Hi. I’m 38 years. Before 10 days I shattered my femoral neck after bike crash. Now i have 36cm nail in my femur and also many other in my femoral neck. I’m very worried if i can cycle again like before /i was 5+w/kg rider/
Also if someone know if this big nail it will be remove some day or it will in me forever because until know i have no clear answer.
Please share your experience or thoughts!
Nowhere near as bad, but I broke through the neck of my femur in the intracapsular (?) area when I was 38. And I’ve only ever hovered at 4w/kg. But I followed the physio to the letter whilst off my feet (7 weeks no load bearing at all) and then more physio/gym sessions once getting back to walking. I ate well, took calcium/vitamin D as supplements to help everything along where I could. This whole recovery regime all just became a chunk of my years training plan. I was back on the bike within about 4months and back to near full fitness in about 6months and I put that down to being fit and strong before the accident and also because I followed the necessary process after the accident.
You can’t guarantee getting back to 5w/kg but other than follow the process, what else can you do to maximise your chances.
Not sure on the removal of a femoral nail, but I had my screws removed after 12 months because they caused my leg to ache randomly. That was a much shorter recovery time and with quite a fear that holes in my bone would be weaker. But you just carry on, if you can’t drop the cycling. The femoral nail in your femur shouldn’t be the limiting factor on you getting back to full cycling. fitness
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Hey mate, sorry to hear this news!
This is by no means specific medical advice, but I’m an Physio, so have some knowledge in this area for you.
Firstly, the only person who can tell if the rods will come out is an orthopaedic surgeon. You’ll find differing opinions all over the place because both options are viable. Pick a surgeon you trust and stick with them.
Then, considering your fitness goals, you need to consider what’s happened to the leg; a major broken bone is obvious, but the less obvious part is the disruption to the blood supply and secondary muscle damage. You’ll also experience a lot of muscle wasting and cardiovascular deconditioning.
I say this not to cause more anxiety, but to reassure you that the problems you face are well known and are “easy” to over come. In fact, you rehab these issues in the same way you get better on the bike. Through strength and conditioning. So, rehab for the leg is also rehab for your bike fitness, great news!
I’d say your recovery chances are good. Especially at your age. But, be mindful of the extent of the injury, don’t try to recover everything too quickly. But also don’t wait for it to happen either. There is a balance between positive physiological stress that will be productive for your bone/muscle/blood vessel healing and too much that may cause injury or too little that wont get you where you want to be.
We can’t know for sure where you’ll get so my tip would be to focus on the journey. You got to 5+ w/kg without knowing it was possible once… what was the thing that kept you going? the dedication to improvement and the process of growth… why should this any different?
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I suffered a 90 degree break in my femur on a motorcycle in my youth. Had a big rod down it for a year or so, then they removed. Healed pretty quick, wasn’t a cyclist back then but was back to normal within a few months.
Whilst yours sounds worse with further pins - you’d be surprised what the body can overcome.
You’ll be back cycling before you know it.
A friend of mine had a spiral fracture of his femur, which was treated with an intramedullary nail (rod down the middle, like yours). He was told that his should stay in forever unless it caused significant problems. A year or two later he was running ultrmarathons (very successfully), and is as fit and fast as he’s ever been. So, everyone is different and your outcome may vary, but it’s certainly not impossible that you’ll get back to a high level.