Yes it is, I can show my X-Rays to prove it.

Just a friendly reminder to lift with your (overdeveloped cycling) legs and not with your back.  I completely screwed up my lower back again lifting heavy stuff into the car yesterday and am regretting it.  Ouchies.

Gwynna,

Warning, not for the weak of stomach.

I have recently learned that a friend from the neighborhood was riding on the street in Flushing about 3 weeks ago, got squeezed by a tractor trailer, went down, and the truck drove over his leg.  He has had about 4 surgeries to pin what is left of his tibia together, and there maybe be upwards of 5 more in the next few months.  He is still in ICU, and will be for a few more months because there is a very large section of skin missing.  Hi risk of infection until they put something on there or it grows back I guess.  

Just a reminder to ride safe,don't expect they can see you, and be thankful for every healthy minute on a bike.  Never hurts to count your blessings.

^awful

@McKay, that is terrible, best of luck to him.

People. Any tips for slings, sleeping and swelling greatly appreciated.

John
If the pain is unbearable, call your doctor and request some Diludid (hydromorphone) in order to survive the next 48 hours also apply some ice on the swelling.

Ice is hard in the upper neck area. It just doesn't feel good to get those tissues cold and you cannot leave it there very long (unlike extremities which you can get nice and cold). So perhaps one of those reusable pads you can get at the drug store designed to be cooled in the freezer. Mine has a fuzzy side that is much easier to place on the upper neck area. I use it for pinched nerve in my neck.

I'm truly sorry this happened to you.

@John I have a cryo cuff for the shoulder that is great for icing. You  could borrow it if you'd like. In terms of sling, I had a cheap one (that you could probably get from a drug store) from the ER and then a fancy one from the hospital post surgery which was more comfortable but heavier. Did you not get one from the ER?

ian ellis said:

@John

As per Stokes the cold packs with the fuzzy side work well.

I saw my family doc for a pain prescription while waiting for my operation. He prescribed me Percocet. Then the hospital discharged me with another stash of them and when I went back for post ops checks - they gave me even more. I ended up with about 300 in total.

I doubt that you be short of pain medication.

ian=candyman

FWIW...Pecocet contains Tylenol. Usually 325 mg worth. So if you are combining OTC pain meds (tylenol, advil, whatever) with prescription meds, be conscious of your daily maximum dosages. Also, most narcotic pain meds will cause constipation, so you know, keep up with your fruits and veggies.

@Gwynna
National athletes are in the testing pool, so they can be tested out of competition. Hence this ruling makes sense - since there is a possibility that they could be found to have a banned in-competition-only substance in their system from such a test.

For us - the only time we can be tested is in competition. So if we get found with a banned substance in our system then there are no excuses.

If you know you are taking a prohibited substance then you either sit out and do not compete or you get a TUE in advance.
Anything else is cheating.

Time to think twice about ice. http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-end-of-the-ice-age/

I have used a big discount bag of frozen peas to good effect as an alternative to ice paks. weighs less than a huge ice bag, and the cold is less extreme than ice, so you can put it directly on your skin, and it molds nicely and is re-useable.  plus, the british navy accomplished amazing things on a diet of peas and dried beef.

and Navy Proof Rum

Both are apparently useless in terms of actually helping the injury.

You expect me to take an article seriously when the author is listed with these creds:


Aaron Hutchins writes about business, pop culture and the lives of Canadians. He once wrote a story about One Direction too, which makes him the resident boy band expert (reluctantly).

After reading the abstracts, I'm not that impressed with these articles.

First one deals with muscle injury as measured by release of proteins from within the muscle cells (creatine kinase and myoglobin). I don't generally use ice for muscle tears. I don't usually tear my muscles as far as I know (except maybe when I do something stupid like play basketball or volleyball which my muscles are not prepared for and then they hurt like hell a day or two later). I use ice for tendonitis and to reduce swelling. This is a completely different kettle of fish and not addressed by this article.

Second article seems to be metaresearch, i.e., perusing a bunch of other articles and reevaluating their conclusions. It concludes with the following statement:
"Clinicians should consider that in extreme circumstances of muscle strain (eg, deep injury with high levels of adipose thickness around the injury site), the clinical effectiveness of cooling may be significantly reduced."
This seems to suggest that if you COULD cool the injury, it might be a good idea. But with big fat muscles the ice isn't very effective at doing that.

Again, I use ice for tendonitis where I'm pretty confident that the injured tissues are  getting good and cold. These articles do not address that situation. Anyway, I am a strong believer in the positive placebo effect whereby it works when I think it should work.

I'm as big a believer in Cryotherapy as you'll ever meet.

Duoderm newb question. Do I have to put an ointment on the pad or just plop the pad right on my road rash?

plop it on.  I suppose bactroban or something wouldn't hurt, but might make the dressing less adhesive?  I've never used ointment and it's worked well.  Wash with soap/water and pat dry them apply.

Marc?

The antibiotic ointment to prevent infection. I think it is a good idea to use a little. Don't have to go overboard and once healing has begun, then probably unnecessary.