two broken metacarpals, recovery, and interim training questions

[Norco Maniac]

so i stacked it big time in the final at State Titles trying to avoid the rider who'd made a rookie mistake and gone down in front of me. i was airborne off the back of some big doubles ready to pump down when i saw my front wheel heading for her face. i wrenched my bars and landed with the full force on my left hand, smacked the bars into my solar plexus and went over onto my head and back.

injury toll: two broken metacarpals, two small liver tears and some adrenal threading, diaphram bruising, mild concussion, plus numerous nasty bruises.

three days in two hospitals drugged to the eyeballs and pinned to the bed with a catheter bag, nasty histamine reaction to Fentanyl, vomiting on morphine, temporary cast causing major compression pain, four failed IV sites due to them keeping me dehydrated on purpose and finally talking the staff into just Panadol during the day and a 3mg Oxycodone at night. got to surgery at last on the fourth day, two K-wires to stabilise the fractures (not convinced, i'm sure there's one more under the cast) and the cast that Fred Flintstone built. i reckon it weighs about two kilos and i've still got compression pain in my pinkie plus no way to use that hand. refusal from two hospitals to modify the cast, sent home with no follow-up appointment, no sling, and a prescription for a single day's pain relief.

not happy, Jan. a stiffly-worded complaint to the patient's Advocate will be forthcoming.

but moving right along....


we're less than ten weeks out of National Titles and while i personally don't think i stand a chance as a rider seeing how i struggle with age, inexperience and old injuries at State level, i'd still love to ride the first-time-ever-offered Retro class, simply because i can. if i'm going to have any chance at all of being on the bike, i need an interim training plan. i probably won't push myself this week seeing as my bruised diaphram made two-block walk back from the hospital rather fraught but i'm thinking a short walk every day, extending as i feel i can, would be a start. i'm also thinking a static trainer and set myself up to do squats/small weights wouldn't hurt, as even with the Fred Flintstone cast (tho i won't need to use a weight on that side at the moment lol) i have a little use of the hand.

i'm supposed to be having the initial cast removed and pins inspected next Tuesday, at which time i'll be reading them the riot act about leaving me with a cast i can actually function with day-to-day. pins out in 3-4 weeks from initial insertion, at which time i'll start mobilising my hand again. the plan is to retain what fitness i can in the meantime.

i'd welcome suggestions, anecdotes and comments - i've never broken a bone before and have very little idea of pain levels to be expected or recovery time. the hand was extensively bruised but i managed to have ice on it from not long after the stack for about four hours until the first cast went on.

feel free to hit me up with some training ideas, too :thumb:

 

[nzblakis]

Really sorry to hear that! poor thing...

I broke a metacarpal and had a few pins inserted last year as well - Only had a traditional plaster cast for about 2 weeks then was given a series of rubber molds that were changed every fortnight to get my fingers moving again.
I used to take a hair dryer and heat the palm of the mold up then open it up so I could sit on a trainer/roadie just to keep the legs going.
I was taking them off and using my fingers as much as I could and ended up way ahead of schedule for my recovery.
The other obvious thing is get the scars massaged so scar tissue doesn't build up and get in the way of any tendons but im sure you know that one already.

Hope it all comes right for you, mine hasnt changed much for me unless im bench pressing 100kg and then the weight is right on the pins and hurts a bit but I dont/cant do that very much. haha out:

All the best!

 

[nzblakis]

Also, If it makes you feel any better - I had to wait a week for surgery with no pain relief untill post surgery and then they didnt give me anything strong enough so had to go to my GP the day after surgery with no sleep to try and convince them to give me some endone. :miserable:

 

[The Reverend]

I had something similar. Broke my 3rd and 4th metacarpals in my right hand. Broke one of them in two places too. Went in for surgery after a week because the bruising needed to go down.
After 6 weeks they removed the Kwires and my hand was like a claw. The thumb, index and middle finger worked reasonably well but the other fingers were weak and stiff.

I was a little concerned as I play musical instruments and thought that would be the end of that.
After about 4 weeks of physio and careful tendon gliding exercises it started to come good. Fast forward 3 years and it's fine. No stiffness, I can do everything I used to be able to and have had enough crashes on it to trust it.
It did used to ache a bit every morning, and in damp weather but every month it got better and stronger.
Some tips, keep the wound clean, you don't want infection setting in. I'm sure you've heard that and I was paranoid about it.

1: do the physio, properly.
2: take your time, don't rush back on the bike and break it again.
3: relax, it'll come good in time.

You'll get back on the bike fella, but take your time, those bones take a while before you can really hammer them again.
Good luck and stay positive.

 

[tasty.dirt74]

you'll be right..

Broke the meta on the outside of the hand, effectively the pinkie one, but in the hand, not the finger. I hope that makes sense??

Didnt actually realise the bone was broken clean through for 3 days, as my hip was hurting more! The local 24 hr medical centre actually advised me to get a xray as it was quite swollen. The doc saw the xray and sent me straight to the Hospital..

It was about 7 days before it was pinned with 2(i think) k wires. Initially it had a plaster half cast until they could operate. Once operated on, it had a mouldable plastic half cast that could be removed. I was trying to keep movt in the finger, but was told to keep it still for at least a couple of weeks, as all I was doing was moving the broken bone along the wire, and not giving the bone the opportunity to heal.

I managed to get on a stationary bike almost straight away, but it was prob a month before I could ride a bike , either on road, or off road. Off road was a bit of a issue due to vibrations causing a bit of pain, ache really. I also had to bulk up the outer edge of the grip, as my grip had changed on the bars as a result of the way the bone healed...I just used a chux wipe around the grips and taped in in place..Nice and soft, but not very durable!!

Its fairly easy to keep the fitness up if you can deal with a stationary trainer, sucks that you cannot get back on a bike though.

All the best.

 

[Norco Maniac]

thanks for the replies, guys, much appreciated :thumb:

had my first follow-up appointment today, 6 days after the surgery. still a lot of swelling and bruising, and the new cast has three fingers immobilised but i argued them into packing between my fingers and leaving me able to view the little fingertip - the compression from the cast has been the major source of my pain. i've got another appointment in 10 days for pin site care and hopefully pins out in three weeks from now.

i've also started on calcium and vitamin D3 supplements as well as my usual magnesium and B complex and will probably be making a heap of bone broth to really pack the nutrients in. i've also been offered a loan of an exercise bike which is better than nothing! bit short of breath still but walking starts tomorrow - today was out as i had to leave home at 6.30 to get to the fracture clinic

i'll post pics too when i get them uploaded to photobucket, in the meantime hopefully this FB link works

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/...073741827.100003283465531&type=1&l=a3fe473bef

 

[B.utters]

I broke the end off my right 5th metacarpal in April last year at the NSW state round in Thredbo. I got operated on about 6 days after I broke it and had a bunch of screws drilled into me and my hand wrapped in a cast that held my pinky and ring finger curled over.

-2 weeks post op the cast was removed and a nicer plastic splint molded to my hand.
-4 weeks post op the physio work started which involved a bunch of exercises to start re-mobilizing my fingers and some massage to prevent buildup of scar tissue over tendons in my hand.
-6 weeks post op I had full range of motion back in my fingers and hand although it still hurt to move at full extention.
-8 weeks post op I was able to stop wearing the plastic splint although I had it remoulded and cut so I could fit it inside a ski glove so I could work the winter season and not have any troubles.

I have fallen on it pretty heavily a few times now including crashing a 60ft booter on my skis and another crash on my bike where I seperated my AC joint and it hasn't given me any trouble.

My advice would be to make sure you follow your physios advice and make sure that you do everything you can to rehab it properly. I also started taking calcium tablets as I don't drink milk but I wouldn't have a clue if it helped out much or not (I'm guessing it did).

Hope the recovery goes well for you though and I hope that all helps you a bit. Broken hands suck.

 

[Norco Maniac]

wow, that's a bit freaky....

pin care and cast change on Wednesday, also chasing a BMXA insurance claim. wish me luck!

 

[MrZ32]

damn, sorry to hear.

Hope you bounce back soon

 

[pharmaboy]

wow, that's a bit freaky....

pin care and cast change on Wednesday, also chasing a BMXA insurance claim. wish me luck!

Hi norco , unfortunately I have a little experience in breaks. No, don't even contemplate the nationals, especially if it's your dominant hand. Pins, screws, j wires make recovery faster , but "recovery" in the medical fraternity is concerned with your ability to continue employment but not to race a bmx - or a mountain bike for that matter.

12 weeks is about the time it takes for the bone to mostly heal, the 6 week period is enough for the bone to bond ( for want of a better term ). Hands are pretty critical to most of us and not to be trifled with.

Sorry to sound like your mum, but I'd also consider taking $200 and your x rays to private hand surgeon and getting an opinion on timelines and what you can and can't do and how well it's healing.

 

[Norco Maniac]

thanks, Mr Z32.

Pharmaboy, i've been monitoring myself very closely, even argued to have my third cast modified so i could self-check and retain some movement of the fingers. i'm pretty much off painkillers now, and have some ferocious itching which i'm hoping is a good sign. it's my non-dominant hand which is good, i can still get some tasks done such as simple cooking and some household tasks but work is out as i'm working for a garden maintainence crew atm. at least i can still do my Horticulture at TAFE and my teacher knows i already know my way around a garden.

i'll see what it's like when this cast comes off tomorrow - pins supposedly come out on the 17th and the hospital's aftercare then consists of what they themselves term "aggressive" mobilisation of the hand. fark that, i'll do my own physio thanks and see the holistic physio in Gawler. i have 13 years experience and a shiteload of qualifications in bodywork so i'm sure i'll be able to work something out. my main concern is how fragile the bone unions will be and the muscle loss in the hand, plus what i can already see in my forearm.

i'm still a little short of breath but did have a gentle roll on the 24" around the access track of The Cove BMX on Sunday (on flats, brake lever swapped to the right, and with my long-seatpost training saddle on) while my BennyMac was racing and it was good to turn the legs over. that, the long drive there and back, then helping the MIL cook Sunday dinner buggered me tho, and i spent yesterday pretty much dozing all day.

the hospital where i had my surgery is a teaching hospital so i've apparently seen the best surgeon available but a second opinion never hurts. i'll follow up on that suggestion for sure :thumb: and as i've only seen one of the x-rays i'm keen to see more, especially if i can compare the last lot to what they'll take tomorrow.

 

[pharmaboy]

There's always a good specialist in the back room somewhere, it's just that at the fracture clinic, they tend to have 3 registrars and an advanced trainee in the clinic seeing the patients. The specialist will be consulted on difficult patients and can also be in surgery during clinic. What a private room consult gets you is that surgeons undivided attention for 15minutes and the chance to hear exactly what you propose to do.

Nothing wrong at all with booking an appt with him ( sorry for the assumption) in private rooms for a follow up - also save that time sitting around in clinic with the company of the full width of society

As we age, the biggest lost of range of motion for your hand is related to it being immobile in the cast rather than the actual injury. The physios should be hand specific physios in the hospital. Compliant patients make the best recoveries.....

 

[Norco Maniac]

health care workers (and students!) are the worst for non-compliance as patients on the other hand (no pun intended) i'm definitely doing all i can to make a speedy and full recovery.

hospital has pushed me back a day for fracture clinic, there's a whole day wasted where i could be at TAFE. not impressed, especially as a/ it's very short notice and i've been booked in for two weeks already, and b/ they know i have to organise a lift, beg a favour from my other half's boss, and then take two trains and a bus home.