Sprained ankle

[KLizotte]

This has got to be a first: a biking accident that did not include actually being on the bike or outside!

I was in a hurry to get out for an hour’s ride cause the storm was coming. I wheeled my bike into the apartment building corridor then realized I’d forgotten my sunglasses. Ran inside to get them, and while coming back thru the entryway my feet went right out from under me and I hit the floor. I would have been fine from the fall (I was wearing my helmet after all!) but my foot hit the door jam to the closet and twisted unnaturally. End result is an ankle the size of a golf ball. Sigh.

Turns out plastic mountain bike shoes and stone tile are NOT a good combination. Very, very slippery! So beware, esp if your shoes are wet. Another case of haste makes waste.

Unless the swelling goes down magically overnight I’ll be at urgent care tomorrow for an x-ray just in case but I suspect it’s just a simple sprain (my first one!).

Be careful out there!

Topic

[consularrider]

Two years ago I suffered a high ankle sprain in a cycling accident. I was switching bikes in my shed and stepped off the platform at the door and caught my left ankle in a space where there was a missing brick in the sidewalk. Was off the bike for eleven days to start the National Bike Challenge.

Hope for the best, but heal fast!

[kwarkentien]

Wow Kathy that sucks!!!! Hope it’s just a sprain.

[jabberwocky]

@kwarkentien 118113 wrote:

Wow Kathy that sucks!!!! Hope it’s just a sprain.

Not to be a downer, but as a veteran of sprained ankles (byproduct of a decade of skateboarding), I sometimes would have preferred to have broken it. Ankle sprains can take forever to fully heal.

Hopefully its a minor one and recovery is quick.

[KLizotte]

Augh. Turns out it is a complete fracture of the fibula near the ankle. Am in a crappy temporary splint and on crutches. I ordered overnight delivery of a knee scooter cause I simply can’t use crutches in this heat. Seeing the ortho on Wed. Am really hoping I don’t need surgery but suspect I’ll need pins. Well this certainly threw a wrench in my summer plans!

Stay safe out there!

[kwarkentien]

Oh no! I’ve had a similar ankle fracture but mine was actually three distinct breaks (called a trimalleolor fracture) and I’ve got the screws and plates to prove it. Since you only have one fracture, perhaps you can make it without any surgery at all. Poor you! Hope you recover quickly. Also, I have a spare walker, crutches, and a cane should you need any of those during your recuperation.

[KLizotte]

@kwarkentien 118125 wrote:

Oh no! I’ve had a similar ankle fracture but mine was actually three distinct breaks (called a trimalleolor fracture) and I’ve got the screws and plates to prove it. Since you only have one fracture, perhaps you can make it without any surgery at all. Poor you! Hope you recover quickly. Also, I have a spare walker, crutches, and a cane should you need any of those during your recuperation.

Thanks, much irony we are having this discussion after our talk on Thursday. I’ll follow up with you if I need any more medical supplies; they are damn expensive! Mine looks like a straightforward diagonal break. I can’t believe how easily bones break. Mother Nature really needs to improve that.

[PotomacCyclist]

Sorry to hear about this. Heal up soon.

Re bones, improved bone mineral density can help prevent future fractures. Unfortunately, cyclists may have lower BMD than even a sedentary person, although it may depend on diet, cross-training, strength training, genetics and training workload. Elite cyclists have been found to have worse-than-average BMD, which leaves them susceptible to fractures. Strength training and weight-bearing exercise (like running) helps to strengthen the bones. Running only strengthens the bones of the legs and hips, while proper strength training (total body exercises, a careful but challenging program) can strengthen all the major bones of the body.

[vvill]

Urgh, sorry to hear that Kathy.

(FWIW, the closest I came to serious injury this past winter was stepping out one time onto my steps, and having my feet slide out completely on ice. Landed on my back sprawled on the steps and amazed I was just a bit sore. Not cycling related at all!)

[Anonymous]

oh, no, heal fast and thoroughly. btw, i also happen to have a pair of crutches if you do need some and Karen’s are too tall. I have kept them for years under the theory that getting rid of them will guarantee I will immediately injure myself in such a way to need them again. I’m pretty sure only loaning them out will not cause such an occurance.

[dcv]

Sorry Kathy, hope you heal well and quickly.

[KLizotte]

@Amalitza 118149 wrote:

oh, no, heal fast and thoroughly. btw, i also happen to have a pair of crutches if you do need some and Karen’s are too tall. I have kept them for years under the theory that getting rid of them will guarantee I will immediately injure myself in such a way to need them again. I’m pretty sure only loaning them out will not cause such an occurance.

Thanks for the offer. I’m currently the proud owner of a $50 pair crutches courtesy of of urgent care (a rip off!). I ordered a knee scooter via Amazon and it is due to be delivered by 8:00 pm tomorrow night and I am counting the hours. I expect it will give me much better mobility. Fingers crossed.

[eminva]

Sorry to hear it, Kathy! Hope it heals quickly and doesn’t spoil your summer.

Liz

[Boomer Cycles]

Ouch! May you heal fully and quickly.
If it is of any consolation, I recently cut an artery in my leg while taking out the recycling, and almost bled out. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to put a tourniquet on my leg, and my cell phone to dial 911. The ER doc had to stitch my artery back together, and then stitch close my wound. I just got the stitches removed today, only to discover that I have an infection (most likely staph and/or streph from said ER). I’m now on a cocktail of antibiotics and have no idea of when I will be able to hammer again. However, a friend lent me their folding bike, which enables me to use MetroRail and get to/fro work, so at least I am still cycling!

[Boomer Cycles]

Recycling hazard

Foldie to the rescue

The wonders of Oxiclean!

[KLizotte]

Damn boomer,

That is way more awful than what I have. Glad you were so quick thinking; I don’t think I would have been. My experience with surgical incisions is that they are darn difficult to keep germ free. Tegaderm is pretty awesome if you can start using it right away to keep the bad bugs at bay. Now if the bad bugs are inside you….

[Author]

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