Riding with a broken wrist/plaster cast…

5 weeks ago I broke my scaphoid. Was in plaster for 2 weeks, then out of plaster for 1 1/2 weeks when a consultant/doc decided it wasn’t fractured (he missed it on the X-Ray and said all was fine). Was put back in plaster after a different consultant decided it was broken and confirmed a ‘difficult’ break with an MRI.

Anyway – I’m back in plaster for 5 weeks. I’m allowed to ride my road bike (a hybrid commencal) in the cast which I’m doing every day, but the cast on the straight bars isn’t terribly comfy. Considering buying a ‘proper’ road bike as I reckon riding on hoods will be more comfy.

It’s been years since I rode on hoods, so have nothing to back that hunch up… So…… over to the STW hive mind to see if anyone has any experience of riding drops in plastercast?

The mountain bike is way more comfortable than hoods or drops on a road bike.

Also you can replace the plaster cast with a moulded plastic splint, that’s what I have, it’s much less restrictive.

Had a cast for my thumb, covered wrist and hand it was near on impossible to hold the bars on the road bike and uncomfortable on the trainer. I wouldn’t have got to the end of the street like that.

Go to your LBS and sit on something if you want to find out.

I tried it with my road and mtb when I was in a splint, it was bearable on the mtb but the road bike was a no go due to being difficult to hold and the gear shifting wasn’t going to happen either with no strength in the wrist.

Cheers guys!

Maybe the drops aren’t such a great plan…. (And with that my justification to the missus for n+1 bike disappears) :)

I was in a splint when I got the plater off at first and could cycle no problem, but the cast is an irritant…

Mikewsmith…

Argh! I saw some casts have thumb restriction! That must have been a nightmare! Thankfully my thumb is free to move… :) wouldn’t have been able to do much at all with an immobilised thumb… :/

Pitchpro2011…

I begged the doc to allow me an alternative to a cast but he was having none of it. :)

As above – drop bars are a bad idea! Broken both wrists over the last couple of years.

You need to get on a tri bike, and just lay your bad arm on the extensions :)

I won a duathlon last year riding with a broken arm! I did get dirty falling off riding over a speedbump, but no harm done!

Cheers, Rich

I’ve broken my radius a lot, not quite the same but probably a similar cast.

I found drop bars to be much more comfortable as I could push on the hood with the bit of the cast between palm and thumb. Whereas flat bars I couldn’t grasp the bars in any way. Only used on the turbo though.

Take it easy though, one of the explanations given for why my arm broke 3 times in relatively quick sucession was I’d returned to exercise before it was fully healed. Some exercise can promote healing by increacing blood flow and the bone gets stronger by forming an amorphous bone shaped thing first, then all the fibres align themselves by trial and error like muscles exercising so the ones that get used break down and grow back stronger ofver a year or two. A lot of exercise just stops it healing up as no blood vessels form in the broken section and the ends of the fractured bone die.

The scaphoid is a hard bone to heal due to poor blood flow.
using the brakes in an emergency situation could prove hard.
Why risk another just take some time out and don’t rush

If you reckon riding on the hoods would be more comfortable then why not just dig out those old bar ends you’ve been hiding and bolt them on the hybrid? Also, if the cast’s in the way you can trim it a bit with a pair of snips, assuming it’s the fibreglass type I had. All at your own risk, of course.