay Hamid El Raisuli, Lord of the Riff, Sultan to the Berbers, Last of the Barbary Pirates

bulaboy

With five broken ones I think you would live in fear of crashing if you go out too early.[/QUOTE]Yeah You're right. It's the trainer for me. Going to try to climb on the trainer in a couple days or so. Even if all I can do is spin for a while, it should slow the rate of fitness loss.

sogood

Please define broken vs cracked and explain the difference!

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

11ring

Ribs are pretty stable unless you snap them completely. But theree is still a range of severity.

I hit a pedestrian at 45kmph and snapped 3 ribs. I didn't think they were broken and kept working (as a cycle courior) on massive doses of ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine but 2-3 weeksd later they still hurt and i discovered a bunch of lumps where they had started to fuse together.

Not much you can go about them really, but the drugs certainly help.

sogood

The point was, there's no difference b/n "broken" and "cracked" in this context.

Rib fracture are mostly traumatic or tumour related, there are just about no over-use stress fractures (never say never). And with traumatic, although may not be displaced, you can pretty much be guaranteed it's a through and through fracture.

Maybe your definition of "broken" is when it's poking through your skin or into your lung or a segment of the chest wall has broken free (flail chest). That's really really bad and I wouldn't just use "broken" to describe it.

__________________
Morphed Bianchi Camaleonte IV 2006, Ridley Damocles 2006, Garmin, Mac

CapeRoadster

6-8 weeks avg healing time in a non-smoker in otherwise good health. If you're a pack-per-day smoker, multiply by two for healing time. Breaking 5 ribs is RARELY doable without tearing the soft tissues adjacent to the ribs such as attachments of the intercostal and other muscles. Therefore, be prepared for pain that persists to some degree long after 6-8 weeks.

That said, you can ride sooner than that possibly, as pain allows. Movement of soft tissue during the healing process helps the soft tissues heal. Breathing hard likely hurts more now (I'm right aren't I?), but breathing is essential.

I'd see a good chiropractor or physiotherapist who can do pulsed ultrasound and electric muscle stimulation and gentle massage right away. Interferential current therapy speeds fracture healing, and ultrasound is good for scar tissue. Massage is very helpful as well. Acupuncture can play a role in pain relief, as can all the drugs you were prescribed (they were, right?).

Bummer news, man. Best of luck in the New Year!

__________________
I love France. I just hate Toulouse. I'd really hate to lose le Trek.

CapeRoadster

What did you just do? Throw away the entire field of physical medicine (including chiropractic and physical therapy)??? Don't do that!!! Drugs do help, but they are not enough, and that's why every professional cyclist doesn't rely on them alone.

__________________
I love France. I just hate Toulouse. I'd really hate to lose le Trek.

bulaboy

Thanks CR. Good info there. I've been on the trainer a few times now. (Today w/b 2 weeks since my exciting high speed dismount.) I can do L3 intervals for now until my ribs allow for some deeper breathing. Fitness wise (best case scenario) this will probably set me back 3(?) weeks or so. I've done some trash talking with my cycling friends, cause I had planned on a steady diet of L4 intervals during Dec Jan & Feb. I will be riding faster come spring...no excuses! I got a jersey for Christmas with a picture of a cow on it, that I am planning to debut this spring. When you view the jersey from the back all you see is the cow's ass. That is the view I plan on showing people in April.

11ring

Well that was doctors advice, "nothing i can do, just take it easy and don;t crash or lift heavy weights".