1st ride after knockout...now I'm hurt again!

[tri-mx'er]

Man oh man...its been a bad year for me and the motorcycles. I have spent a good bit of it hurt. I was knocked unconcious for a few minutes 2 1/2 weeks ago after crashing on a big tabletop. I remember very little about that getoff (see my other thread). I had recently just gotten my courage up from a good wipeout on a jump earlier in the year that I broke a couple ribs.
Well, Sunday was 2 weeks from the getoff, and I had decided to do a nice easy trail ride with some friends that I have been blowing off (I love the track). I stay up late Saturday putting my trail bars on, changing clickers, etc.. And oh yeah, fixing a dang flat rear tire.
I arrive Saturday AM at the trail head, and a couple of us are fooling around on our bikes while the others are getting dressed and ready. We are jumping small dirt piles, just playing. I come off a small jump, and get a little screwed up making a tight turn right after it, and basically just lay the bike down into a little hill. I kind of fall onto the bike, and WHAM, I get a heckofa charlie horse on my upper thigh. No one really pays attention, as I was almost stopped when I fell. I get on the bike and wait for the charlie horse to go away. HEY, WHAT"S THIS LUMP? I feel a big bump on my leg, and go to the truck so I can have a look. OH MY GOD, this thing is sticking out 1 1/2 inches, and is 8 inches long and hard as a rock. I can tell by the mark that the footpeg was the culprit. A big ole hematoma has formed on my upper thigh.
So after 5 minutes of riding, I have to go to the doctor and have my leg checked out. I have never had anything like this, and was afraid the swelling may cut circulation off or something else. The doc says I'll be OK, and wraps the thing and tells me I have 12-14 ounces of blood in it, so get ready for some serious bruising. That was the understatement of the year. The knot seemed to start going away, or maybe everything around it swelled so much it covered the hematoma. A few hours later My thigh is really swollen, adn so is 1/2 of my crotch area. Some purple bruising starts to show. By evening I have a purple and black mark about 10" in diameter. By the next morning it covers my crotch and goes halfway down my thigh. Today it appears to be a bit lighter in some areas, but now my entire thigh is purple, it extends almost to my waist, and goes down to my knee, and most of the way around my leg as well. I've never had anything like this before.
It has given me some really weird pain. The injury of course is sore, but the weird part is the skin on the areas surrounding the impact spot. I get these real bad burning sensations from time to time, that will make me drop to my knees in pain. I guess its nerves being pinched off or something. And another area of my thigh is numb feeling. I guess from the swelling and pinching of nerves also.
This sucks. This wasn't supposed to happen. I have been having bad thoughts about riding, and my kids riding, and I didn't need this. Damn, I'm just stupid. But if you are going to be dumb, you gotta be tough.
Has anyone had anything like this happen? I was hoping the swelling would be going away by now, and the numbness kind of bothers me. How long is this going to take?
Thanks for letting me vent, sorry I took so long.
Rich

 

[Rooster]

Just give it time. It takes longer than you think for all that blood to get cleared out. The numbness is likely from the swelling around nerves and the pain flashes are pretty normal (in my experience).

Hang tough, you'll be fine. My worst accidents happen at idle. Don't feel bad.

 

[KiwiBird]

That sucks! Hope you heal up OK. The skin numbness will probably last the longest - months.

 

[IrishEKU]

Rich, sorry about the leg.

 

[Foxpilot]

Just consider yourself lucky, it could have been worse. Im out right now with a broken femur right above the knee. The numbness is totally normal, I still have no feeling from my ankle to my knee (nothing even broke there :think: ) and its been almost 2 months.

 

[Battered Sav]

Yep, banged my thigh one time, what your saying sounds real familiar, if I sat still for a little while my leg would feel like it was burning when i got up, took maybe 4- 6 weeks before it went away.
Hey, no more crashes OK, or your going to end up owning this forum.

 

[scotts250]

Some times the luck goes bad. I've had at least one or two stints where I couldn't keep from getting hurt taking the bike off the stand.
I did a belly flop onto the end of my handlebars once. After a few days it looked like I was wearing purple underwear.
Had a hell of a lump for quite some time.
Good luck.

 

[tri-mx'er]

Thanks for the replies and encouragement folks. I know this isnt nothing compared to more serious injuries like broken femurs ( I shutter at that thought). I am almost embarrassed to report my injury when I read stories like that.
My leg was hurting a little more today, and it looked like the hematoma was getting bigger,. so I went back to the doctor today. I think my mind was causing the extra pain, and I guess the swelling may have gone down some around the entire leg, leaving the hematoma looking like it has grown. I am still very swollen, and it hurts to walk, feels like my skin is gonna tear it is so tight, but the doctor eased my mind. He said pretty much what some of you had said, that it was going to be around for several months, and I guess I am getting used to the idea. He said the numbness and burning were normal, and that it would heal fine. Its pretty amazing how the mind works, as I swear it felt better right after I saw him!
Thanks,
Rich

 

[Milk]

Originally posted by tri-mx'er
I know this isnt nothing compared to more serious injuries like broken femurs ( I shutter at that thought). I am almost embarrassed to report my injury when I read stories like that.

I dont think the seriousness of the injury really matters. Before the serious accident I had recently, I had some minor ones that felt like they were major. Ive had thumbs hurt that make me wanna cry like a baby.

This forum is to share your concerns and stories. I have learned a lot reading and posting in here, and as morose as it may seem, people like to read about things of this nature.

Milk

 

[DangerGirl]

I have to agree, the severity of the injury is a secondary factor, if that.

What's REALLY insulting? When you have an injury that you didn't get while riding that keeps you from riding. Most recent example? I was in a car accident (SHE ran a stop sign) and now the doctor says my neck "looks like a slinky". Greaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Sorry to hear about your injury, Rich. Make sure you work the leg a bit, but not too much, and you'll be riding again in no time. As far as worrying about riding/your kids riding now, dude, worry about that sh*t enough and they won't leave the house.

 

[tri-mx'er]

Well, its been 3 weeks now, and I'm feeling a lot better. I still have a lump where the peg hit me, but a lot of the surrounding swelling has gone down. The bruise eventually made it down to my ankle, but by that time most of it had disappeared from my upper thigh. I have done a lot of research on the internet about hematomas. I learned that the muscles often develop calcification (bone) at the injury site, which may cause problems later on. Also, scar tissue can affect the muscle later. I was very concerned about this, as I am a runner.
Several articles mentioned draining the hematoma greatly reduces healing time. I asked the doctor about this, but he didn't seem too interested in doing it. I then read that if the blood is removed, it lessens the chance of that nasty calsification thing. I decided to do some of my own doctoring. I got a few syringes, and drained off 4 ounces of blood the first time, and felt immediate relief. I did it again several days later and got a couple more ounces. Again, it felt better immediately. The thing has really gotten smaller, and is feeling much better. I rode last weekend with the kids, and the hematoma did fine, but apparantly I still have a lot of blood in the tissues of my lower leg, because I developed a bruise on my lower leg fron the constriction of my boot. Pretty cool, I have the print of the padding and the buckles etc.., from my Alpinestars on my leg! I think its gonna take a long time for the blood to totally disapate. I still have some numbness, and my entire leg is still tender to the touch, but it works great. No pain from riding , and I am even running again, although only 5 milers or less, as all the injuries this year have gotten me really out of shape!!
I think draining it really is going to help it completely heal much faster. Of course I can't recommend doing your own doctoring, I am just crazy that way.
Rich