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Haven’t been out on the MTB for a variety of reasons in months.. illness, new job and new baby being the main ones!
Was too nice yesterday not to get out so went to my local trails solo. About 1hr in had a stupid OTB due to indecisiveness on line choice resulting in broken bones in my hand.. got a temp cast on now then review some point next week but looking at 6 weeks minimum I think.
Feeling stupid and a bit sorry for myself, won’t be able to help out as much round house, and training is oot the windy for a bit! Luckily work is not manual and I can WFH at computer a lot of the time.
Any tips for doing stuff with 1 hand round the house? Any vitamins/foods I should prioritise for recovery? Please do take the mick, I could do with a giggle! Cheers
Borrow / buy a turbo trainer and a fan for training and cover the cast with a plastic bag and elastic band in the shower (although one armpit may get to smell pretty bad).
Any tips for doing stuff with 1 hand
I believe there are specialist films available for this.
Keep stretching and moving the fingers of the hand in the cast. Some of my worst recovery periods have been from the lack of mobility in a joint or two once the break has healed.
I’ve broken bits of my dominant right arm several times and learning to wipe your bum or brush your teeth with the ‘wrong’ hand takes time (and a mess sometimes! 😳).
Agree with above, do as much exercise with the broken hand as you're allowed. Check with your consultant obviously!
Thank you for the suggestions all and specialist films.. will be sure to enable private browsing before perusing 😳
They said not to do owt at all with broken hand when I mentioned typing etc but it doesn’t hurt too bad and have plenty mobility in thumb/index finger.. managed to get my a bike out the car with some interesting techniques. So will deffo wiggle me fingers from time to time.
Good point about smelly pit.. trying to wash the pit of the good arm was very tricky indeed!
And yes got a turbo already, back to the pain cave for me just as the weather improves! 🤦♂️
Keep stretching and moving the fingers of the hand in the cast. Some of my worst recovery periods have been from the lack of mobility in a joint or two once the break has healed.
This. All my injuries have healed fine, but being in plaster or a sling has caused bother that took ages to fix with physio. Very frustrating!
Also if its your bum wipe hand, get yourself a little portable bidet thing that sits in the loo. So much easier to wash than wipe! In fact I still use mine, I haven't wiped my arse in years!
get yourself a little portable bidet thing that sits in the loo. So much easier to wash than wipe! In fact I still use mine, I haven’t wiped my arse in years!
this needs more explanation, and probably a referral link…
ok hold on to your hats....
Best tenner you will ever spend
Fortunately it’s my non bum wipe hand.. because I’m really not sure what to make of that bidet bowl! How can that possibly make less mess and be easier than just wiping when already a hand doon?!
Oooooh,I want the Buckingham executive bottom wiper in that add!!!
Get a Limbo or Seal-tight for showering/bathing (Seal-tight are better, but you need someone else to put it on for you)
One Finger Death Punch is a good one handed game; as is Weird Worlds:Return to Infinite Space which I've played on and off for years, even though I know every wrinkle of it.
On the bidet argument. I moved into a house 3 years ago with one. Now I will never ever have a house without one.
Takes about a week to get used to, but they're a way bigger game changer than dropper posts and hydraulic brakes ever were.
When your OH buys an expensive artisan-baked loaf as a "treat" for you, make sure that they slice it before going to work.
The look on her face was priceless when she came home to find that a portion of the loaf had been chewed off 🙂
When I broke my shoulder I made the happy discovery that I was ambi****strous, which was a relief.
Hmmm make sure you’ve got something to scratch the 2am itch.
I think that was the worst part for me me with a cast, just wanting to cut it off at silly o’clock in the morning because of the itch that you can’t scratch.
Hmmm make sure you’ve got something to scratch the 2am itch.
Knitting needles are the answer to this.
On the bidet argument. I moved into a house 3 years ago with one. Now I will never ever have a house without one.
Yep,I don’t think you can beat them for keeping a squeaky clean er ……
TBH I think I had more issues when I bruised my groin,had to wear trackies to the office as I couldn’t get any trousers on as they wouldn’t fit.
As long as you’ve a spare hand your golden,it’s when you do both you need more friends.
Knitting needles are the answer to this.
Yep, I wasn’t a great knitter at the time and didn’t wield much either so other than a plastic straw didn’t have much to hand,I think I found a long screwdriver.
Think the arse wiping technique needs its own thread.
As I'm recovering from arse surgery I'm a new convert to washing the poo chute area instead of wiping.
Bought a portable bidet bottle sprayer thing and wouldn't go back to wiping only.
I was feeling sorry for myself until I read @nickewen's post, for I too went OTB yesterday on my first trip to Rogate. Ran out of talent hitting a sequence of gap jumps, casing them worse and worse until my front wheel hit the edge of the gap and I went OTB. Body armour & helmet did their jobs really well and I came away with just an avulsion fracture of my middle finger, so I just have a couple of fingers taped together and a few weeks off the bike.
In terms of vitamins/foods etc I have always sworn by using boron tablets to promote bone healing.
Some great suggestions and funny stories! Thank you for cheering me up everyone. Had a particular giggle at the half chewed artisan loaf 🤣
Good shout on the vitamins and the knitting needle, I’ll ask my MiL for one of those. I’ve been using a metal spatula handle that is a good shape but not ideal!
Thinking about the X-ray and doing some research it seems I have a “boxers fracture” so I think I’ve managed to punch the ground as I’ve come down. Looking at some gloves with a bit more protection for when I’m back on the bike. Something like this:
https://www.pocsports.com/products/resistance-pro-dh-glove?variant=36049071505560
Does anyone have any experience of these or gloves like them with a bit of hand/knuckle protection? They look a bit warm to be wearing in the summer mind but there’s always a comfort downside to additional protection!
Cheers
My ex wrenched her shoulder *really* badly about 12-13 years ago.
Putting bras *ON* was a first for me. Though i'm sure OP won't have that issue...
And one chopstick makes an ideal scratcher for casts.
I'm guessing that they're more likely to be in the house than kitting needles.
Don't do what my brother did and drop it down a full length leg cast.
@nickewen I've been using D30-based gloves for the last year with no problems in warm weather.
I’m pretty sure I had a boxer’s fracture (little finger knuckle/side of hand?) but didn’t get it xrayed due to the 12 hour wait in Merthyr a&e.
No advice but it still aches after a ride a few years later and I can’t seem to find anything with gloves or grips to make it better. Not much help; sorry!
Good arm armpit: take the corner of a wet, soapy flannel in your finger and thumb, twirl it round the same way as a pedal stroke, with the top of the stroke as it comes under your arm pit, catch it there, pull it through, twirl and catch again and shrug your shoulders in circles one way then back. Should do the job.
If you end up with a turbo trainer but can't put any weight through your wrists, buy or borrow a big, comfy ladies' saddle or something for a beach cruiser. If you're pedaling bolt upright, you'll need a bit of extra cush.
Good luck with it all!
ambi****strous
****idextrous?
Thanks for the continued advice and laughs all. I can report back that the good pit cleaning method is very effective, great tip! And I purchased a city gel saddle for my turbo which I think I may leave on even when the cast is off.
The “temporary” (been on nearly 3 weeks!) cast is coming off today.. really hoping for some sort of removable splint as the current cast stinks to high heaven! I’ve been lacing it with aftershave daily but it smells like really old keeper gloves.
Lol at ambi****strous and ****idextrous! Had a good giggle at that 🤣
And aye boxers fracture is the bone between little finger knuckle up towards wrist. I don’t even have a cool story about a bar fight.. just the fact that I punched the earth and predictably it was me that came off worse.
Thanks all!