Resuming bicycling after OHS - sternum healing

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Dan Zulu

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 16, 2014
Messages
46
Location
California
Hi, I've found some prior forum posts by Googling this topic but many are vague and not very helpful. I'd like to know how soon any of you returned to bicycling, what type of terrain you rode on, and how your sternum felt while riding. Did you switch to larger tires or a more upright position?
 
I resumed bicycling about 3 months after my OHS. I could have started earlier as I resumed swimming a couple weeks earlier. I had no issues at all with my sternum from riding and made no changes to my riding position. I ride on streets and since OHS I have avoided steep hills based on the advise from my Dr's not to exercise too hard because of the potential risk for another aneurysm.
 
Hi Dan

I got back in the saddle when the surgeon said my chest was now healed, which was about 9 weeks. I then cycled around my streets which are mildly hilly. I felt a bit weak and it wasn't for a few more months that I was comfortable cycling greater distances (more than 5km). I was riding my motor bike to work from about the same time, but the wind pressure on the jacket made my wound feel irritated. Actually my wound is still not something I felt as comfortable about before the surgery (there was a scar there from the previous surgery in 1992).

my advice is that if you feel comfortable then do it. If it feels like you're pushing past what you feel right, then that's the best indicator.

steps forward, no slips back caused by too big a stride I say.
 
I was back on the bike at roughly 2 1/2 months. I've been keeping to fairly short rides of about 10 to 15 miles. This is mainly due to it being a road bike and my position results in my chest getting sore.
 
I had surgery May 20th this year. I was riding my mtb (on the road) 4 weeks after surgery. Just a short 30 minute ride. I did this every other day. I chose my mtb because of the comfort compaired with my road bike.
One week later I rode the bike for 45 minutes. Ofcourse my sternum was not completely healed at that time, but I rode my mtb on flat tarmac roads. Sometimes, on small bumps I could feel my sternum, but never a big deal.
I must say that I have had a mini AVR and the scar is only 3 inches long. There is a picture of it somewhere here in one of the topics.
After 7 weeks post-op I started with my road bike for 1 hour rides. At that time the sternum did not give me any problems at all.
8 weeks 1.5 hour ride, etcetera.
I am now 4 months post-op and 3+ hours on the bike is no problem.
I sometimes feel my sternum area, but that is most of the time the breast muscles that are causing this.

Please listen to your body and do not overdo it.
 
I started riding about 3 months after my surgery. Short rides at first. I am seven months out right now. I have been riding my touring bike more often because the gearing makes it easier on climbs. My legs just aren't back yet. I have not experienced any pain my sternum but my touring bike provides a much more upright position than my traditional road bike. Three months after surgery I was on a ride and I crashed. I expected the worse...no injuries and I felt fine the next day. It was a nice victory.
 
I was approved to ride after 8 weeks and actually rode after about 9 (full sternotomy for AVR + graft). I raised my stem on my road bike about a 3/4 of an inch or so just to make it a bit easier and that helped. Honestly, I was a bit scared to fall and break my sternum again but everything turned out fine.

From a performance standpoint, I was terrible and my heart rate climbed high on any kind of hill even though technically I avoided climbing for the most part. My hematocrit was still below 40% after a couple of months and it took a while to get back. My advice would be to take it slow and just enjoy the fact that you are riding again, without worrying too much about your speed. It gets better with time.
 
Forgot to comment on the tires also - I used to ride 700x23c's and have since only ridden 700x25s on wider rims. Love wider rims and tires and the ability to run lower pressure! I figure a little more comfort is worth it for me.
 
I returned on my bike 6 weeks after the surgery, but too be honest I probably could have gotten on it earlier, but the doctor wouldn't allow it. I did only ride normal bike rides: to friends and the moment I was allowed to I did my grocery shopping on my bike again. I live in the Netherlands so me bike riding is essential in the land of bikes haha! But I would say that you could do the actually sports biking thing 6 weeks after the surgery as well. You'll just be tired quicker.
 
It would be foolhardy to get on a bike before your sternum has safely knitted. It is a bone and takes time. If you were to have a tumble it could result in that breaking. The sternum is not a big bone but it plays a keystone role.

If you break it and it needs to reknit there is the chance that it may reknit in a much weaker conformation, that's bad.

There is also the chance it may refuse to reknit, which can happen. You will not want that outcome.

Be a bit smart and allow your body to heal
 
Thanks everyone for your experiences. I tried to convince my provider that I could ride sooner if I wore a motor cross chest protector, but still got the same 8 week instructions, which I can live with.
 
Dan Zulu;n848041 said:
Thanks everyone for your experiences. I tried to convince my provider that I could ride sooner if I wore a motor cross chest protector, but still got the same 8 week instructions, which I can live with.
Click to expand...
sounds like your provider is wise

if the bone is not healed then a chest protector isn't going to help with the internal stresses that will be caused by even falling over. Seriously why even think about taking the risk? 3 years from now you'll have forgotten all this, but not if you've damaged your sternum during healing....
 
I am new. I am 62 and am an avid cyclist. I had a mini sternomoty on Aug 19 to replace a bicuspid valve that had severe stenosis. It was down to .63 cm and was replaced with a bovine valve of 2.3 cm. I healed quickly and was back on my bike 4 weeks after the surgery doing a 10 mile ride but at a slow pace. I have done progressively longer and faster rides since. Today at the 6 week mark I did a 58 mile ride at an average speed of 15.3 mph that included one hill at 10 degrees. I am on a beta blocker so my HR maxed at 150 on that hill. Before the surgery it maxed at 172. I am going to get in a 30 mile ride tomorrow and will attend rehab classes Monday, weds and Friday. I also started push ups this week. Before the surgery I was doing up to 70 at one time. I got in 40 this past Friday and am building them back up.

I am also a cancer patient. I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2009, am on maintenance chemo once every two weeks. I tend to run on the low side of normal with my red counts.

I am going to do a 100k rally next week that has a couple of hills on it. I noticed that with the Beta Blocker it is like having a governor on so I am slower on the hills which is probably a good thing. I had no problem doing 25 mph in pace line on the flats but was under 10 mph on the hill climbs. I was told that I will be on the beta blocker for 6 months. I am only taking 1/2 a pill twice a day (total of 25 mg) of metoprolol. I think it is precautionary as my cardiologist indicated that the heart rate can be elevated for some time after surgery. I noticed that my resting HR is not slow and is in the upper 60s to low 70s which is what it was before the surgery.

Ron H.
 
Adding this a little late.
I was riding to work 3 days a week 18 miles each way. 7 weeks post surgery. However, I had already been spinning for 5 weeks. Get on the trainer asap. You'll be having fun by spring. Join Strava and start getting PRs.
 
I had my AVR/aneurysm repair ~15 months ago. I resumed riding my road bike (700x23 tires) about 8 weeks post op. Started with shorter rides and began building. 4 1/2 months post op, I was hit by a car, resulting in three broken ribs and a bunch of road rash..my sternum was fine, although it confused the x-ray tech for a bit...8 weeks later, back on the bike. I'm currently training for a 2 day, 180 mile ride- two weeks to go! Your surgery should not be more than a "bump in the road".

JC
 
One of my coworkers recently had surgery (not heart, no sternotomy involved) and was in a car accident on the way home from the hospital and broke her sternum (on the dash or airbag).
 
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