Hip Trouble

[Jim]

I was interested to see the thread on knee issues, as I have a similar question about hips.  Unfortunately, last Friday night I was riding a bike lane downtown, and a car door opened up suddenly in front of me, which threw me and Homer to the ground.  Homer came out fairly well, but I ended up with a broken femur that was surgically repaired the following day .Police investigated and the driver was cited, and I expect to be compensated by his auto insurance. 

 

Being in Boulder, nearly everyone taking care of me, including the surgeon, are avid bikers, and are assuring me that I will make a full recovery from this injury, probably back on the bike in a couple months.  But I'd be interested if there are any of the "folks like us" out there (i'm 54 years old) that have gone through this and if they have any wisdom to provide,  Also, when your bike is in a crash like that, I assume you should have a competent mechanic give it a through inspection to make sure things are ok.  Any other words of wisdom for assuring the safety of a crashed bike?

 

I'm finishing up day 2 after surgery and am doing well and feeling fine. Other than the hip, just a touch of road rash and a bruise from where my shoulder hit the door.   This was a case where wearing the helmet probably saved me from a closed head injury. 

 

Jim in Boulder

[Zack]

hey Jim -

no experience with hip trouble, just wanted to say glad you are okay and on the mend.

a good reminder to me to be constantly vigilant about parked cars and their doors.

hang in there and here's to a rapid recovery.

[Anne Paulson]

On Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 6:54 PM, Zack <zac...@gmail.com> wrote:
> hey Jim -
>
> no experience with hip trouble, just wanted to say glad you are okay and on
> the mend.
>
> a good reminder to me to be constantly vigilant about parked cars and their
> doors.

Right. And the constant vigilance should take the form of just never
ever riding in the door zone.

Hope you're better soon. Stay out of the door zone, everyone!

--
-- Anne Paulson

My hovercraft is full of eels

[Bill Gibson]

Sounds like you did, or will do everything right. Keep in touch with your doctors, definitely have a competent frame and other inspection. My injuries, and my bicycle's damage, was not obvious to me for several months. Therefore, carefully consider before accepting their first offer.

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[Tim McNamara]

On Apr 9, 2012, at 8:51 PM, Jim wrote:
>
> I was interested to see the thread on knee issues, as I have a similar question about hips. Unfortunately, last Friday night I was riding a bike lane downtown, and a car door opened up suddenly in front of me, which threw me and Homer to the ground. Homer came out fairly well, but I ended up with a broken femur that was surgically repaired the following day .Police investigated and the driver was cited, and I expect to be compensated by his auto insurance.

Slightly good news in a bad situation.

> Being in Boulder, nearly everyone taking care of me, including the surgeon, are avid bikers, and are assuring me that I will make a full recovery from this injury, probably back on the bike in a couple months. But I'd be interested if there are any of the "folks like us" out there (i'm 54 years old) that have gone through this and if they have any wisdom to provide,

A local guy in his 50s broke his hip in a rash up at the velodrome back during my racing days and he made a full recovery. That's the only such case I know about personally.

> Also, when your bike is in a crash like that, I assume you should have a competent mechanic give it a through inspection to make sure things are ok. Any other words of wisdom for assuring the safety of a crashed bike?

The only thing, with a metal bike, that I would be concerned about is the handlebars. If they got bent they got weakened. Even if the frame and/or fork were bent, the odds are they can be put back without permanent damage or weakening.

> I'm finishing up day 2 after surgery and am doing well and feeling fine. Other than the hip, just a touch of road rash and a bruise from where my shoulder hit the door. This was a case where wearing the helmet probably saved me from a closed head injury.

Maybe, if the helmet was mangled by coming between your head and a hard object. Maybe not if it appears unscathed or barely dinged. Our reflexes do a pretty good job of trying to keep our heads off the pavement during a fall. We should all be aware, though, that we can get brain injuries in accidents without our heads hitting a thing (and this may happen as often as impact injuries; non-impact injuries tend to apply less energy to the brain although that doesn't predict clinical outcome all that well), like shaken baby syndrome but for adults. Helmets can't help with those, no matter how good the design and manufacture.

[reynoldslugs]

Very Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Definitely sympathize and
empathize ;in the last 2 years, two of my buddies (both in their 50's)
sustained pelvic fractures, and a third (just turned 50) had a very
difficult comminuted femoral fracture - - all from solo bike, or bike
vs, auto, crashes.

All three have made comlplete recoveries.

So hang in there, and look for yoga to help regain joint flexibility
in the hip. My ten+ years of hip pain were resolved after I started
yoga this year.

My tale involves kidney stones, lithotripsy, and two hospitalizations
last week, but not bike related so I think I'll spare you all the
details.

Mainly I just wanted you to hear the story of three similar injuries,
and three complete recoveries - - - you'll get there.

Max B
Sonoma County

[SISDDWG]

It's good to hear that you're feeling well. Fours years ago, at age
68, I had a bicycling accident resulting in a complete hip
replacement. I'm cycling again but it took about a year to feel 98%
better. Very recently I've had a slight pain develop in the repaired
leg and I'm a little concerned because of the articles I've read about
the hip equipment deteriorating after about five years resulting in
second and third operations. Maybe that's not my problem but it is
something to be aware about. I hope your recovery continues
successfully. Oh, my helmet was severely cracked and I did have
bleeding in my brain. Without the helmet I might not be writing this
today.

[Smitty]

Glad you're on the mend, Jim. Getting the bike looked at sounds like a good idea. Here's to a full and quick recovery. --Smitty

[Phil Brown]

I have a good friend in his late 60s who broke his femur in a cycling
accident and is fine now. Not even a limp. And one of my legs was
shattered in 1984 and aside from a limited range of motion which is OK
on the bike I'm fine.
Good luck.
Phil Brown

[Manuel Acosta]

Jim sorry about the crash. The human body is an amazing thing. Despite the stresses that we put ourselves through the body can recover from the worse. Having not had personal experience with anyone with a broken hip. I'm pretty sure that you'll be back on the bike in no time. In regards to the bike, if you were riding a Homer, the bike is most likely okay. Granted in the bike build by Rivendell and everyone know those things are made with special Elven powers. 

Wishing you the best recovery

-Manny

On Monday, April 9, 2012 6:51:47 PM UTC-7, Jim wrote:

[Jim]

Thanks all for your support, I really appreciate it.  NIce to hear more stories of hip injuries with full recoveries.  I showed my surgeon a picture of Homer today, and he told me i'd be back up and riding just as I had before. 

 

Regarding helmets, one thing interesting to note, both the police and the driver's insurance investigator asked me if I was wearing one.That indicates to me that they weigh helmet usage in determining how to assign fault (like speed , they asked that too, to me and the eyewitnesses).  As it turns out, the driver's insurance has accepted full responsibility.

 

Jim in Boulder

[SISDDWG]

"... the body can recover from the worse.

Having not had personal experience with anyone with a broken hip. I'm

pretty sure that you'll be back on the bike in no time." Sorry Manny
but that's crazy, careless talk! Sometimes the "worst" results in
death. Jim, DO NOT RUSH your recovery! Be patient. You will most
likely recover just fine. Manny, I hope you never have to experience a
hip replacement. Just the dollar cost of my replacement was $346,000!

On Apr 10, 12:38 pm, Manuel Acosta <manueljohnaco...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

[Peter Morgano]

Am I a moron or is a femur a leg bone?  I thought that was the injury here.

[Leslie]

On Tuesday, April 10, 2012 8:41:13 PM UTC-4, Peter M wrote:

Am I a moron or is a femur a leg bone?  I thought that was the injury here.

It's the upper leg, the thigh bone... your hip is where your femur meets your pelvis.

[Peter Morgano]

Ah because I had plastic hip stories,  ie don't get one.

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