I had
originally replied to Joe privately, but since this has become a worthy
discussion topic, here goes. I had the same break as Joe, right above the
ankle and was given a fiberglass walking cast for 6 weeks. My first
question was, of course, when can I ride? I had been fortunate to be
referred to a Sports Ortho doc, so he said, what kind of riding? (He
initially thought I meant a bicycle) I told him that I meant hours on the
trail, that I rode endurance and I rode at speed (as opposed to the QH
trailriders in our community who think trotting for more than 30 seconds is hard
on the horse<G>) He told me that if I could get in the saddle, I
could ride and that if I fell off, the only thing that he would guarantee is
that I would NOT break the bone inside the cast!
So I
rode after I'd had the cast for little more than a week - took that
long for things to stop throbbing when walked on too much. Did fine until
I rode far enough to wear a hole in my leg right above the cast where the saddle
panel hit. That took almost 2 weeks to heal and was a bummer not riding
during that time. I did slip a sock over the toes sticking out of the cast
when riding and did my best not to get that foot stepped on.
When
the cast came off, there was essentially a sprained ankle inside it that had not
had any therapy for 5 weeks (ok I sawed the cast off a little early). I
kept that sucker iced every moment I was sitting down. Rehabbed it for a
couple weeks with exercises, tens and ultrasound. Then went and did a
50. Not one of my brighter ideas. It would have been easier to do
the 50 with the cast still on. Despite rehab, flexing the ankle for 50
miles became sheer torture after about 35 miles. But the horse was doing
great, so who was I to wimp out. By Vet three, it was a coin toss as to
whether I should throw up from too many pain pills or pass out from
exhaustion. I opted to sit in the vet check for an extra 15 minutes and
let my horse eat. Good excuse. I finished about 2 hours later,
looking like death warmed over. Horse was pulling my arms out, going slow
for me and not wanting to!
Lessons learned; You get out of shape even with a
walking cast. Took about 6 weeks post cast to get my cardio back to pre
break level. In retrospect, I would have ridden even more with the cast
on. Two weeks is not really enough rehab for more than about a 25 mile
ride. Four weeks to the first ride back would have been
smarter.
Take
lots of extra calcium when healing a break!
Alison
Farrin - three years later and nothing else broken!
-----Original Message----- From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Ed & Wendy
Hauser Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 4:52 PM To: Lysane
Cree; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] Riding with a
cast
"...should be careful not to stress my arm or bump it. I
asked when I could expect to ride again and he said to go ahead and ride!
..."
Unless Doctors ride (and ride hard) they are
absolutely clueless. A very good sportsmedicine orthopedist who helped
me with my back and knee, had enough sense to talk to me for much longer than
the usual quick visit so I could describe the stresses I was planning to put
on my back and knee. After he understood, he was equipped to give much
better advice.
If I end up dealing with Drs again, I will force
them to listen and understand before they make their recommendations. By
the way, Doctors do not "give permission" to their patients, they make
recommendations. Some of their recommendations are better than
others.
Ed
PS How many times have we heard "The Dr. would
not let me leave the Hospital"? A doctor can't keep anyone in a hospital
without a court order, something courts do very rarely.
Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower
Road Victor, MT 59875
