You will find yourself on the ground with less skin than you had moments earlier. Tarmac, gravel and trail can all take their toll on our skin and the silly lycra we wear does little to avert injury.Īt some point it will happen to you. Hitting the ground while riding your bike is one of the worst aspects of a great sport. He has a particular interest in wound care in outdoor settings, and enjoys riding steel bicycles with rim brakes while exploring the rural roads west of his home city. David is a registered nurse from Philadelphia, USA with a clinical background in critical care nursing, emergency medical services, and wilderness medicine. VeloClub member David Maver prepared this guide for post-crash treatment.
#Care for road rash pro
“Get a pro opinion unless it’s completely clear that you’re okay,” he said.Road rash is close to an inevitability for cyclists – but while it might ruin your day, with appropriate treatment you will soon be back in the saddle and on your way to recovery. Even if no bones are obviously broken, the doctor suggests erring on the side of caution. Not sure when to seek medical help? Steffen says that if you lost consciousness or have memory loss, get checked right away at an urgent-care center or emergency room. If your crash is severe enough that it requires medical treatment, and you are worried about getting enough sleep, it’s not unreasonable to request a prescription. When painful injuries make sleeping difficult, the team doctor will prescribe a codeine-type medication to help reduce the discomfort. “For everything from upper respiratory infections to abrasions, I refer riders to the magical restorative powers of sleep,” Steffen says.
#Care for road rash full
The easiest thing you can do to speed recovery is get a full night’s sleep. Steffen also says that an easy hour spin works well because it increases blood flow and gently works the muscles. “But keeping bandages and ointment on prolongs the situation.”Īvoid massaging abrasions and contusions for the first three to four days after a crash, but after that, light rubbing can help flush out a bruise. “Yes, it’s less painful to keep it wet,” he says. Translation: When your wound is healed enough that you can sleep without smearing blood on your sheets, leave off the bandage.Įven though some racers prefer to cover scrapes with material like Tegaderm, Steffen cautions that this inhibits the natural healing process. “Once the wound is just a little moist, leave it exposed and let it dry overnight,” he explains. Initially, when road rash is still oozing, he’ll apply a thin layer of triple-antibiotic ointment and then wrap it in non-adhesive gauze. Steffen urges riders to let wounds dry and scab as quickly as possible. “That’s barbaric, sadomasochistic, and unnecessary 99 percent of the time.” Instead, for best road rash treatment, he tells riders to shower and gently clean their wound with soap and a washcloth. “There’s a myth that you need to really scrub road rash,” Steffen says. When it’s time to clean road rash, go easy. If you’re unsure, have an X-ray taken to rule out major damage. And if you’ve never broken anything before, the fracture will create a painful new sensation. If you or the injured rider has previously broken a bone, you’ll likely recognize the feeling. Finally he squeezes the rider’s stomach to rule out the rare but potentially fatal ruptured spleen or liver.Īfter running through the essentials, Steffen checks for broken bones.
“If you can breathe without discomfort, you’ve ruled out broken ribs, bruised lungs, and a collapsed lung,” he said. Moving down to the cyclist’s chest, Steffen asks him to take a deep breath. Next, he asks a rider to turn his head, checking for neck or spine pain. Memory loss, and especially loss of consciousness, can indicate a potentially serious head injury. Steffen asks his racers if they remember tumbling to the ground. If you or a riding partner go down, start your field examination at the head. “When I see a guy down, I do the quick head, neck, chest, and abdomen check,” he said. Steffen runs through a quick checklist to decide whether a rider should continue, drop out, or receive emergency care. Here is his best advice for treating your own wounds should you hit the deck. Every season, Steffen and his staff treat dozens of serious crashes. Now, he works as the emergency physician and chief medical officer for Slipstream Sports, which manages the Garmin-Sharp team.
Prentice Steffen began working with cyclists when he was a medical student in the ’80s.
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