davidmcowan

So after two weeks of trying to pretend that nothing is wrong with my knee I can no longer deny it. I'm on hold right now with the orthopedic doctor with the hopes that they can figure out what the hell is going on. In the meantime I have to suffer through these incredible spring days in Denver WITHOUT being able to commute or go on joy rides. You have to know that the pain has to be pretty bad for me to take these measures!

CommuterRun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOG83-TwIuM

Hope the Doc says it's something easily fixed.

davidmcowan

That is the next problem...I can't get into the doctor until JULY cause Kaiser has such a long wait for the ortho. I guess I'll have to self diagnose this bad boy in the meantime.

thequickfix

I'm in the same boat (and town). I messed up my knee on Saturday and I couldn't even walk on Sunday morning. Nonetheless, I managed to ride to work using just my left leg while dangling my right leg just outside the motion of the pedal. I must say, it was significantly harder than I had expected. Certainly not fun. Fortunately, I may be back on the bike as soon as tomorrow.

David: what are your symptoms? I thought I tore my ACL, but it seems to be getting better, so I'm not going to go to the doctor yet.

davidmcowan

it isn't like my knee cap is falling off or anything. It appears that there is something irritated or torn on the upper corner of my knee. I've been off the bike for two days and can walk again with little pain (but I've been taking advil and icing my knee) I've devoted a week to it without riding to see if it will heal. It is weird, it can either hurt really bad all the sudden, or I can walk for a while with little to no pain. To be honest, this is day one with any actual treatment and taking it easy on it and so far things have improved. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. You in Denver? I hope for your sake you don't have Kaiser.

Nightshade

Please DO NOT SELF DIAGNOSE!!!!Even if you're just kidding don't do this. You knee,
when injured, can be really screwed up with just a little "help" so don't get to freaky
in your self care.

davidmcowan

Tightwad,

Ice, asprin, and a knee brace with no biking, swimming or running for the time being. I doubt that is freaky enough to cause more damage. I'm just hoping it will go away.

thequickfix

No kaiser for me, but I generally try to avoid the doctor anyway. Even with insurance, it gets very expensive, especially since it usually amounts to the same treatment I can do myself: ice and painkillers. Man, I would have been miserable that first day or so without the leftover vicodin from my last doctor visit. I got back on the bike today with only minor pain, but my knee and leg still feel stiff and a bit weak, so i'm taking it easy. I read somewhere that cycling can be good physical therapy for knee injuries.

Jolt

Why no swimming? Usually swimming is one of the exercises recommended when one has an injury since there's no impact, and if you're doing freestyle or backstroke you're not doing much at all with your knee. I would, however, definitely avoid breaststroke with a knee injury due to the motion of the kick.

CommuterRun

I was kind of wondering that myself. I'd stay away from anything requiring a whip-kick, but I would think the scissors and flutter kicks would be okay. Of course, if it hurts don't do it, and just let the legs drag.

davidmcowan

It has been a little stiff after the few swims I've done on it. You've convinced me though, I'll swim tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to maintain my fitness through swimming and still do the Boulder Peak Tri in midJune.

Nightshade

Yes, swimming was one of the main items of my knee replacement rehab. I didn't
"swim" I "water walked" back and forth across the pool 15 laps until I could swim
with no pain/stiffness . Made my rehab a breeze due being easy on the joint while
working all the right joint support muscles.

Jolt

Remember, you can always use a pull buoy if kicking bothers the knee! That way you should at least be able to maintain cardiovascular conditioning.

slowandsteady

Find a new doctor....waiting until July is ridiculous. Either what you have will be healed by then or be so messed up that no doctor can fix it.

Nightshade

Ditto!!!!! I was thinking this but didn't want to offend but now that it's out there
a Big Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

greenhobby

I've had 6 scopes and finally a micro fracture procedure done on the left knee. Getting in to see a very good doctor takes time (for the first visit). I had my micro fracture procedure done by the Red Sox physician Tom Gill (Mass General). He pioneered the procedure. I went from a very unpredictable knee to a perfectly solid performer. I've been living with this darn knee since a sking accident at 14 years old (many years ago). I still ice it down after every ride. Thank God insurance pays for this procedure now.

-gh

atomship47

i DAMN thee!

bmclaughlin807

Incredible spring days? Which Denver are YOU living in? Although... I guess hail, thunderstorms, rain storms, tornadoes and the like COULD be considered 'incredible'!

My first ride on my new bike involved everything above except the tornadoes... at one point the hail looked like snow on the ground/buildings/vehicles (1-2" of hail on the ground!)

As far as the knee pain goes... it's pretty hard to self diagnose what you may have done... could be something as small as something that affects your bike fit slipping... I've hurt my knee twice like that... once when the bolts holding my cleat came loose and once when my seat post slipped down into the seat tube, changing my seat height by about a centimeter over the course of about a week (near as I can figure)

I've also been knocked over once, catching myself with my right leg and aggravating an old knee injury... that really cut into my biking miles significantly while I tried to recover. If I had decent insurance I'd certainly be trying to get in to see a specialist.