“I LOVE TO RIDE MY BICYCLE, I LOVE TO RIDE MY BIKE”

Even if you don’t recognize the lyrics above from the song, “Bicycle Race” by Queen, if you love riding, you understand and live those words. Bicycles are fantastic. While riding our bikes for our daily commute, we get a great work out, are able to enjoy the scenic route, and we are being super green. Environmentalism is totally in right now, so that makes us hip too! There are so many great perks to riding our bikes, but there is one obvious and painful pitfall: Injuries.

The chain scoots its way off track, we swerve to avoid the proverbial mad squirrel dash (oh yes, those little guys don’t just dart in front of cars and taxis!), and sometimes, despite our best safety efforts, we hit that bump in the road that can’t be avoided, resulting in debilitating injuries.

A BICYCLE COMMUTE GONE WRONG

Unfortunately, every day bike commuters have either experienced or seen a bike accident that has, or could have, resulted in an injury. According to the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), in 2012 there were 3,882 bicyclist injuries citywide.

Just recently, a good friend sustained a very serious injury when he was riding his own bicycle to work. It was raining, with puddles everywhere, and he accidentally ran right into a pothole, which was masked as a harmless puddle. This caused him to momentarily fly off the bike, hit the pavement, and his shoulder took the fall. It was not pretty – his shoulder had a brand new and very unnatural looking bulge. He had sustained an AC Joint Separation.

SHOULDER INJURIES ARE NOT THE END OF YOUR WORLD

There are a couple of good pieces of news to point out here. One is that, with the prevalence of safety lanes and such, the rate of bicycle crashes has gone down significantly, with no deaths, and mostly only minor injuries reported. In addition, with the advent of Bike Sharing in NYC, fatalities have been dramatically decreased.

Another great piece of news, is that in the event a bike commuter were to sustain a more serious injury, such as an AC Joint Separation, like my friend did, there is help! Dr. Steven Struhl, Orthopedic Surgeon, located in NYC, offers one of the best chances for full recovery, thanks to his patented surgical technique.

SHOULDER SEPARATION SYMPTOMS INCLUDE

  • Pain at the moment the injury occurs.
  • Limited movement in the shoulder area (because of pain, not weakness).
  • Swelling and bruising.
  • Tenderness over the AC joint on top of the shoulder.
  • Possible deformity. The outer end of the collarbone may look out of place, or there may be a bump on top of the shoulder
  • Initially, the primary symptoms of this injury are pain, deformity, and weakness.

FIND DR. STEVEN STRUHL IN NEW YORK

In the unfortunate case that you, or someone you know sustains a shoulder injury during his or her daily bicycle commutes, be sure to remember Dr. Steven Struhl, Orthopedic Surgeon in New York. It’ll be worth the trip. Now go enjoy some fresh air, watch out for potholes disguised as harmless puddles, and happy bicycling!

Posted on behalf of Steven Struhl MD