Building Confidence After A Fall

Avoneer

Hi All,

Not sure if this is the right section, but seemed appropriate for me.

I've been commuting for nearly 20 years now and apart from the odd gentle slow speed tumble (ice / new spd's), I've only ever had two bad falls.

One about 12 years ago on some ice which resulted in a broken collar bone and 1 month off work and more recently, 3 weeks ago.

Was nearly exact same circumstances - coming down a hill, turn at the bottom, bike goes one way, I went the other.

Landed on same shoulder, but fortunately and after 3 x-rays, just badly damaged muscles.

My shoulder is stilll really hurting 3 weeks later and I've not been able to do my weights, cycle commute to work and swim and it's really beginning to get me down.

Aside from that, I've only been out on the repaired bike (new brifters and bars) and I'm so lacking in confidence.

Bike just feels all twitchy and I'm going down hills at about 10mph rather than the 30 odd like before.

I'm just not comfortable on the bike at the moment.

Any tips anyone or is it just a case of stop moaning and get on with it?

Cheers,

Pat...

BentMikey

Nothing wrong with being careful like that after a fall. I'm sure we all do it to some degree in similar circumstances.

Have you thought about going to see a physio about that shoulder? I would.

bradford

Keep yer chin up lad! Try and put the fall out of your mind for the moment and your skills will come back quicker than you think.If you keep dwelling on it,you may as well give up now.Remember why you cycle ? You can't beat the buzz can you!
You won't feel the pain in your shoulder as much when your bombing along
Good luck with it Pat.

Rich158

I had exactly the same after my off, in my case it was not having enough confidence in my shoulder to really push it. Patience is the key, if you can't do weights or anything then you're probably not ready to get on the bike. my physio reckoned a minimum of 6 weeks for deep tissue bruising to heal, and then you can start building up the strength again slowly.

I'd say take it easy, let the shoulder heal fully, and your confidence will come back as the shoulder heals and you have more confidence in it's ability to stand up to being on the bike

Avoneer

Cheers guys.

1st physio appointment tomorrow (private) and god knows when the NHS physio will be in touch.

Docs advise was that I shouldn't be riding a bike in the 1st place and to take some ibuprofen - very helpful, thanks doc - I had to fight to get a referal!

6 weeks - yikes.

Was saving a fortune not having to rely on the car as well.

Pat...

Rich158

It sounds like deep tissue bruising, which in turn has a lot of deep swelling that traps tendons etc Ibuprofen is prob a good call by your doc, it's not just pain relief you know, it's for it's anti-inflamatory properties as well. Just take it easy and let nature heal you

downfader

Avoneer wrote:

Cheers guys.

1st physio appointment tomorrow (private) and god knows when the NHS physio will be in touch.

Docs advise was that I shouldn't be riding a bike in the 1st place and to take some ibuprofen - very helpful, thanks doc - I had to fight to get a referal!

6 weeks - yikes.

Was saving a fortune not having to rely on the car as well.

Pat...

The Docs advice in that respect is nonsense and he's not qualified to offer it.

Ibuprofen is good, I took that and paracentamol (I forget the dosage, dont assume dosages obviously, get advice before you try this) for my shoulder and knees last year.

When you do get back on the bike (nothing wrong with a sabatical) just take it easy and enjoy it. Confidence will come back.

Splottboy

Had similar falls on either shoulder, left in 1994 right in 2005, and broken my femur last year.
Look at Fox Launch shorts, which have various pads in. They work for me.

Also, there's some rugby tops which are like base layers with thinish pads on the shoulders, biceps, chest, upper back and kidneys. They weigh nothing and may give you confidence. They helped me to get back riding seriously.
More of a confidence thing than anything else. Just get back into riding slowly, on easier rides, and don't take excessive risks. Try to "read" what's happening ahead and try to anticipate possible risky moments in advance.

I tend to ride without the upper body pads, but always use the Fox shorts.
On serious Mtb rides, I'll use knee, elbow, Fox shorts and padded rugby top.

Kieran_Burns

I'm sorry but unless you're commuting by bike, you can't post in this section. Please go to the roadie section and be patronised over there.

(for the hard of humour that was a joke)


Okay - two things here:

1. Listen to your body, it hurts for a reason. Don't push recovery you'll only do more long term damage for short term 'gain'
2. Listen to your mind, it hurts for a reason. Don't push..... see the theme here?

You need to allow your body time to recover and get over the damage caused AND you need to do the same for your mental state as well. It amazes me that people don't consider pyschological damage in the same vein as physical.

I would say - don't commute by bike for the time being. Get back on the bike when you are physically able but don't commute, just go for short leisure rides... get your confidence and fitness back up, and THEN commute. If things are so bad for you that you are lacking the confidence in yourself or the bike to be comfortable (and therefore safe) treat yourself as a newbie rider.

I don't mean overboard here, just take small steps.

The Chingford Skinhead

Some very sound advice from Rich and Kieran. It is good that you want to get back on the bike rather than give up but your body and mind need time to recover. You are not going to want to go fast when your shoulder is hurting and your mind is going to be over protective about the shouldder making you go even slower.

You need to let the shoulder recover through rest and physio. Once it is strong enough a lot of your sub-conscious fear will go and you'll be able to restart from a much better position. I was out for a while earlier in the year and found some cycle training helped as it gave me confidence that I was doing the best that I could to avoid a similar fall. That siad, you sound very experienced and may be just as well to get back on the bike after a good rest.

I hope the shoulder heals up and you're back to normal ASAP - but don't push it.

biondino

After my worst accident I got back on the bike when my bones had healed, and trundled off down the hill I lived on. After a few yards my front end started wobbling terribly and it was all I could do to come to a halt, get off the bike and wheel it back home. I didn't ride for 18 months.

As it turns out, it was purely psychological, presumably primarily caused by the fact that the accident was the result of catastrophic failure (of the freewheel - never heard this happening to anyone else) and my brain deciding that anything over 10mph was Too Scary.

mtb-idle

I got slam-dunked by a car door and needed physio on my shoulder. Luckily my work provides a private health plan and an on-site physio.

Before I went it felt as though i had broken something (I hadn't). After four sessions the shoulder now feels 100%.

I didnt have many options about getting back on the bike as when i got knocked off i was only 4 miles into an 18 mile commute but once the shoulder was sorted out i felt much more comfortable.

So what i'm saying is sort your body out first and then you can relax when you get back on the bike.

vorsprung

Riding down hills at 10mph isn't a problem. Just go with what you are comfortable with

Roastie

You've just got to get back in the saddle. It is a huge confidence waster, but the sooner you get back into the routine of riding the better.

robocolley

I know how you feel. I crashed on ice last February and broke the smaller of the two bones in my forearm. My confidence really took a tumble but I got back on the bike after 6 weeks and seem to have got most of it back. That said, I'm not looking forward to waking up to the first frosty/icy morning this autumn/winter. Its certainly made me a lot more careful when the weather conditions aren't good.

Kieran_Burns

robocolley wrote:

I know how you feel. I crashed on ice last February and broke the smaller of the two bones in my forearm. My confidence really took a tumble but I got back on the bike after 6 weeks and seem to have got most of it back. That said, I'm not looking forward to waking up to the first frosty/icy morning this autumn/winter. Its certainly made me a lot more careful when the weather conditions aren't good.

That's the Ulnar (thumb pointing upwards, the bone Underneath is the Ulnar)

Don't wish to worry you.... it's the first frosty morning tomorrow. Forecasting -2 tonight. :?