About a week ago I was mountain biking with a friend in an inch or so of slushy/ snow conditions. It was also dry and clear in 50% of the trails. After about 90 minutes or so of really good riding we started down a new trail and almost immediately I went down very hard on my right hip, there was some solid ice under some leaves that I didn't see. I knew right away that I was in serious trouble. I tried to stand but could not, I was almost passing out from the pain and shock. After about ten minutes trying to gather myself I was able to crawl to a parallel fire road about 75 feet away.
I was able to stand with help from my friend but could not move. Luckily I had my cell phone and my friend was able to get a 911 call out. After 20 minutes I could hear the siren and an ATV showed up with 3 rescue personnel. They had to strap me to a board while standing up and lay me down in the back of the ATV. My pain was already at 10 but that 1.5 mile ride out on a bumpy washed out trail it was all I could do to stay conscious, I think I was screaming all the way, but there was no other option.
Into the rescue vehicle at this point and they took my vital signs and gave me morphine. Was rushed to the trauma center at the city hospital. There they did more testing and x-rays, which showed a crack in my femur just below the femural component. They started talking about surgery, but they do not perform HR's at that hospital. I requested to be transferred to the hospital which did my surgery and be seen by Dr Marchand. They agreed to this after I signed some papers.
After transfer the next morning I took a CT scan and Dr Marchand saw me later and he did say he sees some cracks but nothing has moved and the bone is not displaced. He recommends crutches and non weight bearing for 4 weeks and hope it heals w/o surgery. I did not see the CT scan yet, I trust his judgment.
So after 3 days in hospital I am now home and resting with a walker and crutches. I have to say the pain has been quite awful at times, much worse than post surgery, I suffered much trauma to the area. Right now I am using Percoset, which helps. I also had Morphine, Dilauded and Vicodin.
I'm not sure how this will turn out but I see Dr Marchand in a week and will report back then.
Sorry for the length and thanks for reading. Moe
We have had one other hippy crash on this site and break their femur, they were lucky and the implanted area was not affected and through lots of pins and screws they kept their implant.
Chuck
Moe,
Wishing you the best and a healthy recovery!
debcoco
Holy cow Moe!
Dr. Marchand is very good, if he thinks things are positive, most likely they are. Let us know how it goes, you are in my thoughts and hope that everything is well.
Hey Moe,
Sorry about your fracture. I hope it heals. I had a crash and broke my greater trochanter right below the device in April 2012. It was a significant break so they attached a plate and screws. Nine months later I had the hardware removed and all is good now. You can view my xrays in the gallery....one with the hardware and one picture of the hardware after they took it out. PM me if you'd like to discuss further. I know how much pain you are in.......good luck and let me know if I can be of help.
spencer
Moe
I am sorry to hear about your accident. I hope it will heal well for you in time. Patience is probably the most important part of your healing.
Good Luck and stay in touch when you can.
Pat
Moe, sorry to hear... It seems the worst of the pain is over now, hopefully you can recover without any intervention and the HR device is not affected. Keep us posted!
I read your post after my lengthy update on my first MTB Race. Hoping all goes well on your recovery and you are able to get back on the trails. I am sure that is not on your mind right now though.
I ride with hip pads but I think they would have to be more like hockey pads to do any real good.
G_T
Good luck Moe with time and patience you can heal yourself. I am now 2 years since a crush fracture and doing well.
So sorry, Moe. I face this kind of trauma with my horseback riding... yikes!!
You were smart to insist on transfer to a competent HR facility. Please keep your spirits up and be patient. Let us know periodically how you are doing.
Thinking of you, Lu
Thank you all for all your kind words and thoughts. Spencer and Jason I remember both your accidents and recoveries so I am taking hope from them. Gino good luck with your riding and racing. Luann, may all your dismounts be pleasant.
Thanks again, moe
Sorry to hear of your crash Moe, but glad you stayed out of the OR. Hopefully all will heal well.
David
Moe, get well soon! I'm sure the fracture will heal nicely in no time. In your opinion do you think your hip was more fragile than you expected or do you think that fall might have injured a native hip the same way? Dr. Bose theorizes that the stem of the resurfacing cap actually makes the femur neck stronger by way of a splinting effect. Maybe that is why the cracks were below the device? Then again, maybe because the neck is so stiff that the bone had to crack instead of just flexing throughout like a native hip might and not fracture.
Chuckm
Oh Moe, noooooo.
So sad to hear this. I hope you have a very speedy recovery and that it's not too badly damaged :-[
Anna
Just saw Dr Marchand and I got a good look at the fracture on x ray. It actually crosses the stem, about 1.5 inches from the end. He still advises no surgery, it will heal, just need to be careful. Chuck, he said there is no way to know if it would have been better or worse w/o a device in place. I just think it's amazing that one can fall so hard and fracture the femur and the components not move or be effected. My pain is easing somewhat but I really have to stay on top of the meds. Thanks all for concern. I will update.
moe
Well, that's good news moe, just be careful and it will heal right.
Hopefully the pain goes down soon for you, it is amazing that with that much chaos, your HR held up.
Please do update. The best of luck to you.
Thanks for the update. I will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Looking forward to your updates as you heal.
Pat
4 week update. Saw Dr Marchand yesterday and he says healing is taking place and I should be fine in time. I am now walking with 1 cane. Got the OK to start riding the trainer and doing some light workouts. Pain is much less although I still take a couple of Aleve daily. I am able to walk about 2 /10s of a mile. Will continue updating in the future.
Thanks all for reading and the support.
moe
Edit..1 cane not 1 crutch.
Thanks for update! So glad you're going to be ok! Also good to hear pain is down and you're able to exercise lightly. Keep us posted! :)
Jeez Moe, just catching up, really sorry to hear about the fall, and happy to hear you are on the mend.
Best regards for a full recovery
Am I right in thinking that this could have been much worse with a THR? I was told that you shouldn't go back to serious running or contact sports after THR because the stomping, twisting and tumbling can be dangerous. For example I just read this gem here
http://hss.edu/onthemove/returning-to-activity-after-a-hip-replacement/#.UvU6dE2Ya70
QuoteIt is strongly recommended that high-impact sports with high fall risk and possible contact be avoided after a total hip replacement. These include any sports involving running, jumping, and repetitive high impact on the hip, specifically racquetball, squash, basketball, soccer, football, softball, snowboarding, and high-impact aerobics.
Either way, glad to hear that you're on the mend and don't need anything more drastic to get better.
Well here is my 8 week update. I saw Dr Marchand this week and healing is going well, the crack is still visible on x ray and he says this will be the case for 6-12 months. I am walking unaided and did 40 minutes on Narragansett Beach the other day and 90 minutes this morning. No pain. The limp is just about gone. I am riding my trainer a bit to warm up but am concentrating on walking and weight training to build up bone strength. I will ride again in the future when the trails and roads clear up, lots of snow, ice, and sand out there.
I am still amazed that the BHR is in perfect shape after all the abuse I've given it. Thanks to Dr Marchand and South County Orthopedics, first class all the way.
Moe
Great news, moe
So pleased for you Moe ... and even more pleased that it has not put you off riding the trails in the future :)
Good stuff. You'll have to be patient for a while yet...
In belated response to oldsoccerplayer's thoughts about THR being more vulnerable in a bike crash, my old mate Chip (actually Paul) would confirm that. A low-speed sliding crash onto his 2 year old hip replacement caused his right femur to shatter the length of the stem. 6 days in hospital waiting for a 5 hour operation to fit hip up with a longer stem and tie all the bits of bone together. Funnily enough, he was judged OK for full weight-bearing immediately post-op (I wasn't, with my BHR) and he recovered quickly enough to take his booked photographic trip to Yellowstone a couple of months later. Then he got embolisms in both lungs as a result of the long flight home, which is another story. Back on the road last summer and putting in major miles, only to fall on a frosty bend a couple of months ago. Fortunately his collarbone took the brunt of it this time so he will be riding again any time now...
Hey Moe, saw you on Beth's thread.
I want to post what I just put on another thread, and repeat it on all the ones concerned with cycling. I got this from someone else on the site, so I don't take credit, but I think it's worth repeating.
While I did cycle some during recovery, I have started real road riding again (left BHR Sept 2013) and had concerns about falling on my hip. I read in one of these posts about POC VPD shorts and got some for peace of mind (there may be other brands, but the VPD technology sounded serious, so I went with them). I wear them over my normal bike sorts because I don't want to interfere with the padding. It looks mildly funky, but after the indignities of hip surgeries and crutches and all, who cares.
Now here's the thing--in 8 years of riding, I had never fallen--seriously, never, always successfully caught myself in time. But this past weekend, I went straight over, smack onto my left hip (and apparently fell perfectly because I never let go of my handlebar grip; was avoiding very fast motorcycles that appeared out of nowhere while crossing a street; had a partly clipped in, strongly breaking thing occur so fast I didn't know what happened). And, I had ZERO pain, none at all. It was like nothing happened! Well, actually, my left hand became really sore, but is now clearing up after some icing. I was so relieved and I LOVE my VPD shorts. I highly recommend them.
Hey kleary12, good to hear that the POC's worked well for you. I had no doubt that they would work well in a crash. POC has a great reputation for safety protection. I had a little issue with the fit so I went with the Gforms. It was good practice to keep your hands on the bar, most people put their hand out in a crash and that's how a lot of collarbones get fractured. I ought to know, I've broken both of mine, LOL!
Keep riding!
Moe
Moe - Here is my long term review of the POC VPD 2.0 Shorts. I can say that with my increasing fitness and corresponding increase in mileage I now understand the shortcomings of the POC's. At about 20 mi on the MTB the lack of a PADDED Chamois is a real pain in the butt. On short rides less than 20 mi this is not a big factor for me. I've been riding as much as 35 mi now.
I could try doubling up a Padded Chamois short and the POC's but feel this would be really hot and uncomfortable under my baggies, especially where I live in AZ.
So, can you confirm that the G-Form Pro B (http://g-form.com/en/pro-b-bike-compression-shorts.html) bike shorts have a padded chamois? Their website does not show or elaborate on whether or not the chamois is PADDED.
Hi Gino, good to hear you are feeling good and riding well again. Yes, I remember the POC's had a really thin pad. The G-forms that you linked do have a padded chamois. It is sort of a foam microfiber material. It is not super thick but I have 3 pairs of shorts to compare it to. A Novara road short with gel padding, a Canari road short, and a Pearl Izumi liner short. The G-Form is thicker than the Canari and P I, but less than the Novara which is quite thick. I have had no problems with mountain biking with them. Keep in mind I ride a rigid bike so I spend a lot of time off the saddle. Maybe there is a shop in your area that carries them where you could check them out in person? My waist is 33 and I got the medium.
Hope this helps.
Moe