Knee Injury!

Tombird1

I fell off my bike about five weeks ago and damaged my knee. I hit my knee cap but the accident didn’t seem that bad and thought I had only bruised it. Stupidly I rode on it the next day and made the injury much worse. I am now unable to ride and if it persists much longer I’ll have no chance of racing in the summer.

The doctor says that I have Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (otherwise known as ‘runner’s knee’) – I’m not entirely sure as it doesn’t seem to be healing. The exercises I’ve been given to rehabilitate it make the pain much worse, as does riding my bike.

Does anyone have any experience of this, please I’m desperate!

If this is not the right place of forum to post this lease tell me, Thanks.

KonaKurt

Tombird, you have my sympathies and I hope you recover fully soon.

My worst ever accident was also a knee injury, but strangely I had got OFF my bike! I was riding on top of the Malverns, near the beacon I think, and I got off to admire the view. It was a great sunny day with plenty of chinese tourists about. If I had only got back on my bike to downhill immediatly, I would most likely have been ok. But, I chose to straddle the bike and walk over some small rocks to a lower path, lost my balance, fell tit over a*se, and then tried to break my fall of just 3ft. Landed heavy on my left leg, and then twisted my knee 90 degrees with weight on it! I ripped all of my ligiments out, and tore some muscle... then to boot, I fell ON that kneecap too.

With me howling like a baby, and wondering how I would get down off the hill, I was surrounded by a large group of chinese tourists, many of them taking pictures of me!!!

I did get back home eventually, and to hospital. It took me 6 months of sweat and tears to heal and walk again, and then another 2 months to ride a bike again.

Why am I telling you all my story? Well, the moral of this story is that even a very simple almost innocent accident can prove to be devestating to our fragile bodies....and that all cyclists should ALWAYS wear KNEE PADS!!! I didn't at the time, but always do now.

Oh, that and that Chinese tourists are gits!

KK and his iron horse.

gkerr4

patellafemoral pain syndrome is a bit of a catch-all for pain in that area.

I had issues with my knees this year and have had surgery for meniscus tears on them both this year (left knee in june, right in october) - in between the two ops I did very little exercise (as my right knee was still injured) and lost a lot of muscle - in particular the vastus medialis which is the teardrop shaped muscle on the inside of the thigh just above the knee. This imbalance causes the kneecap to track inncorrectly and causes PF pain syndrome too. My doctor put the fear of god into me by saying that he thought he could feel Anterior Cruciate Ligament damage following a draw test - which turned out to be complete crap.

If I was you I would consider a trip to a private sports physio and get them to check you over - they are much more experienced than your GP for doing draw tests etc which will ensure that you haven't torn any ligaments or damaged the cartiledge. If they think you have damaged it they you need to go back to your GP and get a referral to an orthopeadic surgeon for analysis and / or MRI scan. (alternatively skip this bit and pay around £150 for a 15 minute private consultation from a ortho surgeon - this will also push you forward on the waiting list for surgery if it is needed)

if the physio can't find any real damage then it may just be bruising /swelling or there may be a muscular imbalance - either of which they will be able to put you on the road to recovery through excercise.

knees take a while to get 100% due to the limited blood flow in there - even on my left knee which was operated on in June I can't think of kneeling down on it yet as it is simply too tender to consider that - it would be bloody painful - so these things take time.

good luck and I hope you get it fixed - I have had a horrid year this year with my knees but I am 95% back now and look forward to a decent 2009 - if `I can help you any further don't hesitate to PM me or reply here.

physiosteve

Sorry to heear that dude. Assuming youve been reviewed by Dr and he has ruled out degeneration bony, ligament injuries and the like this may be, and the following may explain why it still hurts it is only a suggestion however, although I would expect it to settle in the next 3 weeks or so

Following trauma to the front of the knee it is not ncommon to get a small effusion, collection of fluid from an irritated bursa ( fat pad). It is thought that 20-30mls of fluid is enuf to knock out your VMO (inhibit the inner most Quads muscle), and lead to patello femoral dydfunction.

In simple terms your Quads have a medial and lateral component which should be well balanced to allow your knee cap to run in its groove. Knees when swollen frequently exhibit an imbalance due to the medial muscle (VMO) becoming inhibited.

This could give you a patellofemoral problem and is best managed with ice, anti inflammatories and VMO exercises.
Ice ice only with a damp towel next to the skin and never longer than 10 mins and have at least 2 hrs rest between each application. Consult Dr before using anitinflammatories. go to you tube for VMO exercises, altho best to perform in painfree range

KonaKurt

Yes, god bless guys.

There is nothing worse than being fit and healthy on a bike one miniute, then spending the next few months unable to walk. An excellent understanding physiotherapist is the key to success here. Another complication that can arise from ligament injuries is something I experianced, when in error I was told in hospital to just 'keep my leg up resting and stay comfortable'. When a limb remains inactive for a week or more, your muscles and tissues will start to be absorbed by the body, basically muscle wastage, which is sheer AGONY!! It is obviously very difficult to move a damaged knee, but even a slight amount of knee movment helps to keep wastage at bay.

Today, some 15 months on, I am very fit and healthy leg wise, and cycling like there is no tomorrow, with virtually no problems.... so patience, hope and the correct therapy will often come through well rewarded.

We often take the most important things in life (like walking) for granted, until disaster strikes...

My golden rule is NEVER ride ANYWERE without wearing a good pair of KNEE PADS. They are an excellent investment, even for that 1 in a 1000 fall onto town tarmac or forest trail, they will make the difference between a bad bruise and a more serious injury.

All the best, KK.

Tombird1

Thank you for your kind advice and support, I really apreciate it.

My knee does seem to be healing but VEEERY slowly. I am now able to ride at very low intensity which is nice but a bit frustrating.

I'm going back to the physio tomorrow (found a good one that specialises in knee's) for a check up and some advice (maybee some ultrasound, though I'm not sure how effective that is?). Hopefully I will recover soon anyway.

Cheers.

KonaKurt

Well well well ... What a great start to the new year for me, some idiot bus driver was most likely not looking where he was going, when he sideswiped me out of my cycle lane with his bus. The result was me and bike sliding to the ground at 25MPH on our sides for some 10 metres, mainly on my now badly bruised knee.

Amazingly, bike only suffered from kackered pedals (now replaced) and one lost grip end! Thankfully I have nothing broken, other than my faith and trust in bus drivers, just a bad bruise, which after a few days rest has healed up nicely now.

Good job I had gloves, helmet and knee pads. Could have been much worse. Accidents happen when you least expect them to.

KK & his bruised ego.

dizzydane

Hey Tombird1,

I too have runners knee (caused by a fall on a horse 3 years ago). I don’t know if you run at all, but mine flares up after a long run or a cycle on a really windy day when you feel as if you’re training at constant resistance.

At the end of November after I started increasing my runs to work, my knee was is so much pain, I could barely walk. I had a week of no exercise and iced it every day with 5 mins of a gentle massage. On my daily commute I was forced to cycle slower than my usual race pace and 2 weeks after the damage was done I managed a flat 3 hour ride at a “slow” pace. I’ve gradually increased the intensity of my rides over the last 3 weeks and am happy to report that I managed 95ms on the hills in Surrey yesterday and my knee is fine (touch wood)!

The only advice I can give you is to take it slowly. I’ve been unlucky in the fact that mine is a re-occurring problem and I’m finding as long as I keep my fitness levels up, I can stay pain free. If I have a long holiday, I make sure to take it easy when coming back into my training.

I too will be seeing a specialist about this problem as I find it worse in the winter....

Hope this helps... good luck and PM me should you have any questions.

;o)