Any physios? Pulled msucle next to knee!

miss notax

Morning

During a longish but uneventful ride yesterday morning I seem to have pulled a muscle to the side of my knee, along the inside of the knee and up my thigh I felt it twinge a bit during the ride but in the last few miles it was really hurting quite a bit - obviously nothing I could do really except carry on and cycle home! Walking is ok and it seems a bit better this morning, but stepping down with my weight on my left leg is still pianful, so i'm hobbling down steps like a lunatic.

I didn't have any offs or any moments that I can blame this on and it's never happened before - I suspect it was caused after a nice fast decent where I completely failed to get into the right gear for the climb the other side, and tried to carry on through brute force and grrrrr (and failed). I'm usually a smooth rider and sit and spin up hill, so it was probably a bit of a shock to the system!

Anyway, I have a big ride coming up this Sunday and i'm really keen to sort out this random injury before then. How can I get it sorted asap? Ice? Gentle exercise?

Any tips gratefully received!

tudj

Ibuprofen and then alternate hot/cold into the muscle.

** disclaimer ** I'm not a physio nor medically trained in any way though I have spent more timed being put back together by physios than playing the various sports in which I got the injuries in the first place :P

I would see a sports physio if it does persist though, they are good. Even if you only have one session/assessment you will at least have an idea of what's up and they'll point you in the right direction.

danlikesbikes

First things first if its is painful and your hobbling no gentle exercise is not going to help you.

As a general old school rule of thumb you can do pretty well with what is know as rice;
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation

As for the injury are you sure it was your muscle only & if so which one(s) as could be your abductor or quad? If so then you'll be fine with the above and a little bit of pain killers/anti inflammatory drugs to aid you along the way.

If its more than just muscle damage then get it checked out ASAP as it could be something simple and you can rest it and it will get better or it could be the sign of something more.

Good luck and hope you heal up soon.

danlikesbikes

By the way should add I am not a physio myself, but have seen my fair share of knee injuries as a medic

miss notax

Not a happy bunny....

After resting for a few days, I only anaged about 2 miles of last nights ride before having to ride / walk home. Gutting. I just couldn't put any weight or power on my left leg. I have a little slow ride on Saturday and was meant to be at FOD on Sunday which I have just cancelled.

Not sure whether to go and see a Physio or not.... A friend mentioned yesterday that my saddle looked a bit high (in his opinion) and that combined with the mud-riding on sunday might have done for it. I've done a bit of looking about on-line too which seems to back up the too high thought. I'll try dropping the saddle anyway and see what happens.

Any thoughts on how long I should stay off the bike for? I have a big ride planned (and paid for!) for next Sunday which I would really like to do. It's miserable not being able to get out on the bike

lostboysaint

Got a good sports injury clinic about 10 mins from your work if you want the number/address..........

miss notax

Yes please

It's ridiculous - i'm much happy with obvious cause and effect injuries (slippery root = black eye)! To suddenly have a mashed knee when nothing has changed is pants :twisted:

I'm really keen to do next Sundays event so fingers crossed I can get it sorted for then..... In the meantime I will mostly be drinking wine, eating cake and reading bike magazines instead

mrmonkfinger

did you make the mini-DH in the end?

miss notax

Ah, no, wasn't planning on doing that but meeting some of lads from here at FOD as a training ride for the September Challenge. I cancelled that in the end - gutting Thought it better to try and get my knee sorted though! Managed a few slow easy miles on Saturday and that was fine, so *fingers crossed* will be ok tonight and ok for the 34 miles Wiggle ride on Sunday :shock:

.blitz

miss notax wrote:

To suddenly have a mashed knee when nothing has changed is pants :twisted:

Sorry to say it but welcome to getting old. This is how it starts - random joints/tendons/ligaments just fail for no apparent reason.

The temptation to get back out there can be overwhelming but in the long term it's best to wait until it's 100% and then some. A pulled muscle basically means the muscle fibres have torn and are bleeding internally. Like a skin wound the fibres knit back together and may scar depending on the severity. It's this scar tissue that restricts the movement and puts more strain on the surrounding tissue so it needs a lot of tlc to reduce it and get it working properly again.

If it goes again it will be worse and take longer to heal and so these stupid injuries build up and become potentially game-ending.

It sounds as though you're a long way from that at the moment though and imo it's best to do everything you can to keep it that way. Good luck

miss notax

That's pants isn't it - i'm only 37! :roll:

I do agree though, I don't want it to turn into anything nasty....

lostboysaint

Did you do anything about getting it checked out?

.blitz

Hmm a mate used to tell me it was all downhill after 30 and I used to laugh at him but he was right.

I don't want to be all patronising but as you get older it's easier to stay fit than get fit. Coming back from long periods off the bike is tough so it’s best not to have to.

benpinnick

Google ITBS. Might be that.

cooldad

That's the outside on the knee though isn't it, not the inside. I suffered with my right knee when I used to run. Still twinges regularly (that's why I'm slow sometimes. (or normally))
I say old age. 37 is ancient.

miss notax

Yes, definitely the inside of my knee rather than the outside - so much so that i'm wondering if it's a leg injury rather my knee itself. Anyway, rather than speculate, I have done the sensible thing and booked an appointment with a very good (but flipping expensive ) sports physio that I used to go to with a dodgy back. She knows me well so hopefully she'll be able to shed some light on it!

After last nights ride I had some very hefty doses of 'I told you so' as all my biking mates *apparently* told me months ago that they thought my saddle was too high on the Orange (I don't remember this) :roll:

Hey ho.

MTB13

Did you get it sorted?

I just wanted to add that dependant on what the injury is can depend on whether heat or ice is best suited. I was told to put alternate heat and ice on my knee injury a while back and the heat made it 10 times worse, I could hardly bend it at all. The ice however definitely helped.

Good luck

The Rookie

Ibuprofen gel direct over the injury is better than taken orally, reducing the swelling of any injury (Muscle or tendon) is the first priority towards healing.

miss notax

Hi guys,

Yes, I did get it sorted thanks I went to see my chiropractor and it was in fact an old back / hip niggle that was causing me to overwork a leg muscle - the spot where the muscle attached to the bone was, you guessed it, so the side of my knee.....! Complicated stuff. She sorted it in one session and (combined with a slightly lower saddle) it hasn't been an issue since 8)

I did also splash out on a professional bike fit which has helped. More of a roadie thing, but I think it translates into MTBing. I now have guidelines for my saddle height and he was able to explain a few other niggles (and suggest how I rectify them). All good!