[mstrkrft69]

It's mid-season, who's had a good one this year? I went down pretty hard this week at Waterdog on a feature I've ridden over many times. It was hard hard pack and gravel. I chalked it up to coming in too hot. I've been trying to push the envelope pretty hard lately and have been seeing improvement in my riding. So I guess I found the edge. Nothing more than road rash and mild bruising on what felt like an exceptional yard sale egg-beater, except. . . Check out my helmet. Thanks POC!!

My only Q is, should I replace it?? Can it be fun to talk about wrecking?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Brah]

Yes, you should replace it -- it's toast.

 

[Sidewalk]

I assume you're joking about the helmet.

I crash fairly often. Just part of the game. Last good one was a few months ago. High speed pedal strike. Tossed me over the bars, on to the rocks. Minor scrapes, got lucky. Also, in the middle of a desert canyon with no cell signal and by myself.

 

[5k bike 50cent legs]

I didn’t have any bad ones in 2018/2019. But riding trials bike I’ve really gotten used to hoping off the bike before or during the crash.

That helmet goes on the wall!

 

[mstrkrft69]

Anybody a fan of MIPS technology? Is it worth the extra $$?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[plummet]

Yes, replace the helmet.

Now below is the international blood to sock injury definition.

You can use this to determine if you are actually injured.

 

[Callender]

I've really gotten used to hoping off the bike before or during the crash

I also employ a lot of hoping during crashes!

I think MIPS saved me from a concussion on one crash a few years ago, but I'm currently using a Smith helmet with the honeycomb layer.

 

[sbd]

No big ones in 2019 and I'm happy about it!!

I crashed a LOT in 2018 including a season ending one in October that sent me to the ER and surgery.


Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[5k bike 50cent legs]

I also employ a lot of hoping during crashes!

I think MIPS saved me from a concussion on one crash a few years ago, but I'm currently using a Smith helmet with the honeycomb layer.

Hoping and hopping!

 

[redmr2_man]

About 3 months ago, I jumped a downed tree and landed my front wheel right into a 2nd downed tree. Total freak accident, bad sight lines, bad decision in hindsight. Full OTB at a fairly high speed.

And now my wrist is jacked. I went in for x-rays and nothing is broken, but the pain is still pretty high. Heading in for a second look tomorrow, but 3 months of pain doesn't sound like a good road to recovery. I wore a brace for a few weeks, but it didn't seem to help. I can still ride on it, but it's a little uncomfortable.

To make it worse, one of my riding buddies went through the same thing, and is on his 2nd or 3rd wrist surgery with tons of complications, nerve damage, and really long recovery times. So having that in the back of my head isn't dealing me positive vibes!

You should definitely toss that helmet in the trash and replace it though!

 

[mstrkrft69]

About 3 months ago, I jumped a downed tree and landed my front wheel right into a 2nd downed tree. Total freak accident, bad sight lines, bad decision in hindsight. Full OTB at a fairly high speed.

And now my wrist is jacked. I went in for x-rays and nothing is broken, but the pain is still pretty high. Heading in for a second look tomorrow, but 3 months of pain doesn't sound like a good road to recovery. I wore a brace for a few weeks, but it didn't seem to help. I can still ride on it, but it's a little uncomfortable.

To make it worse, one of my riding buddies went through the same thing, and is on his 2nd or 3rd wrist surgery with tons of complications, nerve damage, and really long recovery times. So having that in the back of my head isn't dealing me positive vibes!

You should definitely toss that helmet in the trash and replace it though!

4 years ago I trashed my TFCC in a Moto accident. Direct blunt force to my wrist. Is your pain on the outside at the top of the bump on your wrist? If so maybe it's your TFCC. Like the meniscus in your wrist. Never been the same as I re-damaged it in a MTB fall before it totally healed. U could try this Gizmo, I get good relief from it.

https://www.amazon.com/WristWidget-...=widget+wrist&qid=1562881123&s=gateway&sr=8-2

And if you're near Marin county I have a killer wrist specific Ortho. Good luck hope you heal up.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[redmr2_man]

4 years ago I trashed my TFCC in a Moto accident. Direct blunt force to my wrist. Is your pain on the outside at the top of the bump on your wrist? If so maybe it's your TFCC. Like the meniscus in your wrist. Never been the same as I re-damaged it in a MTB fall before it totally healed. U could try this Gizmo, I get good relief from it.

https://www.amazon.com/WristWidget-...=widget+wrist&qid=1562881123&s=gateway&sr=8-2

And if you're near Marin county I have a killer wrist specific Ortho. Good luck hope you heal up.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

it's right there at the bump, inside though, so doesn't look like TFCC. Did you have surgery? What was your total recovery time?

I love the near-textbook reply from a doctor these days. "Yep, looks bad. Isn't broken. Wear a brace and cease all activity for a year and you should be good!"

Besides smacking a pothole on the road bike, or really wrenching on it with out of the saddle steep pitches on wide mountain bars, I'm surprised how much I can actually ride on it.

Appreciate the intel on the TFCC though!

 

[DH40]

About 3 months ago, I jumped a downed tree and landed my front wheel right into a 2nd downed tree. Total freak accident, bad sight lines, bad decision in hindsight. Full OTB at a fairly high speed.

And now my wrist is jacked. I went in for x-rays and nothing is broken, but the pain is still pretty high. Heading in for a second look tomorrow, but 3 months of pain doesn't sound like a good road to recovery. I wore a brace for a few weeks, but it didn't seem to help. I can still ride on it, but it's a little uncomfortable.

To make it worse, one of my riding buddies went through the same thing, and is on his 2nd or 3rd wrist surgery with tons of complications, nerve damage, and really long recovery times. So having that in the back of my head isn't dealing me positive vibes!

You should definitely toss that helmet in the trash and replace it though!

Wrists are super-complex. My son has been struggling through Summer baseball with an issue - no breaks, just pains. A physician I respect told me to AVOID SURGERY unless it's the ONLY option! I got a plate and screws for a snapped radius -unavoidable variety, but no other crashes for the last 2 years.

 

[mrpercussive]

Tried pulling a manual out of cutty goofing around on the climb up on my birthday 3 weeks ago. Started toppling over in the rotation. Stuck my left leg out and landed that way fully extended. Tibia slammed into my femur. 1st week was pretty much on the couch. 2nd week i was a little more mobile. Now the third week, i can stand and can walk... ish...

 

[jimw]

I've had a lot of wrist issues, between biking/skating/snowboarding. Years ago I tore my a ligament in my thumb (UCL - skiers thumb) on a front wheel case of a big stepdown jump, hand pushed forward while thumb was hooked on the bar/grip. Got up and I could pull my thumb down to my wrist and was like "uh, that's not good...". Had surgery, cast for a while, finally green light to ride again and somehow managed to tear it *again*. Had a second more involved surgery but a more permanent fix (using a "donor" tendon from this extra one in my arm - palmaris longus, supposedly like 85% of people have this essentially vestigial thing). After that second surgery (and being basically out of riding for like a year total) I was on a quest to find a thumb/wrist brace that I could ride with. I was like, I am NOT gonna go through that again. I even managed to have my insurance cover a pair of super-expensive carbon Allsport Dynamics braces, but to be honest after trying practically everything I've been happiest with these cheap braces on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JNPIMS

I make a couple mods to them:

- There is a sock-like cotton material covering the inner forearm. I just cut that all out, as it's just a sweat sponge.

- I remove the thin aluminum stays for the thumb and along the inside of the wrist, leaving only the main thick aluminum under-wrist stay. There's enough support for my thumb from just the straps, and removing those stays gives it enough mobility to be comfortable on all-day rides.

I wear those braces on EVERY ride now, only taking them off for extended climbs. Just like pads - the only time I get hurt is if I don't wear them. I recommend them to everyone these days. Even if they don't have any wrist issues currently... because if you mountain bike it's just a matter of time. These things generally seem to last about 6 months of solid riding before the stays start ripping out or they're otherwise toast. But they're cheap enough that I stock up on a few pairs so I always have a set in reserve. There is also a version that is just the wrist brace w/o the thumb splint, but honestly after taking out the thumb stay it's not that intrusive and it will help prevent a thumb injury so why not.

While we're talking about injuries and helmets... aside from that surgery I had a pretty good run of not banging my head until a few years ago when I woke up in the hospital with no idea how I got there. I pieced it together later from GoPro footage and other spelunking: ~30 foot stepdown gap into a berm, washed out in the berm and over the edge into a tree, which fortunately I just grazed and didn't hit head-on. Some guys found me sitting there like an hour later and totally out of it, apparently I rode out of there with them to their car and they drove me to the hospital but I don't remember any of it. The funny-in-retrospect thing about that particular incident was that it happened 3 weeks before I was supposed to go heli-boarding in AK. There were some hairline fractures of some bones in my face that they were concerned with, so I followed up with an ENT surgeon. After he determined no surgery was needed, I was like "uh, so I'm supposed to go heli-boarding in AK in a few weeks, is that a problem?" The doc goes, "well, I can't tell you not to go... but if you do go, don't fall on your face!". (I went; it was awesome)

Then last year had a kinda similar situation where I was sessioning some jumps, then came to sitting on the side of the trail somewhere else wondering WTF happened and thinking damn my face kinda hurts. Took a selfie to see if there was any obvious injury and saw this :eekster:



Got a CT scan and had a "zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture" (look it up), same kinda thing you would get if you were punched in the face in a bar fight. Normally that involves reconstructive surgery with plates and ****. Actually same bones that had only hairline fractures in the previous incident. Fortunately in my case it was minimally displaced so no surgery/plates needed. Or maybe the doc just thought there was nothing he could do to fix my ugly mug. Got the CT scan on disk, it's kinda fun playing around with 3D models of your own skull:



Best I can figure I crashed on one of the jumps and took the handlebar to the face. I was wearing a full-face helmet and googles, so there was only a specific angle that something could have hit me at and caused that damage, and the handlebar fits the profile. I since switched to different goggles with a stiff impact-resistant lens, the ones I was wearing bend easily and don't provide any impact resistance.

The helmet I was wearing at the time (Bell Super 3R with the chinbar) was toast, so this time I upgraded to the Super DH. It is waaaaay better IMO. Definitely more substantial chin bar. Full DH certification. Also, the OP asked about MIPS. The Super DH has their "spherical" MIPS which is a whole different beast from regular MIPS and really seems legit. The entire inner foam helmet "cap" can rotate within the external foam shell. It's really slick. It does make some creaking noises when riding as things move around which generally bugs the crap out of me, but I suspect that can be fixed with strategic placement of wax or some pieces of soft-side velcro.

OP, replace that helmet. Please. Yours actually looks worse than mine did after both of the above 2 incidents.

 

[Finch Platte]

I've had a lot of wrist issues, between biking/skating/snowboarding. Years ago I tore my a ligament in my thumb (UCL - skiers thumb) on a front wheel case of a big stepdown jump, hand pushed forward while thumb was hooked on the bar/grip. Got up and I could pull my thumb down to my wrist and was like "uh, that's not good...". Had surgery, cast for a while, finally green light to ride again and somehow managed to tear it *again*. Had a second more involved surgery but a more permanent fix (using a "donor" tendon from this extra one in my arm - palmaris longus, supposedly like 85% of people have this essentially vestigial thing). After that second surgery (and being basically out of riding for like a year total) I was on a quest to find a thumb/wrist brace that I could ride with. I was like, I am NOT gonna go through that again. I even managed to have my insurance cover a pair of super-expensive carbon Allsport Dynamics braces, but to be honest after trying practically everything I've been happiest with these cheap braces on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JNPIMS

I make a couple mods to them:

- There is a sock-like cotton material covering the inner forearm. I just cut that all out, as it's just a sweat sponge.

- I remove the thin aluminum stays for the thumb and along the inside of the wrist, leaving only the main thick aluminum under-wrist stay. There's enough support for my thumb from just the straps, and removing those stays gives it enough mobility to be comfortable on all-day rides.

I wear those braces on EVERY ride now, only taking them off for extended climbs. Just like pads - the only time I get hurt is if I don't wear them. I recommend them to everyone these days. Even if they don't have any wrist issues currently... because if you mountain bike it's just a matter of time. These things generally seem to last about 6 months of solid riding before the stays start ripping out or they're otherwise toast. But they're cheap enough that I stock up on a few pairs so I always have a set in reserve. There is also a version that is just the wrist brace w/o the thumb splint, but honestly after taking out the thumb stay it's not that intrusive and it will help prevent a thumb injury so why not.

While we're talking about injuries and helmets... aside from that surgery I had a pretty good run of not banging my head until a few years ago when I woke up in the hospital with no idea how I got there. I pieced it together later from GoPro footage and other spelunking: ~30 foot stepdown gap into a berm, washed out in the berm and over the edge into a tree, which fortunately I just grazed and didn't hit head-on. Some guys found me sitting there like an hour later and totally out of it, apparently I rode out of there with them to their car and they drove me to the hospital but I don't remember any of it. The funny-in-retrospect thing about that particular incident was that it happened 3 weeks before I was supposed to go heli-boarding in AK. There were some hairline fractures of some bones in my face that they were concerned with, so I followed up with an ENT surgeon. After he determined no surgery was needed, I was like "uh, so I'm supposed to go heli-boarding in AK in a few weeks, is that a problem?" The doc goes, "well, I can't tell you not to go... but if you do go, don't fall on your face!". (I went; it was awesome)

Then last year had a kinda similar situation where I was sessioning some jumps, then came to sitting on the side of the trail somewhere else wondering WTF happened and thinking damn my face kinda hurts. Took a selfie to see if there was any obvious injury and saw this :eekster:



Got a CT scan and had a "zygomaticomaxillary complex fracture" (look it up), same kinda thing you would get if you were punched in the face in a bar fight. Normally that involves reconstructive surgery with plates and ****. Actually same bones that had only hairline fractures in the previous incident. Fortunately in my case it was minimally displaced so no surgery/plates needed. Or maybe the doc just thought there was nothing he could do to fix my ugly mug. Got the CT scan on disk, it's kinda fun playing around with 3D models of your own skull:



Best I can figure I crashed on one of the jumps and took the handlebar to the face. I was wearing a full-face helmet and googles, so there was only a specific angle that something could have hit me at and caused that damage, and the handlebar fits the profile. I since switched to different goggles with a stiff impact-resistant lens, the ones I was wearing bend easily and don't provide any impact resistance.

The helmet I was wearing at the time (Bell Super 3R with the chinbar) was toast, so this time I upgraded to the Super DH. It is waaaaay better IMO. Definitely more substantial chin bar. Full DH certification. Also, the OP asked about MIPS. The Super DH has their rotational MIPS which is a whole different beast from regular MIPS and really seems legit. The entire inner foam helmet "cap" can rotate within the external foam shell. It's really slick. It does make some creaking noises when riding as things move around which generally bugs the crap out of me, but I suspect that can be fixed with strategic placement of wax or some pieces of soft-side velcro.

OP, replace that helmet. Please. Yours actually looks worse than mine did after both of the above 2 incidents.

Fuuuuuuccckkkkkk.

The couch is looking better and better.

 

[robomatic]

I had my worst crash last evening, I saw a really nice tree and decided to greet it by mashing my face into it

Bent one of my front teeth back which a dentist repositioned, that'll need a root canal and crown. Took the impact to the jaw, so my chin is lacerated. Mild concussion, my first ever, and I'm super cautious of them. It's kind of scary to be honest, I was kind of confused right after the impact, but had enough of my wits about me to walk out of the trail and call an uber.

I got really lucky, all things considered. No fractures or broken bones, damage could've been worse much worse. Im now going to do everything I can to keep my brain healthy, I'm going to wear my full-face for any ride more than fire roads now.

What's your concussion story? Right now I feel pretty normal, how can I tell if the damage is worse than it seems? I really don't want to give up biking, but I don't want to get another concussion and live like some people that can't go out in the light, have huge mood swings and can't focus on a single task - my brain is my livelihood.

 

[5k bike 50cent legs]

The speeds on technical terrain that are possible with modern bikes is crazy. My first bike was a fully rigid Bridgestone, back then the worst thing we'd see was an OTB type collarbone. Now days, the injuries are pretty horrific as the sport has progressed and intermediate riders can now do things the pros 20 years ago could only dream of.

 

[jimw]

Damn robomatic. Yeah, you're lucky. Highly recommend the Super DH. You can just put the removable chinbar on the pack for a ride where you don't know ahead of time if you might be riding something that calls for it. It's quite a good non-full-face helmet as well.

As far as concussions go, I've been lucky. Zero residual from my crashes as far as I can tell (my brain is my life too, I'm a software engineer and musician).

From my first crash there is at least a solid 8 hours that is just gone from my memory. When I woke up in the hospital there was a note by my bed from the nurse - "You're in the hospital, you crashed on your bike, someone brought you here, your bike is fine" etc. Basically all the things I'm sure I asked over and over again because my short term memory was just not there during that period. I was apparently talking to the guys who found me an hour after the crash, and one guy being an EMT could tell I had a concussion from various questions and decided they had to get me to the hospital. To get to the car we had to ride out down the road, which apparently I did though I have zero recollection. I also called many friends when I first came to, sometimes multiple times saying the same thing which I don't remember. But after I really realized what had happened, I didn't have any other symptoms, I just can't remember those 8 hours.

From the second crash there is a much shorter period I don't remember, probably less than an hour. Again all good by the next day except I can't remember that time period.

I'd say aside from anything you notice yourself that seems different, have a friend keep a good eye on you and let you know if you act any differently from your usual self. It may not be obvious to you. I think most likely you won't have any residual effects based on the fact that you can remember everything that happened... and the fact that you can write a coherent forum post already.

 

[robomatic]

Thanks so much for the reassurance jimw! Hearing your stories and full recoveries eases the concerns I had.

I'm taking it easy and definitely will be wiser about balancing progression and safety. Last evening I was just feeling so good and the flow was there, that's right when the rug gets pulled! Somehow I'll find that sweet spot between fun and satisfying, while also not being too risky.

Take it easy too! From what I've read, concussions have a compounding effect and each one makes the damage proportionally worse. Gotta keep that money maker protected!