Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
You gotta use nuts and bolts on your plate. Not screws! lol
Really though. I've had a plate and 6 screws on my ankle since I was 16. Never bothers me too bad.
Broke both wrists at the same time, it was rough trying to do the paperwork.
I went into the hospital for a random stomach issue that they still couldnt figure out to this day. I was in the hospital for 2 months shitting blood (gross, sorry)... Anyway, the doctors decided to shoot my legs with Humira. While it tamed down whatever the issue was, it rotted my left hip (necrosis). After limping on it for a year (pain was insane), I got a hip replacement. While the surgery sucked and the epidural didnt take well, I leaked spinal fluid and was bed ridden for 2 weeks... the hip is GREAT now and I ride as much as possible with zero issues.
Also have 3 plates and 20-something screws in my right leg/ankle.
Broke radius and ulna in May 2014 and had 2 plates and 12 screws put in. Rode about 11 weeks later and continued to ride for the rest of the year but my hand tingled a lot. Got the plates and screws out in March 2015 and never looked back. I would encourage anyone to get hardware out if possible. Arm and hand were 100% normal after hardware was taken out.
I’m not sure how the Pro riders recover and continue racing with spine hardware. To me it proves they’re a different breed!
Throwback to 2017 in the last image, the weekend I broke my back. A lot of you on Vital were very supportive and had a lot of positivity to share with me at the time, and I’m still so grateful for that. Helped me get through it.
I rode/raced with that hardware for around two years then had it removed when I did my shoulder in.
The shoulder had to be pinned together with two screws.
These are the x rays I could find, not all of them but you get the idea.
I've come to find that most surgeons, regardless of their particular subject area, err on the side of caution when considering a second surgery. Ostensibly, if you're a dedicated racer you have some modicum of fitness, eat well, and are holistically strong, but these doctors suppose you're like the 99% of Americans who eat terribly, are fairly sedentary, and have compromised immune systems; the risk factors for complications post-surgery are far higher for that demographic.
Be sure to HOUND your Dr. and his PA about when you can get your hardware removal. Consult other surgeons. The more homework you do the better off you'll be. My accident was egregious, and consequently I'll probably never ride a moto like I once did, but I can tell you the prospect is a helluva lot better now with that hardware out (not to mention it made every other facet of life better, from cycling, walking, skiing, etc.).
Good luck.
Pit Row
Mine looks very similar.
You live only once. Pay attention, never ride over your limit but do you want to do.
You live only once, you live only once.
Had 2 plates and 15 or so screws in my knee from a tibial plateau fracture. Had to have them removed because gripping the bike caused pain from the screws kindof pinching my skin if that makes sense.
Hardware has been in there for 38 years now and has never really given me any issues. Visually, that arm is maybe a tiny bit not straight, but considering how relatively primitive imaging and surgery were in 1982 I cannot complain. I've only ever had one airport scanner set it off, and it was maybe 3 or 4 years ago. Honestly, I'd completely forgotten that it could ever happen, so when it did I was kind of flustered and didn't even think of it until my wife yelled "The plate in your arm honey". That must have seemed legit to the TSA guy
I race go karts and moto with them without issues. I really only notice the hardware when there is a drastic change in temperature. Those 50 degree days in February make my ankle ache.
Especially when the heads start breaking because you continue with Moto life. The trick is to have the removal done after you already have met your deductible...from another injury. It happens!
I was lucky, my surgeon is a cyclist, and that's what I mostly do now, so he could relate to being active. I went in with knee pain in the area where tib/fib screws were, had a pretty short discussion and he scheduled removal. Mine were in for 10 years before it became problematic. Removal was an outpatient procedure, really easy.
Post a reply to: How many of you ride with plates and screws?