I had a pretty bad fall today while practicing WW-ing. Everone told me I should “lean back more”, so I did, and if I may paraphrase a recent post; the uni shot out from under me like a watermellon seed! Wow, it happened soooo fast I didn’t have time to react and fell pretty much directly on my left elbow! Funny thing is, (well not really “funny” funny; more like really STUPID!) I had just come from the park trying WW, but still falling FORWARD, so when I got home I decided to resume practice, (After having just removed my elbow pads, because I was going to call it quits for the day) but then left every else on; t2’s, shin, knee, wrist, helmut, gloves…all but what I NEEDED in the fall! Man that is a real hazard in learning to WW!
I wear:
Helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, knee pads, and… don’t laugh…okay you can laugh, I really don’t care… my kayaking vest. It pads my back when I land on it.
Thanks. Yeah, it was very jarring and for a split second I felt the impact course through my whole body and skull! Weird and scary.Well, I’m gonna go hold it under cold water 'cause it’s pretty swollen…looks like a golf ball is under my skin!
Here’s the two-elbow comparison! Can you guess which one was injured?? (lol!)The pain is really setting in now; I hope it’s not broken, but I think it’s probably just badly bruised. OUCH!
Luckily, I do have full range of motion, and no “grinding” feeling, so I don’t think it’s broken, but just swollen. But I could be wrong…I’ll see how it feels tomorrow. Another lucky thing, it’s not my “tuning” hand! (I’m a piano tuner)
Wow, Terry, that’s ugly. You still have your sense of humor. That’s a hematoma, I think. I had one a few years ago on my forearm from falling off my MUni onto a rock. It goes down in a week or so. Take some motrin and take it easy. That sent me to buying arm guards.
When I was learning to WW, which took me 7 months, I often wore wrist guards, tho never a helmet or any other gear. Leaning back is important, tho it’s counter-intuitive, so when you fall, it tends to be awkward. But… I learned to “reach” for the ground with whichever hand was closer to it, and since the wrist guard took most of the punishment, I always came out ok. The two times I hurt myself came after i’d learned (but not mastered) WWing. In both cases, I slipped, got my feet caught on the same side of the wheel, and nearly broke my wrist. I never came close to hurting an elbow (in fact, I’ve never so much as scraped an elbow in 26 years of riding). Weird.
There is a fluid sack in your elbow called your bursa that become inflamed if you hit it real hard. There can be complications, so watch it. I hurt mine real bad in highschool (diving while playing ping-pong) and it took almost a month for it to go down. It hurt REALLY bad for awhile.
All this talk about leaning back while ww – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now, I really don’t think that the rider should lean back. This excessive leaning back is what causes the nasty falls from ww.
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That’s a hematoma, I think. I had one a few years ago on my forearm from falling off my MUni onto a rock. It goes down in a week or so. Take some motrin and take it easy. That sent me to buying arm guards.
