riding while injured

.blitz

Do you? Not serious injuries obv but aches & strains & bits of your body that make themselves known or don't work as they should or give up for no apparent reason. Do you man up or wait until you feel better?

Am feeling a bit decrepit just recently knee/wrist/shoulder/back all playing up & need some subjective advice

pilch

Go & see a sports physio, get checked out and straightened out and go from there. The one I use is into cycling, it's very rare that i'm ordered to stay off the bike completely...

.blitz

am sick of seeing the physio tbh and she's probably sick of seeing me. She's very good at fixing things but doesn't give much away in terms of preventative advice. She nods & smiles but I don't think she 'gets' MTBing

lochussie

I am generally a big believer in MTFU if you have no reason to suspect that it will make an injury/pain worse. However...

I recently rode with a stupid wee rib muscle injury I got from sitting down on my bed earlier in the day. Was in a lot of pain when walking and shuttling, fine on bike but wasn't really enjoying riding. Carried on as was on hol. Big crash, separated shoulder, hol over, weeks off riding. Will be thinking about more than one day's missed riding in similar situations in future. The rib muscle was fine the next day.

pilch

Then I would change your physio... I've been with mine for 5 or 6 years now, I dont go regularly as such, just when stuff goes wrong, sometimes it's due to an off sometimes i've just got knotted up.

Without exception she explains what has happened, why it has happened and what I need to do to put it right. She works on the injured bits then gives me exercises to do after/between sessions... same as any other physio I guess.

But the great thing is, she understands that I NEED to go out on my bike so she tells me what I can do within reason so that I don't make the injury worse.

miss notax

I agree with the above - find a new physio

I have had problems with my back and shoulders for years and to be honest I just carry on riding. My chiropractor and physio know that NOT riding isn't an option, so they just accept that and get on with fixing what they can. My back does actualy feel better after riding though - whether this is real or perceived I have no idea and am not really bothered

I have just had a series of accupuncture sessions which really helped actually, might be worth looking into if appropriate for you?

Bizarrely, whilst i'm quite happy riding with minor injuries (I did an xc race last year with cracked ribs :shock: ) I don't like riding if I have a cold - it makes me feel rotten

Beardface

I've had back pain for a while now, due to a lot of manual labour jobs when younger and have recently strained my LCL in my right knee as well as a bit of tendinitis.

I rested up for a few weeks (during which I changed bikes to a more XC orientated one). Had my first ride out Sunday just gone, the knee twinges were evident still, but it's not feeling too bad now. Suppose knees are always at risk with cycling, so I'm not going to let it stop me.

If it gets worse, I'll head back to the docs for more scans and go from there. I'd rather have a few bouts of surgery than give up cycling.

As for the back - Tramadol works wonders

timpop

I take a bit of time off, stretch, get a good, deep sports massage and stretch again then see how I feel and get back on the bike if I'm ready. I'm sure you've heard it before but learning to really listen to your body is key to sustaining a lifelong passion to ride. If you're not quite ready then take a bit more time off. Listening now will help later.

To MTFU is not always the answer. Lasting for longer is what you need to think about. The phrase 'it's better to burn out than fade away' is cr@p. If you burn out you will fade away. Be an energizer bunny.

timpop

If that philosophy doesn't work go with some painkillers and get on with it :P

milko9000

I found a physio who liked mountain bikes when I last did my back. Gave me a few tips for what to do on the trail if it happened again plus preventative stretches. Was also nice to talk bikes while doing the treatments! And I've not had the problem since.

Basically, if I'm fit enough to ride I'll go riding unless I'm definitely making things noticeably worse by doing so. But when I gashed my calf and could barely walk for a couple of weeks I had to leave off

welshkev

i'm having the exact same thought at the moment - i had quite a bad off on sunday and i spent sun evening in A&E. i have my thumb in a splint/support type thing and i'm on strong pain killers for my shoulder. but i really want to ride tonight (but i'm not going to) but i think i'll be out on thursday for a ride, i'll just dose up on pain killers

1mancity2

I only stop if its to painful to ride, I came off last July and bashed my shoulder and fractured 2 fingers, still rode with this but I have to now crack my finger in place every so often.

miss notax

welshkev wrote:

i'm having the exact same thought at the moment - i had quite a bad off on sunday and i spent sun evening in A&E. i have my thumb in a splint/support type thing and i'm on strong pain killers for my shoulder. but i really want to ride tonight (but i'm not going to) but i think i'll be out on thursday for a ride, i'll just dose up on pain killers

Ouch :shock:

Hope you get better soon!

Red.Devil.Ghost

If its a proper injury, then don't ride. It's not really worth making it worse, and probably taking longer to heal.

If its just aches, MTFU. I find if my legs ache after 30 mins or so my legs loosen up and its much better. I just need to make sure I stretch properly afterwards as I have real issues with flexibility anyway. A physion told me I'm one of the most inflexible people he had seen