Broken Hand Recovery

[Hili]

Well, i had a stupid accident at home and it turned out the metacarpal bone of the ring finger is broken horizontally top to end, they fixed it up with four screws and recovery will take about 2 month. So what i am worrying about that i may have difficulties riding a bike after.

Maybe here is somebody who experienced similar and may have some tips in recovery/ rehab, specially in this nice time i wanna ride asap again. Thanks!

[BigBikeBKK]

On most (but not all) bikes it's pretty easy to just move your clutch / brake lever to the side with the good hand and replace one of the levers with a shorty so that you can brake and clutch with your good hand. I know a couple one armed riders who absolutely rip with this setup.

[VocalNeal]

Start with a tennis ball work up to a hand exerciser. Lots of examples on line. If the worst comes to the worst and you cannot regain your use of your hand there are lots of maxi-scooters.

[seedy]

My buddy was a motocross racer in 1972. Had a bad crash and his hand was almost completely separated at the wrist.

Many surgeries and much physio later he was back to racing.

I do not know your medical history re: this accident, but from the sound of your post I would not worry too much.

As has been said - do lots of physio after the break is healed, start slowly and work your way up.

Good luck.

[KRS1]

Cut my right middle finger in half at the nail when i was 9 (got caught in a chain & sprocket), and any direct pressure to the area would feel sore 5 years later, not hurt but throbbing.

I'd suggest installing lighter clutch springs and teflon cable if they exist, if not keep the cable lubed really well with teflon spray readily available at Homepro and wear some good gloves.

Newer springs are really quite a bit softer than aged springs, and you can adjust the clutch cable to be extra sensitive requiring less release.

Assuming your ring finger is your left hand.

[snowflake]

Lean to use only 2 fingers on the clutch... shorten the clutch lever and it should be ok... happy healing... Get back on the bike fast...

I seldom use more than 2 fingers to clutch, just keeping my other fingers on the outside of the lever, I can't see the problem... practice alot before you go riding though...

[VocalNeal]

Learn to use only 2 fingers on the clutch.

Unless you ride a Ducati

Another last ditch solution would be a hydraulic clutch conversion to lessen the lever pull. Many offered on-line.

Edited December 21, 2011 by VocalNeal

[Travelmate]

change to a foot clutch )

[flying]

Agree with those who mentioned rehab...ie Tennis balls etc.

A few other good ones is to take a whole newspaper & separate the pages.

Lay them one page at a time on a table......

Then crush each into a small ball one page at a time with the hand that needs work.

You will be surprised how much work that is.

Also a small weight on a short broom handle connected by a rope 2-3' long.in the middle of the handle

Wind it up using both hands then wind it down repeat...

You never said if it was your right or left hand?

But if left...

As for the clutch...truth is you dont need it once rolling on most bikes.

Just momentarily back off the throttle & click into the next gear.

Done smoothly you will not notice any difference & no harm to engine

If right should be no problem with throttle

Your injury is finger only so should not be a big problem.

If you have a high vibration bike maybe a little padding via a good glove or some additional tape on the bar grip of your bad side.

Edited December 23, 2011 by flying

[Hili]

Thanks everybody for the tips, actually its my right hand and the fingers are fine the problem is due to the middle hand bone is broken; as soon i 'grab' something eg handlebars its hurt like hell.

Anyway at the moment the hand is railed, but as many of you suggested as soon the rail is gone i will train the hand with a tennis ball etc.

Hope it will work out fine, thanks again.

[KRS1]

You may want to consider installing a thumb throttle from an ATV, will definately relieve any twisting pressure from your hand.

I'd also experiment with adjusting the handle stems more inwards or more outwards if possible, and generally mess around with seating position, height and adjust rake by raising or lowering the triple clamps.

[nikster]

FWIW I had a broken middle hand bone when I was a kid - easy recovery and no issues.

Even though your injury sounds quite a bit worse with the screws - hmm.... why are there screws?? - recovery from broken bones is generally 100%. Unless you smashed your bone to bits.

Make sure to get the screws out as soon as possible and make sure to seek out the best medical care you can find. Quality of the treatment can make a pretty big difference, especially when it's not some run of the mill broken bone.