injury ending cycling

speshsteve

Hi All

Just thought I would see what other peoples experiences have been with injury and the potential complications bike related crashes have on them.

I have had a recent crash (a bike fell in front of me...this took out my front wheel and sent me over the handlebars) which has resulted in another injury to my right shoulder. I had a surgilig opp to treat a grade 5 separation 6 months ago and this recent crash (both crashes I was knocked off) has damaged this joint again but also cleanly broken the collar bone by the ac joint which required a hook plate fixation.

I think the view is that if I come off again it my well damage my shoulder ...they are running out of bone..permanently (this still maybe the case..time will tell).

I need maybe one, possibly 2 more operations to put this right (so that 4 ops in a year) and apart from the long recovery its also impacting my job etc.

Question is the sensible part of my brain says thats it...no more cycling, sell the 6 bikes and forget it. Anyone else been in the same boat...just interested to hear what thought process other people may of gone through?

Steve

slowmart

Given the amount of bikes in your signature it seems you love cycling!

We all have events in our lives which make us re evaluate our values and behaviours. Though some have the events and don't see the larger picture but hey ho.

I sustained a life changing injury at 18 and it gave me a fresh perspective. It reminded me I was mortal and at that age that's one aspect which doesn't enter the grey matter.


It's great your taking the time out to think things through in more depth but why let events shape your life? You've had an off and been unlucky enough to sustain injury and you don't touch on if fear is a driver of your decision or simply your balancing risk and reward?


In terms of job, career, you can get insurance to cover the costs of further accidents and injury but statistically what are the odds of injuring your shoulder. Of course the extent and long term damage is another aspect in the equation but youth provides the best recovery time and outcome. That's solely on you fella! Personally i hate wearing a helmet, I wear one as I have a wife and daughter as to me they're part of the equation in my risk and reward conundrum.

Coming to terms with why your off occurred and ensuring your experience is a learning experience is another route.

The choice is yours, but rational thought will provide an insight and understanding. That's called experience and will help shape your eventual decision.

Heal well and quickly.

craigus89

Sorry to hear, that really sucks.

If cycling is something you enjoy (obviously is) I wouldn't want to give it up completely. Were you riding in a group or racing when the accident happened? It sounds like it wasn't your fault, and if the previous crash was caused by someone else as well, then I would be riding alone from now on.

supermurph09

You'd like to think that you've had your share of crashes by now so unless you have other passions in life that can fill the void then keep pedaling, maybe just find ways of lowering the risk without lessening the enjoyment.

I wish you a full recovery.

jgsi

I am of an 'age' anyways... but my PlanB if anything happened to the race bike or a crash that did for my current hard earned fitness and morale.. would be to keep cycling as such.. but to swap out all the modern stuff in exchange for some elegant Italian steel and componentry and end up cycling in the best weather the leafy lanes at a leafy pace... just like the good old days. ...
trends like the Eroica still not on the agenda as the potential for disaster quite high even there.

marcusjb

If you love cycling, you carry on and accept the risk, or you change the way you ride and/or those you ride with.

Whilst I was never the raciest of cyclists, some lung issues and operation have put an end to all my chances of winning Le Tour and it would be easy to give up on everything. Instead I focused on going further rather than faster and found a new direction and love of cycling.

Life sucks sometimes and not being able to romp up hills out of the saddle as I used to is crappy, but it wouldn't stop me from cycling - touring and audax have both shown me how much enjoyment and challenge can be had whilst working with my physical limitations.

In your shoes, if I were becoming over concerned by the risks of having another fall and that is impacting on your enjoyment, find a new way to enjoy the sport we all adore.

imposter2.0

Were these racing accidents? If so, the simplest thing would be to pack in the racing as there is obviously a higher risk of injury involved.

Otherwise, alternatives include re-training as a commissaire, race organiser or coach...

Flâneur

Never quit something that makes you smile

BrandonA

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19638843#p19638843]Imposter[/url] wrote:

Were these racing accidents? If so, the simplest thing would be to pack in the racing as there is obviously a higher risk of injury involved.

Otherwise, alternatives include re-training as a commissaire, race organiser or coach...

Even if they weren't race related, at least one was group riding related.

If you ride MTB off road I'd also consider stopping that and sticking to the road.

I'd be reluctant to stop something I enjoyed but I'd look to reduce risk. I'd consider riding solo and possibly go longer/slower.

nicklouse

Mmm

have a read and a watch.

http://singletrackworld.com/2015/07/martyn-ashton-rides-again/

Grifteruk

Not sure if this is a different perspective of injury changing life choices but until about the age of 28 I was a very keen footballer to a reasonable high level. It was the central part of my life both on and off the pitch with friends being formed from teammates such that I thought it would go on for many years and ultimately into coaching when playing time came to an end.

As it was I ruptured my ACL and ended up with about a year out of playing the sport albeit I was still heavily involved. When I finally got back to playing I was never really the same and came to the realisation that something needed to change. It too affected my job and also health because of repeat secondary injuries. I took up cycling and have found a new passion, new friends in addition to those from football I have retained and can honestly say that I haven't looked back.

I agree with all the points made on potentially changing your cycling (stop racing/mileage instead of speed etc...) but if that isn't for you I don't think you should be afraid of looking into new things. They can be as rewarding, if not more so, as your current passion and can open doors which lead to equally enjoyable sport or pastime, if not more so.

It was very hard giving up football and i'm not afraid to say I cried like a baby during my last game. However that short term feeling of loss has been more than replaced by something I had never previously considered. Whilst I sometimes feel a pang of disappointment at not playing, that is more than replaced by doing something else which I enjoy and can do without fear of the old injury being problematic. Ultimately what I am trying to say is that there can be lots of sports/activities which are just as rewarding as cycling, its just a matter of finding what fits for you if life has thrown you a rubbish deal with your injuries.

Good luck with the recovery.

diy

I think in your shoes I'd switch to indoor cycling to keep my fitness/legs in good shape and then maybe take up a new sport.

I like sailing too, though crashing is a lot more expensive

davidof

How bad does an injury have to be to give up cycling? A friend of mine broke his back in an avalanche and still cycled across the Himalayas



https://vimeo.com/21307388

briantrumpet

And Martyn Ashton seems to be having fun again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX_hn3Xf90g

I guess that sort of spirit comes from being able to readjust one's perspective, taking pleasure from what one can do, rather than regretting what one can't. Though I still find it remarkable, given how abruptly and dramatically his life was turned upside down.

diy

I think its one thing to have a catastrophic injury and go on to adapt and over come the disability to continue cycling (or whatever), but IMO its something very different when you have an injury that could be catastrophic if you carry on.

I see it more on the lines of a boxer with a damaged retina, which could cause blindness at any moment, than a blind person taking up boxing so to speak.

graeme_s-2

Ultimately you have to weigh up the risks and benefits of cycling and decide for yourself what you want to do.

However, 1,000 people a year die in the UK from falling down the stairs. I would imagine you could sustain a significant repeat shoulder injury in such a fall, so will you avoid stairs and move to a bungalow, or will you accept that the benefit outweighs the potential risk?

I went through a bit of a personal mental exercise along these lines 5 years ago when a work colleague who is also a cyclist suffered a life changing injury in a motorcycle accident (he was stationary at a junction, two cars crashed independently of him and collected him). I decided that were I to suffer a similar injury the thing I would miss most would be riding a bicycle, so giving that up to reduce the risk of suffering such an injury for me personally is completely nonsensical.

Zingzang

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19638316#p19638316]speshsteve[/url] wrote:

Hi All

I think the view is that if I come off again it my well damage my shoulder ...they are running out of bone..permanently (this still maybe the case..time will tell).

In your position I wouldn't hesitate to get back out on my bike.

Thirty years ago I permanently paralysed one arm in a road accident and since then have had only limited use in it. In the other arm I've got chronic tendonopathy as a result of unavoidable overuse as well as a cycling injury. These disabilities are nothing as far as riding my bike is concerned and never stopped me racing in TT's, even if a further injury to my unparalysed arm might have been catastrophic for me, as "diy" puts it.

What has stopped me racing for the last three years is an untreatable immune disorder that leaves me unable to ride my bike or do any sport at all without becoming seriously unwell. I have had to sell or mothball all my bike stuff when it's the last thing in the world I want to do.

You're in a very fortunate position to be able to choose whether to ride your bike or not. Not everyone has the choice.

diy

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19639886#p19639886]Graeme_S[/url] wrote:

Ultimately you have to weigh up the risks and benefits of cycling and decide for yourself what you want to do.

However, 1,000 people a year die in the UK from falling down the stairs. I would imagine you could sustain a significant repeat shoulder injury in such a fall, so will you avoid stairs and move to a bungalow, or will you accept that the benefit outweighs the potential risk?

Perhaps better expressed in terms of accidents over time exposed to risk - one of the reason vehicle casualty stats are most meaningfully presented in per billion vehicle kilometers. I've no idea what the risk/exposure might be, but if we removed those due to drink/drugs/or frailty - we might have an avg of 40M (out of 64Million people in the UK) doing at least 400 flights of stairs on avg per year, so ~1:16M chance of death as a result of falling down the stairs. Or put another way - 1 every 570 life times approx. The risk of being killed on a bike is about 1:18,000 - so ~1,000 times more.

iPete

Without knowing how these accident are happening it's hard to answer except to say, keep on riding but consider changing how, where and who with.