Recovery From Broken Leg

pb21

11 weeks ago I broke my hip. Two weeks ago I was told I could start to ride on my turbo. Since then I have been slowly increasing the power as I didnt want to start to high and the doctor said if it hurt I should stop.

So yesterday I did half an hour with 20 mins at a power that gave my a TT heart rate, race effort.

I dont know whats the best way to spend my time on the turbo though. For 9 weeks I did nothing, so will have lost a lot of endurance aswell as speed not to mention the strnght lost in the broken leg due to surgery. I could continue what I am doing and add in another interval or just do an hour at a constant effort. I think I am capable of spending up to an hour at the moment.

I want to be as road fit as possible when I start back on the road which may be in 4 more weeks although I expect may be more like September.

Thanks

binlinus

You may want read my post in cake stop (I broke my hip in February) http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12571535&start=30

For my recovery I used the stationary trainer in the gym, the cross-trainer and walking. I found it best to exercise little and often. I also worked on flexibility which was the slowest to regain for me.

Once I could use the stationary bike for a hard 1 x 20 interval I then did sessions riding out of the saddle on the stationary bike. Pedal seated then stand for say 15 seconds, then return to seated for 45 seconds then back to standing. Take it easy. It's a bit scary riding out of the saddle at first, but I soon built up to one minute and more pretty quickly.

I also did some high speed spinning on the stationary bike more than 120 rpm for a few minutes at a time (not standing!)

But I kept the sessions short as you need to have plenty of time to recover. If you can get five short sessions a week then that I found it to be about right. But try to get out for a longish walk too, and try to walk with good posture. Don't limp.

The other thing I did was to do some squats without any weight. Just concentrate on smooth movement and good form. Lunges are also good as you can concentrate on just the one leg. But if you are doing lunges try to hold onto something and do them in front of a mirror and try to make sure you maintain good form. These will bring back the muscle mass and strength. I did these after the bike sessions.

HTH

Bin

Alex_Simmons/RST

I'm going through similar.

After 1 month, I'm now up to doing hour long efforts on the trainer. And most of my rides are at a power > 80% of my current TT power level. Some are harder. There isn't much point in going easier on such short rides once your leg/body is used to the pedalling motion.

So provided you have no pain/discomfort, then keep up the consistency of training and don't be concerned about getting up towards threshold levels. It's good for you. Once you are able to do longer rides again, then intensity can drop back a little.

I did a MAP Test last night. 289 watts. That's approx 70% of my previous levels.

barricade

I broke the top of my femur in a cycling accident last June and had to have it surgically repaired with stainless steel plates, compression bolts and hardware. It took me a month before I get on a trainer but started to run in place in a therapy pool. I had tremendous pain in my hip flexor area because I tore my psoas muscle after ripping my cleat off my shoe in the accident.

One year later I feel like I finally have my full power back and spent 3 weeks in Majorca in April building up power and stamina. Another 6 weeks in PT to correct a muscle imbalance I developed from walking crooked and I am finally out of pain. I am riding well and started racing again