Mountain Biking – Stay Safe

I’m into mountain biking (in a big way) and have just about got back in the saddle following a pretty bad fall at the back end of last year.

I broke my femur, which left me immobilized and in pain for months. I was lucky in that a few bits of metal and two operations put me back on the path to recovery – I know some that have smashed their thing so bad they’ve had to be pieced back together, and spent months and months laid up in hospital.

Anyway, that’s the biggest reason why you need to apply a little safety awareness if you’re a lover of sports, extreme or otherwise. Ok, I wouldn’t call mountain biking extreme, more rugged and active but believe me … falling off and smashing your femur is pretty extreme in the grand scheme of things. And did I mention the pain?!

Happily, as I said before, the right medical attention made all the difference. As did the rehab stuff after. Initially I struggled to walk. Not because I couldn’t, rather because my muscles had gone on my legs (too much lying around) and I had to rebuild them. Funny but I expanded my waistline through inactivity, yet experienced a fair degree of muscle wastage.

Anyway I had EMS (electrical muscle stimulation) in hospital, which was something I could do at home once I got a portable EMS unit. In case you don’t realize what they are, I’ll say two words: ab belt. Everyone’s heard of them and that’s (pretty much) what the machines are. They deliver electrical stimulation to targeted muscle groups.

I had to use EMS as part of my physio. I needed to stimulate tone and strength in my leg muscles in order to get back on my feet. Literally. It’s painless, and progressive providing you follow the routine correctly, and enabled me to start exercising and using the muscles as nature intended. For the record, EMS works, and if you need it for medical or fitness purposes, you can read more about them (review wise) if you click here.

Moving on from the pain and hard work, I’m about back to my old self, only now I’m a lot more conscious of how much it can hurt when you connect with the ground. I also make sure that my cell phone is fully charged, as last time I was almost out of battery and real lucky I had enough juice to call for help. In case you need reminding of the level of safety etc that you need to observe as a mountain biker, go here.

Otherwise enjoy the ride … and stay safe!

Tags: cycling safety, cycling sports, mountain biking

Category: mountain biking