Conditions + Treatments
Broken Hand
Hand Injury/Condition
I am from Wetumpka, AL and I am a professional bicycle racer. I have been racing full time for the last 25 years, and I love it. I have almost 18 years of professional racing experience under my belt.
In November of 2022, we were approaching the end of our pro season race, and I was leading in the National Series. I was training for a race in Atlanta, GA and I crashed. This happened about 3 weeks prior to the BMX National Championship. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to race.
I had a strong feeling broke my hand, and I knew I couldn’t get it fixed right away or I’d throw away the championship, so I did 3 weeks of therapy. I ended up being able to race in the championship and won every lap!
Two days after the championship, I came to Andrews Sports Medicine. I have been a patient here before, so I knew I wanted to come back. Back in 2007, I blew my knee out and came here for their top-notch care. As well as a few others along the way!
I saw Dr. Kathleen McKeon for my hand, and she was great! It was my first time seeing her and she took good care of me.
Dr. McKeon confirmed I had severely fractured my hand, and recommended an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF), a type of surgery used to stabilize and heal a broken bone.
Originally, her thought was to fuse both bones together, but she ended up putting 4 external pins in my hand to heal the bone. The recovery process was surprisingly really easy. I wore a cast and that healed the bone.
When I woke up from surgery, I had 4 pins in my hand. I was in a cast for about 6 weeks and just last week I had the pins pulled out. Other than the occasional aches and pains, I am 100% better while regaining back full range of motion! I was worried I might have grip issues, which would be a problem since I am a racer, but I had no issues on that end.
I am a lot more mobile with that hand and I look forward to this year’s season. The progress of my recovery has been amazing! I immediately did therapy and was able to get back to it in no time. A week ago, today was when I got the pins out and I am pleased with where I am.
I would absolutely recommend Andrews and I already have! Thank you to Dr. McKeon and Andrews Sports Medicine for getting me back to racing!
Instagram: @barrynobles95
