Just got my 125m cranks in for my Nimbus II 26" - was pretty excited to try them out and was waiting out the rain over last 24 hours.
Finally got out and all was going well - just learning freemounts… can get on, but takes me 1-10 tries each time.
So, on one freemount I end up hopping off and come down on my right foot bad which causes it to roll. I tried to walk it off, but it was pretty tender. Actually ended up freemounting back on to the unicycle since I was about 200 yds from home and it was less painful to ride the UNI back vs trying to walk / hop.
So - for those of you who have had foot injuries - I have looked it up online and it seems to be a mid-foot issue which can range all the way from stretched tendons up to broken bones.
I’m hopeful this is the most minor of injuries since I have minor swelling and no bruising 18 hours after the injury. The pain is on the top of my foot - above the arch on the outer edge. It hurts to put weight on it so I’m trying to take it easy and only hop around when needed.
I have been putting ice on it. If it gets worse I will go see a doctor for x-rays.
DANG - now I have to hand up my UNI for a few weeks - that sucks!
That has happened to me a few times coming down hard or off of a bad freemount. For me though normally within a day or two it was fine and I was back riding again.
It has happened a few times when I was a bit far from home and yeah it was easier for me to ride home than walk on my ankle.
Sorry to hear about that, wfcentral! My worst unicycle-related injury happened during my first summer of riding, after putting my unicycle away in my storage shed, when I stepped down and almost-but-not-quite missed the paver stone on the grass outside. Ouch! It two or even three weeks before it was close to normal again.
Tendons and ligaments are connective tissue without much bloodflow or metabolic activity and they need time to get better. Ice is great and an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen seems good for keeping mobility and enabling gentle exercise to get some blood flowing through the area. I hope you’re back at it soon, but another hit while it’s still healing might be a bigger setback so I wouldn’t rush it.
It sounds like you’re at a point where a little break wouldn’t be a show-stopper. I used some of the time to study unicycle skills I wanted to learn and to scheme up future unicycle purchases and projects, kept my head in the game, and was raring to go again when my foot was ready.
Please be patient and give it time to heal. I injured my ankle ligaments and/or tendons about 2 years ago in a non-uni accident, never let it heal properly, and I’m still paying for it now. I can’t take a hard UPD onto the ankle without causing excruciating pain. I’m still not riding anything bigger than my 26" for fear of ripping it apart totally. I’m too immature to take the whole summer off riding to destress it totally.
Patience, patience, patience. (What I don’t have.)
when i was learning to jump i fell off and my foot rolled couldnt walk on it pain was horrible if i stepped on anything uneven , physio told me to do alot of stretches ,when you stretch it hurts. but if you just leave it you will lose movement in foot.
I had a few sprained ankles myself. I had one similar to yours a while ago (landing badly on my foot) and if it is not really swollen it should go away in few days. When it is properly sprained it does take much longer to heal (really swollen and you need to take painkillers because it hurst so much when resting your feet up). I found that if the swelling is not very noticeable I would be back on the unicycle quite quickly (few days, it might hurt a bit here and there) whilst it would take longer (weeks) for the pain to totally disappear when walking.
Sorry about your injury. The annoying thing is that usually, in my case, I tend to get injuries when doing something really simple rather than when trying to do something more risky!. Probably for not paying enough attention…I don’t really do anything extreme yet (then I probably would get plenty of injuries…)
just got back from the doctor. X-rays confirmed that I fractured the 5th metatarsal on my right foot. So, now I am wearing a boot for 4 weeks.
The doctor said this is the most common bone to fracture/break in the foot. Luckily it is not a break - just a fracture that starts on outside of bone and quickly turns “with the grain” before breaking all the way through to the other side.
Google “Jones fracture” for 5th metatarsal horror stories. They can take a lot longer than 4 weeks to heal, for the unlucky. I hope you’re lucky. Wear your boot.
I’ve had many sprained ankles of various degrees but never such a fracture. I guess the good news is that long term it should heal up pretty well, whereas a bad sprain can remain weak for many years (I had a recurring sprained ankle years ago that finally went away after about 2 years).
Were you wearing beefy/protective shoes like 5.10s? Wish you a strong and fast recovery so you can continue learning
no, I was wearing VANS. Makes me wish I had 5.10s.
I would like to get some, but my feet are such an odd size I would need to try them on before buying… I have shoes in my closet ranging from 11.5 to 13 depending on dress shoe, loafer, tennis shoe… seems like each brand has a different understanding of size…
Might I suggest Zappos.com. Free shipping both ways. I personally have the FiveTen Karvers. I’m on my second pair. This pair looks good as well. Hope you make a quick recovery.
+1 for Five Tens. I rode for a couple years on others, but now that I have a pair I really like them. (I’m using Impact Low, worn with a pair of ankle braces – another sprained ankle vet.) Even within the Five Ten models, the sizing is all over the map, so expect to try a pair and return them for a different size. (I recommend starting out with a half size larger than your normal size.)
Good luck!
UPDATE: went to doctor two days ago for follow-up x-ray. This is my primary physician. The first person I saw was a Nurse Practitioner who handles walk-ins.
Anyway - they showed me the x-ray taken July 6 and I was in shock. Looked pretty scary. I told them it was far worse than when I came in. They pulled up the x-ray from when I visited June 15 and it looked pretty much the same. So, it looks like either the first guy somehow got the wrong x-ray OR I don’t remember it as well. NOTE: take photos of your medical stuff with your phone for your own journal.
Anyway - the doctor said it is healing fine, but I am still in the boot for AT LEAST two more weeks + another follow up x-ray in 2 weeks. He told me it is a spiral fracture caused by the toes twisting while the back of the bone did not move - he said “imagine twisting a chicken bone until it starts to crack.”
QUESTION FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BROKEN STUFF
Since this is my first fracture / broken bone - when this is completely healed will I be able to go back to riding Unicycle okay - or is this going to be like a weakened part of my body forever that I need to be mindful of so I don’t re-break it worse?
I’m also sure that dropping some weight (I’m 220 lb / 6 ft) and wearing ankle support would go a long way in avoiding future injuries.
As a bone heals it develops a build up of calcium around the fracture. This means that the bone will become thicker in the fractured area. It’s usually not a problem except in a confined area where the bones are close together, e.g. the ankle or wrist.
If it’s a twisted fracture just check that the bones have been properly straightened in so far as it’s possible (ask your doctor about this).
Over the years I’ve broken a rib, arm, leg, and my hand. I have full movement and no pain or discomfort, so I think you should fully recover if you follow the doctor’s orders.
Make sure your getting enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet.
I feel your pain. I’m grounded for a few weeks as well because of a neck/back injury I got from a car accident last summer. I just got the news today that I have to start physical therapy again, & I’ve been in way too much pain to ride the past few days. No Seattle munifest this year I guess, & my uni bag for the plane just came in yesterday! Comically bad timing.
