Broken elbow...need some advice

So...yesterday as my reward for exercising i fell off my bike and broke my elbow...i have lost 8 lbs so far but am still 20 lbs from my goal...i am bummed. BUT i don't want this to set me back too much. i'm hoping that maybe i can even keep losing as long as i watch what i eat and if anyone has any exercise tips that would be awesome...so far i can only do the elliptucal which is sad cuz i am a runner but that hurts too much. also...i have been lifting weights dilligently and am sad that i will probably have to see my toner arms fade away...i usually try and lift as heavy as i can but will lower weights still help keep my muscle in my back, abs, and legs? Thanks in advance for all replies!

Anyone??

REST THAT ELBOW - AND KEEP IT RESTED!

Is it in a cast?
I'm saying this through a TON of experiance, i've broken my elbow several times, and because of overworking it, I have damaged the bone and ligament, had to have an op a few weeks ago to remove the radial head because it was irregular shaped! I'm not even allowed to swim until I go back to the hospital. thats 3 weeks away and my op was 3 weeks ago!

Try some nice steady paced walked, I am VERY aware that walking can jar and jolt it, but walking would be nice excercise.

If it is in a cast, then just try and move your fingers, it will help you in the long run, and help reduce swelling - after a few weeks the cast might start to itch - after all the casts I've been in thats usually a good sign.

I'm not in a cast at the moment - I'm not worrying too much with weights, at least with upper body because it hurts. don't do anmything that hurts, that is not very wise, because you'll linger/damage yourself.

you need to give your elbow time to re-heal. I'm not allowed todo anything that in involves my elbow for 6 weeks. it needs to heal, and I do not want to go back into that op theatre again!!!

You broke it yesterday? I wouldn't think about excercise just yet, I can't walk for longer than 5 mins after any op/ break on my elbow for the first week.

Sorry if this is kinda long, I broke my elbow 3 times and have had 2 ops on it - so yeah, just horrible experiance.

I'd just watch what you eat for now!

Hope you recover speedily!

Just bumping cause I moved it to a new forum, thanks.

 What Lozzle said, and read  The Proactive Patient and  Fight the Injury Blues: Keep Lifting! - you can still create a training effect when injuried and have a speedy recovery, though you'd probably want to wait more than a day before you start anything too vigorous.

lozzle~thanks for your input...thats nuts that they removed your radial head...that is what i broke and it is in a cast...friday i have to go to the ortho surgeon to see what they want to do with it for sure.  i am not planning on doing any upper body lifting that would hurt! however...i read those articles that melkor posted and if i understood right it would be good to still work out my right side, like my right arm and shoulder??  did i understand that right...i just didn't want to end up with one big arm lol...i am not planning on doing anything vigorous but i just wanted some advice before i decide i am just going to be bummed and sit on my butt...lol thanks for those articles melkor too!  i am really wondering if even though i might not be able to lift as heavy with my lower body as usual if it won't set me back too much muscle-wise

Also ... have any idea how much this cast weighs?? its from an inch or so over my elbow to covering my hand...how will i weigh in?

I just come off breaking my right elbow and left wrist.  Doctor won't let me do much of anything even after begging I mean lots of begging.  I was in two cast one weighing 5lbs the other 3lbs.  During the 1st few weeks I sit in the chair and bounced my legs for 5-10 mins something like walking since it really wasn't safe for me.  I also did ab work and watched everything I ate.  I also walked the halls of the house, did squats, and pretty much anything with my legs that didn't hurt my arms.  After the elbow cast came off after 4 weeks I started therapy where they let me lift weights if that's what you call 1lb but I took it slow.  For you it may be different my doc would not relase me to do any major walking till week 10 when both cast were off. 

I wish you luck I've been there.  the good news is I only gained 15lbs during this time and 5lbs have nicely already came off.  I'm just now getting back into my routine that I was doing before the breaks.  I'm at 5 months now after the break and just got released last week to full status, but I had some major surgeries during that time to fix the bones.  Truth be told I did lose muscle but it seems to be coming back quicker then I expected. 

ouch! thanks for the reply dawnder...yeah so far the doc said i can walk...pretty much anything BUT moving my left arm in any way...the cast goes from my hand up to about an inch past my elbow and its plaster so just trying to figure out how much that might weigh...thanks for the estimsates...maybe i will post again and see if i can get some more input...appreciate it!

Yep my cast covered about the same arm area.  I asked the doc when he put mine on so I knew.  Well at least you can walk that's will help a lot.  If you can make sure you do some therapy it will help alot to get your range of motion back.

Let me be the voice of experiance here.  I broke my arm right above the elbow and a bone in the elbow itself nearly 30 years ago now.  I didn't do anything for over a month except stay at home and have my mother give me one drug for the pain that made me sleep and another drug to wake me up just so she could give me the drug for the pain that made me sleep.  

Once they let me go back to school, I couldn't really over do it because my teacher was an old family friend and the cast and sling in a crowded school just doesn't really work for being active.  But, once the cast came off, I was right back doing the very things that caused me to break my arm and elbow to begin with. 

Now I am 35 years old.  I have days when I can't hold anything in my left hand, which is the hand on the arm I broke.  That elbow does a lot of cracking and popping.  Im not allowed to lift anything over 5 lbs with that arm and if it rains, I curl up in a ball, hide under the blanket and pray the pain will eventually let up enough that I can stop seeing rainbow colors. 

There isn't anything any doctor can do for me.  Admitedly there were complications to my break that you don't have. If you become to active to fast you can cause a lot of the complications I had.   Im telling you right now, lay off the exercising, get a physical therapist when the cast comes off and slow down.  Your falling off your bike was the universes way of letting you know you needed to slow down.  So listen to it and take it easy.   Otherwise, the universe will throw a brick at you next time that ultimatly will cause you to pay a much greater price than you are now.

Doctors won't do anything for my arm  because I can use it.  Everyone is just sitting around waiting for the day I can't.  Then maybe they will try to fix it.  But, by then it will be to late.  Truth is, it probably already is.  So I have to appreciate my ability to use my left hand and arm while I have it.  Don't over do it and end up in my situation.  

At the same time, don't under do it and let the mucsle atrophy.  Go see a specialist who will know just the right amount of exercise for you right now.   Do what your told you can do and forget about the rest.  The idea of lifting weights with a broken elbow is mind boggling to me.  Let the weights go and when it gets to the point you can walk without pain, then put weights on your ankles and walk, if the doctors tell you thats okay.  But, leave that arm alone to heal properly.

 

thanks for the reply lady...sorry to hear about your arm.  that sounds awful.  i am definitely resting my arm.  i wasn't planning to lift with my arms or upper body...was just wondering if it would be worth it to still do the leg press and such.  Thanks so much for the advice!

give it a week let your body get used to the pain and start running again....

suck it up your working to hard to give in...

i have lost 55lbs since january with just diet and exercise and i have had a few injuries along the way.

i wont miss my routine for anyone or anything. if i have to get up at 4 am or if i have to do it at midnight it gets done.

 

i have come to far i am 30lbs away from what i think i want my goal to be and i wont stop...i have made to many sacrifices !!!!!!!

and so have you ...use this as inspiration and get going again....

 

good luck!

thanks blue!  that was very inspirational...while i do want to let my arm heal, i also don't want to give up everything i've gainef so far!

exactly, so let your body get used to the pain then hit it as hard as you can....

I know its been seven days since anyone posted int his, but I was reading through, and I'm sorry blue, but I completely dissagree with you.

A week to let the arm rest? A broken radial head is quite a serious thing, I think running around with a cast on after a week when the arm is in a cast for around six is silly. It will jar it, the bone needs time to heel, running involves a certain amount of jarring impact that won't do any good whatsoever. If you're jarring your arm (which lets face it, will happen with running, you don't run and have your arms stationary, it is an IMPACT sport) the bone will NOT heal properly.

I KNOW THIS - MY BONE DIDN'T HEAL PROPERLY, I WAS AN IDDIOT AND TRIED TO DO THINGS MY FRIENDS ALL DID! My radial head was left irregually shapped, causing bone on bone grinding, a very painful sensation at the slightest movement. Popping everyday, all day, leave it ina  position for longer than 5 minutes and it will lock up, and I physically had to grab my wrist an unlock it, another painful CLICK.

All becuase I did things to soon. 'hitting it as hard as you can' after a week is stupid. I'm sorry. It is!

--- weight loss is one thing, and elbow like mine THAT WILL NEVER BE NORMAL, EVEN AFTER THIS OPERATION becuase of overdoing things, for the sake of a couple more lbs is stupid.

You can let your arm heal - not face problems, take things SLOWLY and have (at the end of it, a nice strong arm) and loose the lbs later.

You'll only have one change to help your arm, second chances don't work very well.

You have all the time in the world to loose the rest of the weight.

I'm sorry If I was sounding a little pissy, but.. well yeah.

thanks for the message lozzle~ i know you said that you "over did"...what exactly did you do?  at this point i have done nothing taxing to my arm and it is feeling lots better already and my PT says it's comign along nicely but I am just wondering what exactly do you mean when you say you overdid it?

OBVIOUSLY, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TRYING TO GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT IS...

PISSY OR NOT, GET A GRIP!

THIS WOMAN WAS WORRIED ABOUT FALLING OUT OF HER ROUTINE!!!!!

AND  I WAS TRYING TO GIVE HER SOME SUPPORT!

I AM NOT GOING TO ARGUE WITH YOU ABOUT WHATS RIGHT AND WHATS WRONG. BUT SINCE YOU DECIDED TO PUT YOUR FOOT IN YOUR MOUTH AND TAKE MY ADVICE AS BEING "STUPID". JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE STUPID AND OVER DID IT DOESN'T MEAN SOMEONE ELSE WILL.

AND ACOUPLE OF LBS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SOME. WHY NOT SAY "WHILE YOU ARE LAID UP WITH THAT BAD ARM EAT 15 PIZZAS ANA CASE OF DONUTS"

 

 

I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT PEOPLE WHO ASK FOR ENCOURAGEMENT DESERVE TO GET IT. REGARDLESS OF IF THEY USE THE ADVICE OR NOT.

I USUALLY NEVER ANSWER THESE THINGS BUT YOU'RE OUT OF LINE....

ENCOURAGEMENT!!!!!!!

 

I just want to say that appreciate both of your posts...i really appreciated the encouragement and really did need that and i also needed some sound advice.  Sooo...I really don't think either one of you were right or wrong but i have to admit that I was glad that bluelou gave encouragement because it always seems like on this side people kind of tend to steer others in the opposite direction and don't really give them the support that they need.  I guess maybe thats in err of all the ppl with ED's and such on here but I think there are more healthy ppl than not on this sight and it would be nice if sometimes ppl would assume that you just want to be healthy, not obsessive.  I also have to admit that there are questions and issues I have that I would love to post about but don't because i know people won't respond with the support I really need.

no worries, I just don't like to see people lose their gusto to be healthy.

i spent to much time as an athlete, then a slug. now i am someone who is just trying to be healthy.

if my advice helped great, if it didn't then i am sorry.

but get on your horse as soon as you can....

good luck!

blue

No worries Blue, your advice and encouragement was much needed!