Recovering form after accident?

Lightning

I've been off the bike for three weeks due to a leg fracture (accident). Prior to this I had been riding for 15~20 hours/week over the winter months and my form was great. Needless to say, all my hard work is probably gone now and my racing season is over.

I can now turn the pedals again (turbo only for now) so I'd like to at least salvage my later season as much as possible. The thing is, I still can't apply too much force on the pedals, so I'm a bit unsure on how to get back into it. I was thinking of doing longer rides (as long as possible) with low intensity to at least keep some base since I can't apply enough force to get anywhere near my training zones, but I don't really know what I should do as I've never been in this situation before.

Does anyone have any advice on this?

Cheers.

okgo

A mate of mine had 3 weeks off over xmas and was doing similar to you beforehand, he was back at full strength in maybe 2 months just by gently getting back into it and upping the volume back to what he did previous. BUT he wasn't injured just had long holiday.

saprkzz

Best thing is too listen to your body. When it comes to a break/fracture as long as you dont disturb the healing then do what you feel comfortable doing.

I did my collar bone and this seem to take ages to sort, but i just gradully eased back into it. I tried MTB'ing way too soon, and had loads of pain, so went back to road bike again.

I would keep up with your turbo sessions just gentle not too often with rest days and gradually work up as long as you dont suffer pain. Dont push through it, its not worth it. You could try going to the gym if your a member and doing some different excercies maybe?

Lightning

okgo wrote:

A mate of mine had 3 weeks off over xmas and was doing similar to you beforehand, he was back at full strength in maybe 2 months just by gently getting back into it and upping the volume back to what he did previous. BUT he wasn't injured just had long holiday.

I stop for about 2~3 weeks every year after the end of the season too, but I can easily get back to it since I'm not limited.. Right now I can only hold ~200w comfortably (pain starts a bit over that) which is quite far from my usual training range so I don't even get tired.. I do feel my fractured leg muscles jumping and cramping after it's over though (they seem really weak and small since they have been off the ground for so long) so I guess it helps recover that at least.

saprkzz wrote:

I tried MTB'ing way too soon, and had loads of pain, so went back to road bike again.

I can't even imagine riding on cobbles right now, let alone MTBing haha.

saprkzz wrote:

You could try going to the gym if your a member and doing some different excercies maybe?

That's what I've been doing everyday since the day after the accident (upper body only), but I don't really think it helps with cycling unfortunately. I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing and hope this heals fast..

Headhuunter

I know what you're going through. I broke my left radius (arm) at the end of Jan. It was in plaster for about 6 weeks and I eventually got back on the bike after about 7 or 8 weeks. I'm back cycling to and from work (about 14 miles) but that hurt my arm a bit when I first started doing it, the longest ride I've done since Jan is about 40 miles although that's partly because I haven't had time, although I find gripping the bars and using the brakes over prolonged periods is a bit painful...

sassse

You don't say exactly what you have done to your leg....is it a tibia or fibula fracture or both, the severity and the treatment plan you are on, all of these things will affect your recovery.

I had an open/tib fib fracture and was not able to even use a turbo for the first 3 months ( was casted and booted) and it was 7 month before things were healed enough to allow riding on the road again.

Best advice is to talk to your ortho, they will be able to guide you best. However saying that generally as long as you aren't getting really sharp pain(i.e. painf from the fracture site moving).... you should be okay to keep exercising on the turbo and buildign the time/effort as healing progresses.