another casualty - please wear your gear

[Ina Ditch]

hey folks, hope all had a great friday and wish you all a good weekend.
I crashed my bike about 3 days after I got it which was about a month or so ago and ever since have had some nagging back pain and have been wearing a back brace / kidney belt and have been coping and continuing to work. yesterday morning I woke up with a serious uptick in pain but went to work and while the pain wasn't unbearable it was increasing and my thought was that I would get home early ( 1pm ) and rest and heal for a couple of days. after taking the dogs out I ran a few inches of hot water in a tub to soak and when I tried to get out I almost couldn't get up, the pain was terrible and I have a high threshold for pain, I actually broke my back and never even went to the doctor years ago and only found out when having an mri for another issue. any way I thought I would tough it out but finally around 4pm I called my vacationing wife and asked her to come home to take me to orthopedic urgent care this morning so she left my daughter and the grandkids at the beach and came home. I had xrays this morning and said the bones all look good and put me on steroids for inflammation and something for sleep but so far it is only getting worse and I wish now I had taken the shot they offered. ( I took the pill for sleep around 8:30 and I am still up after midnight )
this was a pretty simple fall on a trail a couple hundred yards from home, a quick there and back. I hadn't received my helmet yet and hadn't yet ordered armor yet but likely wouldn't have worn it anyway thinking I was only going on a quick ride. I believe that with a kidney belt and hip pads I would have avoided anything more than maybe a sore hip for a day or two and some hurt pride. I admit I sometimes felt silly putting on all the gear even after this fall but if I can get over this not only will I not feel silly I will be upgrading to better armor and more of it. had I had and worn it I would be riding this weekend instead of suffering.
Please be careful and wear gear to protect yourself, there are people who love you and need you in their lives and a fall can happen anytime and anywhere, even in your yard.
Best wishes to you all.

[Bruces]

Wishing you a speedy recovery !

[Frag2]

Hope get well soon probably discs or pulled something, hope only that. Ime kind of big on armour myself, wear it , found out hard way while back

[Merlin]

Man I hope you get better FAST.

[RedCrowRides]

Hope you get better soon. I am 62 and i stunt a Vader 125 Grom clone- but , i wear a LOT of gear because it didnt take me long to find out that hitting the ground at 60 years old hurts a LOT more than it did at 20 , and it also takes a LOT longer to get over it. So yeah , gear is always a good idea, always.But for older Riders, it's just a MUST .

[Essayons]

Glad you're ok, for the most part. Hope you heal well and soon.

[Spins]

Sorry to hear your injured as well. Feel better.

[culcune]

Assuming I have COVID, it is FAR more desirable than the suffering you are going through (MY experience with COVID thus far)! Heal up--and, yes, gear up!

[Ina Ditch]

thanks guy's, it's no joke getting older. the pain has decreased slightly but I can only bend forward, any twisting at the hip left or right or arching my back and the pain shoots out like its being launched from a cannon. the sleep aid kicked in big time, I am generally up early 7 days a week and other than getting up to whizz I slept until about 3pm.
I tried to do some stretching but it aint happening today. I am going to take the dogs out to run and do some walking and maybe that will loosen things up for tonight.

[Megadan]

Sounds like a slipped or herniated disc. Something I have very familiar with, at least in the areas I still have discs in my back. It can take weeks to recover if that is the case.

One thing I highly suggest is a tens unit. It won't solve the issue, but it really helps with pain management.

[OneLeggedRider]

ATGAT all the gear all the time! I'm in a few different groups and a common theme is "Oh I was just taking a spin around the neighborhood" or "I was just running to the corner store". Most motorcycle accidents happen within 10 miles of your residence, My worst that cost me a leg was was within a quarter mile of my apartment. Wear The Gear guys.

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by Ina Ditch

thanks guy's, it's no joke getting older. the pain has decreased slightly but I can only bend forward, any twisting at the hip left or right or arching my back and the pain shoots out like its being launched from a cannon. the sleep aid kicked in big time, I am generally up early 7 days a week and other than getting up to whizz I slept until about 3pm.
I tried to do some stretching but it aint happening today. I am going to take the dogs out to run and do some walking and maybe that will loosen things up for tonight.

Just take it easy.

[Spins]

Rest!!

I myself am on couch duty!

[ChrisWNY]

My wife has been an ICU critical care nurse the past 10 years, 5 of those years she spent in the Neuro unit...she unfortunately dealt with a number of motorcycle-related head injuries...head injuries can be tragic and not everyone pulls through. Never skimp on the helmet...preferably full-face, "brain buckets" just don't cut it. Protect your knees and elbows with plastic guards as those are the areas most likely to get severe road/offroad rash in a wipe-out or crash.

Back injuries are more difficult to prevent with protective gear...I blew out a lumbar disc over 10 years ago (in my late 20s) snowboarding and suffered a couple of years from sciatic nerve pain as a result. Mornings were really rough for awhile...usually the pain was the worst when I'd wake up, then it would gradually subside during the day, only to return again the next morning. Took a lot of core strength exercise to eliminate problems from my lower herniated disc. Never had to get surgery or any involved medical treatment for it and the disc has since regenerated fairly well. It takes many years for discs to regenerate but they do heal over time. The key is to rest up, when the pain is more tolerable stay active and exercise, walking does wonders for back/spine-related pain. When you head to stores park as far away as you can to get some extra walking in...walking helps keep your spine aligned naturally. If you're running on the heavy side drop some lbs as that will always help with recovery from back injuries.



Oh yeah, last but not least, whether you're sitting on an office chair, your couch, recliner, etc., always use a firm lumbar support cushion. Lots of decent options online for lumbar cushions and they're worth they're weight in gold when used regularly. It'll work wonders for keeping that natural spinal curvature intact while sitting.

Definitely ride safe out there...helmet up, make sure it's properly strapped and latched, don't shortcut the protective gear!

[Ina Ditch]

Originally Posted by Megadan

Sounds like a slipped or herniated disc. Something I have very familiar with, at least in the areas I still have discs in my back. It can take weeks to recover if that is the case.

One thing I highly suggest is a tens unit. It won't solve the issue, but it really helps with pain management.

thanks Dan, never heard of a tens unit but I will google it.