Injury Recovery: “How’s the rib?”

I’ve had that question a lot lately.  It’s touching.  Folks are concerned.  It’s now been five weeks since I took a spill and cracked a rib.  I’m happy to report that I’m well, and recovering nicely.

I’ve now spent a week of gently testing and probing.  I’ve done a bit more on the bike, and have (cautiously!) increased my stretching drills.  I’ve also started to add just a very few core and abs strengthening exercises.  I find that I’m not yet ready to do much in the way of core/abs work.

The high point of my last week was the Bike to Work Day commute.  It was successful.  I took the long way home, without undue strain.  I did feel it a bit on Saturday morning, just a residual stiffness.

In short I’m doing about half of my “normal” ride volume, and the intensity is much lower than I’m used to.  This seems to be about right for now.  The idea is to do enough exercise to promote more rapid healing, without doing so much as to aggravate the injury.  It’s good to be moving, but I must confess, it’s also frustrating to be hampered.

I do look forward to better days ahead.