Me VS Shoddy german engineering

[Zaii]

The day after christmas I was struck by a vehicle while walking alongside the road. My head slammed into the windshield and my arm was damaged on the grill/hood and in the subsequent 15 or so feet the car flung me. My buddy who was walking with me was clipped by the car and lost some teeth in taking a spill but other than that is doing well.

I've been told by multiple health care professionals that I'm lucky to be alive. The only solution that's been posed so far was great bone density. Whether it was bone density, a fluke of physics, a miracle, or the obvious, Cthulu - I'm thankful my life didn't end under a guard rail.

My left arm was fractured in 6 places, one of which protruded through the skin. I will be wearing a cast for 3 months, and participating in therapy for an undetermined amount of time. Other than that, the only other lasting injury is some tissue damage in my right knee that's getting further inspection this week. I fucked up the car more than it did me so I'm chalking this one up as a win.




article - http://www.winchesterstar.com/TheWin...Area_stuck.asp


I have been told by one physician that my injury is "bad", and depending on how the therapy goes, I may never restore my arm to being fully functioning. They were first shocked that I lived, then shocked that after surgery I could move all my fingers, clench my fist, etc. Honestly I feel pretty good for having been hit by a car.

Frankly I don't accept the diagnosis that my arm will never be 100% again as fact, since it is after all just one opinion. I'm determined on getting the health of my arm back, and won't accept less. I've already got a second opinion that looks good and am consulting actual professionals with the below questions, but thought it couldn't hurt to ask for opinions around here as well.


My questions are these:
-What do I need to be eating/supplementing to help the healing process? I don't eat junk food anyway as it is but what are some specifics I should be shooting for? I know vitamin D and calcium are key, for example.

-Are there any foods I should avoid right now, and if so, what and why?

-Are there any particular theraputic processes for broken limbs anyone can recommend from experience? So far someone has mentioned some sort of sonic treatment to me but I don't know all the details yet.

-Can anyone here testify to "beating their diagnosis"? I've found a few success stories thus far and am always interested in more

Thanks a ton in advance. Safe travels folks.

[Judah Maccabee]

My first question is: What has your second opinion doctor said in response to these questions, asides from "UR ARM IS FUKKED, D00D" ??

I can ask an acquaintence of mine how he recovered from a car crash to get back into TKD, cause his was pretty serious, too. On top of that, his family was very unsupportive of him getting back into martial arts, which messed with his head a little bit because it was one of the few things he was really passionate about. Hopefully, your family doesn't do the same.

There's things I've heard about anti-inflammatory diets and what-not which apparently help make your body healthier, but I know little about them.

Good luck in your recovery.

[Flash Jackson]

In many studies, people who emphasized leg work in their training programs gained more upper body mass than those who emphasized upper body work. These subjects did do upper body work, but didn't go overboard on the emphasis, instead employing a 3 to 1 exercise emphasis. Like Squats, lunges, and split jumps, or something. Be sure to remain functional. This is caused by the legs being some of the largest muscles in the body, therefore working them causes more growth hormone release than other muscles, especially since the body considers them so essential, you do use them all day every day.

I can't remember where I read the study, so I can't post links, but it makes sense. Look at Tom Platz, or any record holder in the squat. They're huge all over, not just their legs. Use your good arm and do full body lifts like swings and snatches if your able, and if there's nothing else you can do, there's always machines. Anything better than nothing if you can still train. Take it easy.

[bob]

In order

- Fresh fruit and veges, especially vitamin C are best for bone healing

- just avoid what you normally should but remember to account for your decreased activity levels when working out how much you should eat.

- if you're talking fancy machines - it's all crap I'm afraid. Just be patient, do what you're told and your body will take care of the rest.

- don't pay too much attention to what the doc said. They always give you the worst case scenario, so it's not necessarily a diagnosis.

The most important point is probably where the fractures were. If they were all in the shaft of the humerus, you're sailing. (ie. the long part of your arm bone) fractures involving the joints - either the elbow or the shoulder - are more complicated but not necessarily disastrous. It's hard to be more specific without a clearer picture of your injuries.

As was alluded to, there is a phenomenom called crossover or cross-transference, where the injured limb is strengthened by exercising the opposite limb. Here's a link for you...

http://umanitoba.fitdv.com/new/artic...html?artid=668

Good luck

[Zaii]

In the beginning the doc said I was going to be in a hard cast for three months. I went back two weeks later, and they said I would only have to spend a month in one. Two weeks later when I went back to actually get the cast, they said my arm was healing so fast I could skip a hard cast altogether and go with an adjustable brace.

As of last week I finally got the ability to move all my fingers fluidly and clench a comfortable fist back, after religiously doing these hand exercises every chance I got.

I've also got complete shoulder mobility but my arm shrunk to the size of a cancer patients so it's hard to do too much with it as of right now.

My elbow is the slowest progress obviously because it got pretty trashed in the crash but I can move it again and I'm getting a bigger range of motion every other day or so.

Right now I'm focusing mainly on working strength back into my forearm so I can pick up more than a teapot. Anybody have opinions on forearm curls?

Thanks everybody for the advice. I'll post again when I get the verdict from the therapist on training.

[poet]

Damn long way to go but sounds like you are doing better than expected.
Good luck and keep it up.

[meng_mao]

Try lifting weights in your garage to see if you can max out the barbell. And then hang paint buckets on the sides after that. You might just be unbreakable.

Kidding aside, congrats on an amazing recovery. Being a brain sort of guy, I suggest you take some time to sit still, and think about using your broken arm. Visualize yourself articulating the arm in various ways, so that your brain stays active and keeps the neurons jumping. Of course, no guarantee that this'll help you gain back any lost nerve paths to your muscles down there.

[BSDaemon]

As an owner, I can attest to the shoddy engineering of the Volkswagen Jetta.

I'm glad that the car got more fucked up than you did. Godspeed in your recovery.

[Epicurus]

My advice is to be extra cautious about putting any strain on portions of your arm where there were breaks. My only real bone injury is my ribcage, which after being given ample time to heal re-broke when I went back to sub grappling and is now taking twice as long to heal.

Rehabilitation is great, but I strongly advise you to be ultra-conservative when adding weight to your lifts with your injured arm. Take it slow, and try focusing on working the rest of your body since that's going to be pretty much 100% safe.

Above all, good luck with your recovery, all the best, I hope to see you RNCing yellow bamboo masters soon!

[elipson]

Don't go to hard on thelimb that broke. Bones take 4-6 weeks to heal regardless of what you do (joint breaks complicate things). Lots of vitamin C, Iron and calcium (mmm spinach). Going hard on the bone before its fully healed will just set you back.