Scooters and u-turns are death traps

[Changnoi1]

Well nobody died but after riding 4 years about 50.000 km in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia I did collide with a scooter while riding on route 12.

End result a broken shoulder (humerus), an almost 3 hrs operation in Samitivej in BKK and the physical therapy for the next 2 to 3 months.

It is now 3 weeks ago, my right arm is still mostly like a useless piece of meat.

See http://changnoi1.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-almost-life-changing-early-sunday.html

Anyone has personal experience with something like this and what to expect?

 

[Poompui]

I haven't had exactly the same injury you received,but had a lot of shoulder fractures and a bad dislocation when hit by a car at an intersection here in Australia 17 years ago.I strongly recommend you do ALL the exercises your physio gives you,even though they can hurt a lot.
I was a bit(ok...lot) slack in doing mine,and now have limited mobility and occasional sharp pains in my left shoulder as a consequence.
Good luck,you should regain the strength and mobility in your arm,but it will take time and alot of hard work.

Changnoi1;299489 wrote: Well nobody died but after riding 4 years about 50.000 km in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia I did collide with a scooter while riding on route 12.

End result a broken shoulder (humerus), an almost 3 hrs operation in Samitivej in BKK and the physical therapy for the next 2 to 3 months.

It is now 3 weeks ago, my right arm is still mostly like a useless piece of meat.

See http://changnoi1.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-almost-life-changing-early-sunday.html

Anyone has personal experience with something like this and what to expect?

 

[DavidFL]

Go see Dr Sudhee in Chiang Mai.

Power On. sent from Sony Xperia AcroS

 

[nikster]

Heard from another rider, though not sure about his name anymore - he'd hurt his shoulder in a bad bike crash, went through all the normal things, and still was in lots of pain and limited movement years later. Then he somehow got treated by a shaman in a Lao village and made a full recovery.

I don't believe in magic. But I believe there's an almost infinite amount of knowledge out there that we don't yet have.

You might look into alternate treating methods. I know I would.

 

[Changnoi1]

Update 9 weeks after the accident

I am still in recovering mode, bone has been healing well (the head of my right humerus did break off and did break in 4 pieces). But muscles and some tendons are not cooperating like they should. Due to compensating movements the muscles around my scapular bone are getting a bit stiff & soar.

Soon for sale : Kawasaki Z250 with only 2209 km. After minor repair (fairings a bit damaged) the bike is in new condition.

 

[DavidFL]

Changnoi1
Thanks for the update & sorry to hear it's taking time & is not going as well as hoped.
Mine might have been similar & it took awhile, but yeah I'm no longer able to lift my arm fully as you might have noticed.

https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/showthread.php/27339-Finally-Did-It

https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorcycle-forum/showthread.php/27348-Hongsa-Elephant-STUFF-UP!

Sudhee said when it is so badly broken & the humerus fuses together again that the shape is no longer the same, but the muscles still try to pull the same way as before, so they aren't quite pulling your arm properly.
It was / is a bloody nuisance, but in the end I considered myself lucky - I've still got an arm & can ride.
Get well soon man & good luck.

 

[Changnoi1]

Thanks David, I heard about your accident from a long time good friend.

Never thought about the change of shape of the head of the humerus, will ask about that next week when there will be another x-ray taken for check-up.

Well as I made the accident on the highway and with reasonable speed I consider me lucky to be alive and only be injured at my shoulder.

 

[feejer]

Sorry to hear of your shoulder injury, they are painful and slow to heal for sure. I had an off several years ago that was just an AC joint sprain, with no fracture. That alone took 2 months to feel somewhat normal again. 4 years later and it still clicks when I raise my arm but it will go all the way up without pain, so lucky for that. That Hwy 12 can be bad news. Never rode on it, but driving to Phu Kradueng almost took me out with a truck doing a u-turn as you describe. Barely missed me. Just keep up the PT the best you can and it will get better, good news is that the bone has healed well, now just have to retrain the soft tissues again. They are stubborn!

 

[monsterman]

i injured my shoulder in a work related working at height 118m accident in 1998 it still give me problems , and i recently aggrivated it in Dubai in january with a serious fall ,,, but the physio found additional problems in my neck which had been overlooked previosly and when they were manipulated my whole shoulder felt better ,, its never going to be perfect and I will probably require care for years but everything does still work .so keep on it lads

 

[Changnoi1]

Another update : Now about 11 weeks after the accident (I stopped counting).
Since about 10 days a strong improvement started. Less pain, better sleeping, better feeling. As of that more exercise to improve power of motion ... and that works. A few weeks ago I could barely move my arm, now I can even move a 1.2kg weight. Must say I can still not make torsion in my shoulder and can still not lift my arm myself above the shoulder. The sweet fysio girl can lift me arm up-to 120 degree ... still 60 to go.

But hell muscles and soft tissue are indeed stubborn! But well I can drive a car again, so that give me a bit feeling of freedom! Might even try the bike this week hahaha.

 

[DavidFL]

You can do it. It just takes time & patience. Keep the power on.

Power On. sent from Sony Xperia AcroS

 

[brian_bkk]

Changnoi1;300724 wrote: Another update : Now about 11 weeks after the accident (I stopped counting).
Since about 10 days a strong improvement started. Less pain, better sleeping, better feeling. As of that more exercise to improve power of motion ... and that works. A few weeks ago I could barely move my arm, now I can even move a 1.2kg weight. Must say I can still not make torsion in my shoulder and can still not lift my arm myself above the shoulder. The sweet fysio girl can lift me arm up-to 120 degree ... still 60 to go.

But hell muscles and soft tissue are indeed stubborn! But well I can drive a car again, so that give me a bit feeling of freedom! Might even try the bike this week hahaha.

Good to hear you are on the mend and sounding a lot more happy.

Speedy recovery.

Cheers
Brian

 

[Changnoi1]

Update after 3 months and also the last update
Although the use of my shoulder is still not the way it was before the accident, it is now in a acceptable way. I can more or less live a normal life again. And there seems still to be progress. I can drive my car and last week I did even ride bicycle again! And I did even ride my wifes scooter yesterday.

Although I saw the doctor yesterday and he thinks that the capsule has become to thick and that it is limiting the movement of my arm. He recommend that if this not improves in the next 3 months that I should do a "small" surgery to make a small cut in the capsule to give my arm more movement. I also did learn some new ways of exercise, a bit painful but effective.

I still think that real normal use (as far as possible) of my shoulder & arm will take another 3 to 6 months. And I think my right shoulder will always be a part with some problems and less range of motion for the rest of my life. I assume that I will need to do extra exercise for my right shoulder for at least 1 year and maybe much longer.

Lessons learned of humiliation from my body telling me "For 50 years you took for granted that all works almost 100% like it should be. But now you have to do something to get it back and keep it that way!"

And lessons learned of deep respect for people who have much more bodily harm (by accident or birth) as me but are able to live a happy life.

 

[nikster]

If you believe you'll never recover your arm movement fully than that is going to be true.

I believe no matter what your injury is, as long as you're not dead you can make a full recovery. Your body is not mechanical, it's a process that keeps going on and that keeps changing constantly. It's obvious this is the case if you think about it. Every single cell in your body is replaced every couple of weeks.

So go and make a full recovery, and no excuses. If the doctors that you were consulting can't make it happen, look for other doctors.

I know this is a bit rude, but man, your shoulder is worth some rudeness. I'd call this a classic example of a limiting belief.

And also I am very well aware that western doctors and hospitals have very litte interest and very little experience when it comes to full recoveries. They're really good kinda fixing you up, and preventing you from dying. But if a Doctor in a hospital sees you coming in and complain that you can't move your arm all the way, all they will think about is all the other patients that come in with life-threatening or crippling injuries. If you're not bleeding to death in front of them you'll not get their attention. I think that's perfectly understandable - but don't go there to seek help for these kinds of problems.

Cheers

 

[nikster]

I want to add this link to back up my claim: A former WWF wrestler made his own version of Yoga, helping other ex-Wrestlers recover (and also selling the package of course, this is America after all)

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/17/magazine/the-rise-of-beefcake-yoga.html

Now think about this: A WWF Wrester's body is pretty much wrecked when his career is over, especially in the old days when these guys were doing it. Even "stretching" was a novel term for them, and mostly they just tried to get as buff as possible, heavy steroid use, and for the pain after they used painkillers.

If a former WWF wrestler can make a full recovery, so can you. Start with Yoga, but really all sorts of alternative methods work pretty well.

There's also that viral YouTube video of a Gulf War veteran who had stepped on a bomb in Iraq, was sent home, spinal injury, got crutches and a disabled pension. Doctors told him he would never walk again. He got depressed and nearly died at home, severely overweight too since he wasn't able to move. Then he started an intensive Yoga program, after a month he lost the crutches, and now he's running around and doing handstands.

Are these people magical? Are these miracles? Is Yoga some sort of magical cure for everything? No - it's your body which is capable of recovery. Everyone has such a body, you don't need to be special. Go find the cure that works for you.

I believe it was a GT rider who told me about that shaman in Laos who fixed his shoulder.... whatever works!

 

[TonyBKK]

nikster;301052 wrote:

There's also that viral YouTube video of a Gulf War veteran who had stepped on a bomb in Iraq, was sent home, spinal injury, got crutches and a disabled pension. Doctors told him he would never walk again. He got depressed and nearly died at home, severely overweight too since he wasn't able to move. Then he started an intensive Yoga program, after a month he lost the crutches, and now he's running around and doing handstands.

I think you might be referring to Arthur? Such an amazing story of determination, courage and rebirth it deserves to be shared here and passed on to anyone looking for a little inspiration: