Triathlon - Injury experiences and how did you ease back to training

For the past few days my right knee has been bothering me so I went to the doctor to have it checked out and he told me that I have Bursitis of the knee. I am pretty bummed right now because I was doing so well. I stared running just like 3 miles a week and now I am upto 12 miles per week plus about 100 total bike miles per week. This might not be a big deal to some, but I was pretty excited on my progress over the past 3 months.

The doc told me to rest for 15 days, that is toooo long, but I will listen.

Can you post what injury did you suffer and how did you ease back to training?
Thanks

Too many. Broken clavicle & scapula from a bike crash. Badly sprained ankle during a run...four miles from home. Hernia surgery.

15 days shouldn't be big deal to your fitness. You might actually get some benefit from the rest. Running is out but did you ask if it was OK to bike? You can always do a swim focus for a couple of weeks.

Just injured my knee -- Sprained MCL. Did it swimming -- Swimmer's knee. I never would have thought that I could injure a knee swimming. DR recommended no cycling, running, or swimming for 10 to 14 days. I'll be doing some light upper body weight training during the hiatus.

One of the more common problems with the knee is a problem with the ilio-tibial Band (ITB). It is on the outside of the upper leg wear the seam of the pants would be. It control knee mechanics especially the knee cap. It also influences what happens at the pelvis and the feet. The pain is usally behind or just to sides or above or below the knee cap. If this is the case you should try and release it by rolling it on a foam roller or by having Active Release Techniques (http://drtriestman.com/?com=page&page=activeleasetechniques) done on it. You may also be suffering from pelvic instability. You could detect this by putting your hands on the tops of your ilaic crests (most people would call this the hip bone) and looking into a mirror and then lifting your leg into the air with the knee and hip at 90 degrees of bend. If you hands and hips dip down or up then you are unstable. This would indicate that every time you took a step or took a pedal stroke the pelvis, knee and foot would be doing some abnormal biomechanics which could be effecting the knee. This would best be corrected with Pilates (http://drtriestman.com/?com=page&page=Pilates_Rehabilitation)

Broken Hand during wrestling season. worked lower body a lot more, ran a lot etc. for a knee and since this is on the triathlon forum, you might want to try some lap swimming (in a pool as opposed to open water). NO TURNS though. just keep it easy, maybe do pulling-buoys between legs.

Wow you have received some really great advice from everyone especially CJ and Doc, of course CJ is the man around here as far as I am concerned. The only thing I would add is that sometimes forced rest is not necessarily a bad thing, it allows for time to reflect on how we are training and better avoiding future injury. I blew my right shoulder out surfing two weeks ago but just completed a biathlon with a 1500 meter rough water swim this last Thursday. I just took it nice and slow and was gentle with myself and as a result feel good at the moment. Of course I am no spring chicken anymore (46). Finally I would concentrate on keeping your strides very short when you do return to running, keep your feet under your hips and work on increased cadence to better your times. I have discovered that truly amazing people are triathletes because the sport is so much more than running, cycling, and swimming. Due to the sports rigors and required commitment our character is tested and our virtues strengthened. One of the things we may run up against is our own lack of patience, we are get it done people and its tough when we can't follow through because of injury. Be patient my friend and heal. Good luck!

In the winter of 1989 I slipped on a patch of ice while running and broke my leg. It was a complicated break and took a long time to heal correctly (I had a little "play" in that ankle for about 6 months). So I didn't run at all that year and instead rode a lot of bicycle (including the Chequamegon 40 MTB classic). I finally started running again over a year later but initially had some pain and had to take it really easy for quite a while. But the patience paid off and I had some of my best races that summer (4:15 half IM and 2:01 olympic).

Thank you for all your advice and encouragement. I am back at running and riding. I will have to say that cj and all were right. 15 days off did a lot of good. I felt so refreshed after getting back at it and I do not think I missed a beat.

One thing that I am more conscious about is doing a lot of stretching after the ride and run. I think that is also where I might have screwed up, and like Rick said it was hard laying low. My Orbea was calling my name and telling me RIDE ME DUDE!!!

It is good to be back
Thanks again