Injuries

gregv27
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gregv27
Evening all,

So I'm 6 weeks out of surgery following a broken left femur, fractured T9 spine, left knee effusion/damage, multiple fractured ribs to rear. Had a reasonably nasty fall from my KTM 250sx from about 15 ft up.

Anyway, I just wondered if anybody else had experienced similar level of injuries in one go and what advice you have about riding again? I'm only 26 and far too young to quit MX but the doctors have basically said it's a no no for at least 12 months and even then I should reconsider riding again as my pelvis got away luckily this time...

Any opinions would be amazing!

Cheers
|
ocscottie
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ocscottie 12/27/2016 11:48am
12/27/2016 11:48am
Damn Greg that is a laundry list of injuries for one get off, must of been nasty. Take your time and heal, you have plenty of time to make those decisions at a later date. Healing up should be #1 priority at the moment.

Good luck bro and welcome to Vital.
jhansen510
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jhansen510 12/27/2016 12:14pm
12/27/2016 12:14pm
ocscottie is spot on. There are a good amount of us on here that have had a long list off of one wreck. Back in 2004 I hit a tractor over a blind camel back jump. It is the jump behind the start line at Cooperland in Oklahoma. Long story short is I had to switch bikes and while i was off the track the tractor moved to a different location and was coming up the landing of the jump as I hit it. Badly shattered my right wrist as it went through the radiator of the tractor. Broke left femur into 4 pieces. Compound fractured my left tib/fib. Blew my right knee completely out the back of my leg resulting in an entire knee reconstruction that will be replaced before I hit 40. Then the worst of it was that I compound fractured/shattered my left wrist. It was in 75 plus pieces. I now have 50 screws and 3 plates in my left wrist and some nasty arthritis. I broke a few ribs and fractured some other stuff but that is the jist of what hitting a tractor can do to you! I have another 50 screws and 3 plates in my left elbow from another wreck. They have a hayday with me when I go to the airport.
DFWracefan
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DFWracefan 12/27/2016 12:17pm
12/27/2016 12:17pm Edited Date/Time 12/27/2016 12:19pm
First, hope you heal up well! As for advice, you are the only one that can answer that. What are your life plans and how well do want to function in daily life? Meaning do you plan to work construction or some other physical labor job? Consider what your life goals are and what toll you are willing to risk your body. If I were in the medical field I would say, "you know what your life plans are and you need to decide if your life plan fits with the way you are treating your body". Do enjoy being able to walk, move, jump without pain?

Many people ride and have an absolute blast without taking big risks and without throwing caution to the wind. However many get injured just playing around. So again you have to weigh what your life goals are and decide if the risks are worth it.
kkawboy14
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kkawboy14 12/27/2016 12:21pm
12/27/2016 12:21pm
In the last 3 years I've had a sudden cardiac arrest from a virus (that means your dead unless somebody starts pumping on you, that somebody was my wife) the paramedics fractured the t-5. Open heart surgery to repair the mitral valve from the original problem. Ablation surgery and now messed up electrical, which they got fixed yesterday.

I ride, every chance I get.

Now broken bones heal better and faster than muscular and joint issues, so you should be fine. It may take a year tho

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swtwtwtw
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swtwtwtw 12/27/2016 12:28pm
12/27/2016 12:28pm
12 months is not that long....enjoy the time off, follow moto,try riding at 12 months and 1 day :-)
watch the documentary ROAD...
kiwifan
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kiwifan 12/27/2016 12:36pm
12/27/2016 12:36pm
jhansen510 wrote:
ocscottie is spot on. There are a good amount of us on here that have had a long list off of one wreck. Back in 2004...
ocscottie is spot on. There are a good amount of us on here that have had a long list off of one wreck. Back in 2004 I hit a tractor over a blind camel back jump. It is the jump behind the start line at Cooperland in Oklahoma. Long story short is I had to switch bikes and while i was off the track the tractor moved to a different location and was coming up the landing of the jump as I hit it. Badly shattered my right wrist as it went through the radiator of the tractor. Broke left femur into 4 pieces. Compound fractured my left tib/fib. Blew my right knee completely out the back of my leg resulting in an entire knee reconstruction that will be replaced before I hit 40. Then the worst of it was that I compound fractured/shattered my left wrist. It was in 75 plus pieces. I now have 50 screws and 3 plates in my left wrist and some nasty arthritis. I broke a few ribs and fractured some other stuff but that is the jist of what hitting a tractor can do to you! I have another 50 screws and 3 plates in my left elbow from another wreck. They have a hayday with me when I go to the airport.
Fucking hell, thats nasty Josh !!
jhansen510
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jhansen510 12/27/2016 2:04pm
12/27/2016 2:04pm
jhansen510 wrote:
ocscottie is spot on. There are a good amount of us on here that have had a long list off of one wreck. Back in 2004...
ocscottie is spot on. There are a good amount of us on here that have had a long list off of one wreck. Back in 2004 I hit a tractor over a blind camel back jump. It is the jump behind the start line at Cooperland in Oklahoma. Long story short is I had to switch bikes and while i was off the track the tractor moved to a different location and was coming up the landing of the jump as I hit it. Badly shattered my right wrist as it went through the radiator of the tractor. Broke left femur into 4 pieces. Compound fractured my left tib/fib. Blew my right knee completely out the back of my leg resulting in an entire knee reconstruction that will be replaced before I hit 40. Then the worst of it was that I compound fractured/shattered my left wrist. It was in 75 plus pieces. I now have 50 screws and 3 plates in my left wrist and some nasty arthritis. I broke a few ribs and fractured some other stuff but that is the jist of what hitting a tractor can do to you! I have another 50 screws and 3 plates in my left elbow from another wreck. They have a hayday with me when I go to the airport.
kiwifan wrote:
Fucking hell, thats nasty Josh !!
It was a long and difficult road. After going through all of that, the worst thing I have ever dealt with was STAFF infection that I got in my elbow after surgery. That was a son of a bitch!
chump6784
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chump6784 12/27/2016 3:04pm
12/27/2016 3:04pm
My only advice is not to try to come back too early. Listen to your body.

As for doctors, they always overestimate the time required and most of them hate motorbikes so take that into account.

My wife is a nurse and on practice days at the track when there are no medical people on site she is always called on when people get hurt. Whenever the ambulance arrives and they find out she's a nurse they usually give her the lecture on how she should know better blah blah blah.

Take it easy, heal up and don't be discouraged, you'll be on the bike again in no time
johnnypotato123 12/27/2016 3:35pm
12/27/2016 3:35pm
swtwtwtw wrote:
12 months is not that long....enjoy the time off, follow moto,try riding at 12 months and 1 day :-)
watch the documentary ROAD...
I agree with watching Road, such a good movie.

To the OP heal up man no point in getting back too early and risking some more serious injuries, as hard as it might be to take off 12 months. Maybe take the opportunity to spruce up your bike once you get feeling better. Good luck man!
Sir Roostsalot 12/27/2016 4:32pm
12/27/2016 4:32pm
Not trying to be Debbie Downer but don't forget about your quality of life as you age. It happens to everyone, someday the aches and pains don't go away and actually become frustrating and very annoying, limiting what you can actually do on a daily basis. It's a hefty price to pay but hell, you only live once.
GuyB
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GuyB 12/27/2016 4:47pm
12/27/2016 4:47pm
Yep, heal up, do the work in PT, and then you'll have a better idea where you're at.
Turbojez
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Turbojez 12/28/2016 2:03am
12/28/2016 2:03am
Get well soon Greg, like others have said take your time, SX season is just around the corner and the time flies!

GuyB is right, PT is important. Also as soon as you get the green light for it - hit the gym and make sure to get your body in 110% shape before you hop on the bike again.

About jhansen510's story - damn man, you're half flesh, half metal! Sorry to hear about your crashes, are you able to get up from bed without taking some painkillers? Serious question.

On my side, I had a stuck-throttle-bowl-launch getoff last year and my back didn't like it. Two months on the couch, 2 months of PT (and stability exercises every single day) and as soon as the pain got bearable I moved on to indor cycling/spinning and bodyweight exercises to stay in shape.

Heal up!
sumdood
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sumdood 12/28/2016 3:01am
12/28/2016 3:01am Edited Date/Time 12/30/2016 7:46am
jhansen510 wrote:
It was a long and difficult road. After going through all of that, the worst thing I have ever dealt with was STAFF infection that I...
It was a long and difficult road. After going through all of that, the worst thing I have ever dealt with was STAFF infection that I got in my elbow after surgery. That was a son of a bitch!
My advice is take the time to let it heal, what's a year or two in the grand scheme.
gregv27
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gregv27 12/28/2016 5:59am
12/28/2016 5:59am Edited Date/Time 12/28/2016 6:00am
You're all fantastic - thanks so much for the various replies. I know it's awful to say (apologies!), but it's good to hear others have been in the same sorta position and to hear your stories is really appreciated.

Jhansen - I hope you're all good mate and the injuries don't cause you too much issue! That is beyond a substantial list of injuries and I suppose it's thankful and lucky you're still here now!

I think I'll stay off the bike until the docs give an indication of when I can ride again. What's people's thoughts about having metal rods in femur and spine removed? I was told that my spinal rods can go after about 12 months but no mention of my leg!

My job at the moment is field sales so I drive everywhere (which I'm banned from currently!) so not massively labor intensive but I do need to think of my future, and my fiancée is certainly NOT happy about me thinking of riding again hahaha.

Thanks for the replies again, really good to hear from so many!
adam8781
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adam8781 12/28/2016 8:30pm
12/28/2016 8:30pm Edited Date/Time 12/28/2016 8:35pm
gregv27 wrote:
Evening all, So I'm 6 weeks out of surgery following a broken left femur, fractured T9 spine, left knee effusion/damage, multiple fractured ribs to rear. Had...
Evening all,

So I'm 6 weeks out of surgery following a broken left femur, fractured T9 spine, left knee effusion/damage, multiple fractured ribs to rear. Had a reasonably nasty fall from my KTM 250sx from about 15 ft up.

Anyway, I just wondered if anybody else had experienced similar level of injuries in one go and what advice you have about riding again? I'm only 26 and far too young to quit MX but the doctors have basically said it's a no no for at least 12 months and even then I should reconsider riding again as my pelvis got away luckily this time...

Any opinions would be amazing!

Cheers
its a very personal decision, no one can really tell you either way what is best for you. the risk vs reward is a internal pros and cons you have to weigh out. do you have huge savings? kids? job you can work while injured? are you good with pain?

If it helps here's my summer

im 29, I crashed april 2nd 2016 broke my spine (L5) broke my pelvis on the left side into about 7 pieces and dislocated my left hip. I was in the alberta oil patch as a snubber so working 14-16 hour days in brutal -35 lifting hundreds of pounds is a bad idea now (new career for me)

I spent 2 months in a hospital bed, put in traction for a while so theirs a pin drilled through my left knee. etc
I kicked my healing in the ass with a ridiculous amount of natural health crap. (it worked!)

I have a compressed disc at L5 and walking, sitting, daily life is painful. I get bitter some days when the pain wears down my resolve. Good days and bad days and alot of smiling and lying to people so I don't sounds like "that guy"







all that being said, i cant quit, in spite all the pain and problems i have now riding is what gets me out of bed in the morning. ill never quit, i broke my left hand and kept riding (thought it was a light sprain)



http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v197/bowen/4D144C42-1093-4A5F-8223-…
http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v197/bowen/7B4567B4-19C4-4AAD-B3C4-…















kzizok
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kzizok 12/28/2016 9:39pm
12/28/2016 9:39pm
When we get news like you did, we start thinking in terms of forever. Thats a tough pill to swallow. The reality is, things will start to look different after some time. So, my advice to you is, try to think in terms of a setback for a while, instead of forever. That makes the issue easier to process while reducing anxiety.
Tad450
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Tad450 12/28/2016 11:42pm
12/28/2016 11:42pm
When I was 22 I fractured my left femur and dislocated my right hip in the same crash.
A year later I had the rod removed because I was scared if I broke my femur again with the rod in, the rod may cause more damage to my femur. No sure if that's true but that was my thinking. My doctor said never ride again, you will always have a limp etc... I'm 47 now and I don't have a limp or pain from those injuries.
2 years ago I had a total hip replacement (non injury related), 3 months later I was back riding.
I always feel your body is a good indicator of what and when you can do certain things.
My biggest concern would be to make sure your T9 is totally healed and is there a larger chance of injury to your T9 since it's been fractured. Most long bones heal well if not stronger, I'm not sure about vertebrae.
Good Luck!
GoggleFiend904 12/28/2016 11:59pm
12/28/2016 11:59pm
I compounded my femur 14 years ago. At the time my dr said it would be 5 years before i could ride, I still have the plate and 16 screws and it rarely gives me problems. I work hard labor and lift regularly (until i shattered my patella in march, but thats another story). id just listen to your body and make the decision yourself when the time comes. Btw my dr cleared me to ride 3 months after i started walking, so the 5 year thing was maybe his way of just keeping me from hopping on the bike. I was off my feet for 10 months which happened to be my freshmen year of highschool, it may have changed my life, because i planned on playing sports, but i dont regret it at all. Riding is more fun than anything else at the moment

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sumdood
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sumdood 12/29/2016 1:59am
12/29/2016 1:59am Edited Date/Time 12/30/2016 7:43am
delete...
Sidecar
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Sidecar 12/29/2016 5:01am
12/29/2016 5:01am
Taking your time is the key, as posted above by nearly everybody.... I had about 18 months off of a bike and will never ride like I once could again, that's why the sidecar appealed so much, it felt different and thus with my brother along for the ride we learnt to go fairly fast together, I still have a mental block on a bike a little, I still enjoy it but get a little frustrated at times.
If you want to you will ride/race again, just look for new challenges, enduro, vintage bike, a sidecar, dare I say it maybe even quad racing..... Nah maybe not that far.
sumdood
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sumdood 12/30/2016 12:21am
12/30/2016 12:21am Edited Date/Time 12/30/2016 7:44am
nevermind. No way to delete posts in here ?

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