Injured working on a bike?
We all talk about injuries that come about from riding -- bike fit problems, overuse injuries or worst case, even accidents. But have you ever injured yourself working on a bike?
I was trying to remove a pedal from my bike and I could not get it to budge. The pedal needed an 8mm allen wrench rather than a pedal wrench. I didn't have an allen wrench in that size, but I did have an 8mm male allen socket that I attached to a socket wrench. Making sure I was turning the wrench in the right direction I gave it a mighty tug. Nothing. Tried again, even harder. Nothing. Now imagine, I'm leaning over the bike, holding the socket wrench in one hand and holding the other pedal in the other hand. Third attempt, I gave it everything I had, only to hear a pop and then immediate pain. I thought worst-case, I'd torn a muscle. But actually I think the noise I heard was a rib breaking. I've had broken ribs before (coincidentally from a bike accident) and remember the pain -- hurts to breathe deeply, painful to cough, excruciating pain to sneeze. After 24 hours of rest and some Advil, the pain has lessened. I guess it could have been a muscle or ligament tear, but my bet is a rib. If the pain doesn't let up or gets worse I'll go get an x-ray.
Between this latest injury and a riding injury to a pelvis muscle (obturator internus, diagnosed by a PT, if you're curious) it's been a tough summer. I'm off the bike for a month to recover and not happy at all. This rib injury makes my rehab from the pelvis issue all the more challenging because the core of my pelvis rehab is isometric exercises, which are incompatible with rib injuries.