Saturday, December 11, 2010

Thank Kreitler for rollers!

What do you do when you have a separated shoulder and a cracked rib? You can't swim or run because you can't lift your arm above the vertical or endure the rocking of your shoulder when you run. This type of pain is not very amenable to conventional pain killers, and who wants to run while being on codeine anyways? I am surprised opiates are on WADA's list but that just goes to show you that, either they are bureaucrats who never exercise, or, their real intent is not unfair competition but just to be an extension of the war on drugs
Identical to my setup, except for the bike

Riding is possible but only if you ride easy -no heavy breathing here, no coughing, sneezing or laughing.  Also, no sudden stops or grabbing the brake. What is left is ride to on rollers and that works well as long as I ride easy. The forkstand helps but it  is not absolutely necessary. For now, the bike is on the stand and I don't want to take the trouble (and endure the pain) to undo it.

I found that a Lidoderm lidocaine patch on the rib helps to dull the initial pain. I put it on 10-15 minutes beforehand and then I hop on. Once I get going things are Ok as long as I control my breathing and don't stop. I can't ride very fast because breathing deeply is pretty painful, but at least I can get some exercise in. My hip -apart from the skin- is completely back to normal and spinning actually feels good. So I spent 50 minutes on my rollers today, pumping out an easy 190W average. I still managed to burn a good 500 calories.

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