Knee Injury

indica

indica

Serial flasher
I did what I always tell people not to do.
I hesitated. Fell (very slowly) to the left and put my foot down - maybe 3 feet below where I started. Hurt my knee.
Have been to a Dr. and while there is damage it is not catastrophic. I am getting more movement and can lift my left and almost stretch my quad now. There is still some end-of-day swelling above my knee cap.
Anyone have any idea how long this may take to get ride-able again? Pissing me off no end, missing half the good DH riding weather, for the first time in my life I have 2 amazing bikes and can't ride any.
I wear a compression bandage type thing as I work 40 hours a week standing. This helps but the improvement is slow.
Any tips?

BTW I'm 38 this year, never broken anything and have been riding for 15 years, this is by far my worst injury.
 
MrsH

MrsH

Likes Dirt
I jumped down off a fence (as it was easier than opening the gate) and hurt my knee back in January.. No major damage, some overstretched/strained ligaments, but still took a good three weeks to be able to move it pain-free. The physio strapped it which made a big difference.. I was back on the bike three weeks after.
 
rone

rone

Eats Squid
My advice is to take it easy. I had a crash whilst clipped in about a year ago. As I went down my knee rotated before my foot had chance to unclip. I went down pretty hard on my knee, subsequently I had swelling on and off for about 3 months. My knee 'clicked' when extending to straight and I couldn't bend my leg so my heel touched my butt cheek.

Xray showed nothing but MRI's revealed two 'loose bodies' in my knee.

I had my Arthroscopy yesteday, funnily enough - both bodies removed (bits of cartilidge) and the surgeon gave the back of my kneecap a bit of a cleanup whilst he was in there.

I'm 38 and this whole process has taken almost 12 months up to now, with another 4 to 6 weeks to recover from surgery. I haven't been able to ride even half as much as I have wanted in that time due to the swelling/clicking.

Don't F**k about with knee injuries. Exercise the joint gently and recover movement gradually otherwise you will spend far too long off the bike.

Which sucks.:(
 
P

palerider

Squid
Horror. . Sorry to hear. Like the others said, you can rest and recover, or push it, and not.
I've got a sprained ankle at the mo'. But at least with that, you strap and exercise.
With the shuttle stuff, I'd probably feign illness, and stay home for the cricket. :cool:
 
D

darryl

Likes Dirt
See a physio - get it daignosed properly, i don't know any GP's that can diagnose joint injuries correctly. Not their fault they just are not trained to do so, unless they have done further training in sports medicine and such.

Rest is important, but in most cases there are things you should be doing to maintain your muscle strength and knee range of motion whilst the "injury" heals. If you want a fast resolution, you need to know what is wrong.
 
A

aanon

Likes Dirt
Hey Indica, i basically did what you did about 2 years ago.
Came down hard on a corner and kind of fell about 2 metres down the side of a hill , put my foot out but my knee just collapsed, was totally unable to support any weight on it at all for a week. Went to the local GP and got the old ''just rest it'' but it was still super weak.
Then physio was suggested, done that but never really felt any improvement. So after 4 months of all this i just thought f#ck it, its sore , so be it, and kept on riding.
Every few months it would tweak out with no warning, i would be unable to walk for a day , hobble around for a week then just start riding again.
By this point i had accepted the situation, but about 2 months ago i thought bugger this i want a proper diagnosis, went to see a knee specialist, had a M.R.I .
Long story short, ruined medial ligament, ACL and cartlidge. I now need a full reco but that is, i was told , about 11 grand.
So i am now waiting until my insurance can be used (that will be this november , i will have been insured a year by then) to get it done.
Knees? Ya need em to ride.
 
SuperSix

SuperSix

Likes Dirt
Like everyone has mentioned Physio... but proper physio I suppose. You want to get the right basic movement first so don't over stress it. Also, don't leave it out to heal by not doing anything. Bones are like soft cement and when they're not in use, or have lost their function, they deform. You'll need fresh circulating blood around it for the body to fix it (remove calcium where not needed; put calcium to repair bones where needed)

I got a bad left shoulder from shooting heavy bows and it always snaps when I release the string. After about 30 shots, my form (how I hold the bow at full draw) is significantly changed due to the pain of snapping bones. There's no solution now except for the surgeon to re-shape the ball and socket joint to make it smooth again :(

I Remember, what my physio told me about my back injury "If you do the right movement, trust your body to heal itself properly; you'll eventually get there pain free". Then he tells me the age old story of how Shaolin monks practice and condition their strength to do unbelievable feats of strength.
 
D

darryl

Likes Dirt
That's not good. Sorry to hear you saw a dud physio - he/she should have picked that first visit. Pretty common type of injury seen in motoX and the mechanism sounded the same. On the flip side cycling is actually one thing you could do without causing too much more damage. Just don't dab! Or watch where you put your feet and try not to twist.



aanon said:
Hey Indica, i basically did what you did about 2 years ago.
Came down hard on a corner and kind of fell about 2 metres down the side of a hill , put my foot out but my knee just collapsed, was totally unable to support any weight on it at all for a week. Went to the local GP and got the old ''just rest it'' but it was still super weak.
Then physio was suggested, done that but never really felt any improvement. So after 4 months of all this i just thought f#ck it, its sore , so be it, and kept on riding.
Every few months it would tweak out with no warning, i would be unable to walk for a day , hobble around for a week then just start riding again.
By this point i had accepted the situation, but about 2 months ago i thought bugger this i want a proper diagnosis, went to see a knee specialist, had a M.R.I .
Long story short, ruined medial ligament, ACL and cartlidge. I now need a full reco but that is, i was told , about 11 grand.
So i am now waiting until my insurance can be used (that will be this november , i will have been insured a year by then) to get it done.
Knees? Ya need em to ride.
Click to expand...
 
Dozer

Dozer

Heavy machinery.
Staff member
I'm going through an effed knee as we speak and waiting to see the specialist in two weeks. He'll hopefully tell me that I need a quick repair and I'm off again. Hopefully........ I've quit basketball in the interim to reduce the stress but I haven't stopped riding. I'm riding slower and more cautious but I haven't totally stopped until he says stop. I hope he has good news for me!
 
H

houli77

Likes Dirt
i'd just cough up the dough for an mri.. it's the only sure fire way to know whats wrong and how to treat it.. you can just ask your gp for a referal, mine cost about $200 i think?

i did my knee last june riding dh, my GP, osteo and physio all thought my ACL and other ligaments were ok by there physical examination.

knee wasn't improving so after 2 months i paid for the MRI which = ACL busted..

immediately booked in for knee reco surgery blah blah blah..

basically i wasted about 2 months thinking my knee was going to heal. if i'd known right at the start i would have just booked straight in for the surgery..

now 9 months on and only just getting back to riding single track and small jumps. lost massive amounts of leg muscle, but looks like i'm going to get it all back :)

just be thankful we are in a time and age where you can have a knee reconstructed. it totally sucks if you do it, but in most cases can be fixed!
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Thanks for all the replies.
The knee has been improving day to day and I'm off to see a sports physio tomorrow to hopefully shed some more light on it.
Itching to get on the bike before winter kicks in although it looks as though summer has left pretty damn quick down here.
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Physio today .... he manipulated my leg and made my leg make some funny noises... then said - no knee reconstruction needed.

Then he electrocuted me (whatever that machine is) and has told me to R I C E for the next week to get the swelling down then the work begins. There may be some cartilage damage that may need fixing or can be lived with.
Seems clued up.

Thanks for all the advice.
 
Red Peekay

Red Peekay

Likes Dirt
I've had both knees scoped Indica, and probably another cleanup come May (I shouldn't go falling off cliffs whilst skiing!). I ice both knees for 20min every night religiously, take 14 fish oil tablets a day (a great anti-inflammatory), and use a wooden spoon to really go hard on the quads (both sides of leg). Use a bit of oil on the muscle then hold either end of the spoon and use the handle to really stretch out the muscles (pull the handle up from the knee towards the hip, really hard!!). Follow this up with a good stretch. Do this on the recommendation of my physio! I've had dodgy knees now for 20 years and by following this regime, still skiing steep and hard for 120+ days a year and ride when back in Melbourne. Knees gripe, but keep going! Look after them mate!
 
skwiz05

skwiz05

Likes Bikes and Dirt
If you want to make good progress with the knee, well, heres what Ive done.

Physio twice a week, get a program of supine exercises, combine with Pilates reformer.....Throw in Hydrotherapy once or twice a week also, youll be amazed at the progress.

The hydrotherapy works the muscles/joint just like the pilates/supine exercises do, but with no/minimal weight on the join. When you arent fighting gravity, you can more easily isolate the muscles you want to strengthen, and have less stress on the join so giving a better chance/quality of rehab.

Ive had a shite knee for 18 months, so started with this in early Feb, and in only two months Ive made more progress than I could previously.

Also take 6 fish oil and one 1500mg Glucosamine tabs daily......
 
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indica

indica

Serial flasher
Surgery June the 9th then I'll hop on back to the Physio and get a program going.
Gonna be a long and aching winter.
 
T

Tim Dowson

Cannon Fodder
So sorry about your pain. Wish you speedy cure! Just a piece of advice - in case it is not very seriously try smth natural - smth based on herbs. Also known that fish oil block the pain. I do know about Nature Medic Arthritis cream - they sell it online. It is Australian product and should be delivered fast. And they have a money back guarantee so you lose nothing.
 
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