I am not a happy Moto Diva - long term effects of scooter crash

          Knee and hip armor from my riding pants - this is the only thing between you & pavement.

Most folks who follow my blog know that about 13 1/2 months ago I had a scooter accident.  Since then I have battled with pain in my hip, as well as numbness, burning, and tingling in my thigh.  In my usual Princess Scooterpie fashion I suck it up and carry on.  BUT since December the entire area has been hurting more.  I ended up seeing my family doctor in December and getting a cortisone shot in my trochanter area (hip).  This helped a little and took some of the intense pain away in a small area.  Unfortunately, though things have become static and it is not getting any better. I asked my GP to send me to a specialist.  We both agreed a Physiatrist who specializes in physical and rehab medicine would be the best route.  Today was the day of the appointment, I was poked, prodded and bent this way and that. When I showed him the pictures I took of the extensive bruising I had he kind of gulped and there was a sudden intake of breath.  He asked me if I went to hospital by ambulance and I said nope, in fact I got up and finished the ride, he was a little shocked at that.  

The doctor has come to the conclusion that I need two things to tell him what is going on 1) CT scan of the hip and femur 2) MRI of hip joint and entire thigh area, this will visualize if there are any tears of muscle or tendons as well as showing if there is anything physically wrong with the bones. The specialist is concerned that I have damaged the joint or bones in the hip from when I impacted the pavement.  I distinctly remember a crunch and a 'give' feeling in the joint at the time of my unfortunate intimate pavement encounter.  He diagnosed meralgia paresthetica - which basically accounts for the numbness, tingling and burning - I crushed nerves in my thigh area during the impact and they probably aren't going to regenerate.  We are probably looking at 6 to 8 weeks for the CT scan and probably 6 to 8 months for the MRI, so this is a hurry and get nowhere fast situation.  I was really worried he was going to tell me that I couldn't ride anymore.  Phew!  

                           I wear ballistic grade nylon pants with armor and wear them year round

                           EVERY time I throw a leg over the bike or scooter, even for a short trip

                           to the corner store.  I am never without my gear even in the heat of summer

So the moral of this tale of woe is that if you don't wear armored gear and rely on jeans, chaps or ballistic nylon pants to protect all of your bits and pieces, you might as well ride naked because the only thing you are protected from is road rash.  You really do need the exo-skeleton of the armor in the hip and knee area.  Unfortunately this is part of my journey and if I can bring home the importance of gear to any newb or any rider who chooses not to wear it then someone has benefitted from my huge mistake of not practicing full ATGATT. 

Without the knee and hip armor components your pants are only 

partially protecting you, so why take chances and only wear

half of the gear??

                                                                       Hip armor