A hard decision...

Simonb256
Simonb256 Posts: 880
edited October 2008 in Commuting chat
I have no idea why I dont seem to be able to decide.

I know I should do it, but for some reason there's something telling me not to bother.

I have had a dodgy knee for a long long time now (some 10years, and im 24 currently).
It has not gotten to the point where I have been told that I can cycle as much as I want (as long as i dont push it too hard), however....

If i want to continue to be able to walk (im currently struggling to walk unaided, for distances over 1mile) I need to have physio for the rest of my life. By this I mean physio which is fairly intensive for the first 3 or 4 months then they give me exercises to do for the rest of my life with reviews ever so often.

A mix of having a ligament missing and what they deem "bad leg posture" has put me in this position. Which is partly my fault I suppose.

My problem is why am i being so indecisive about this?

I know that some may deem this not exactly the biggest problem in the world, but its of great concern to me...
"War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength." George Orwell - 1984

Comments

  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Do it now, for when you are 48 you will bitterly regret not having done so.

    It will have to become part of your lifestyle, at times you will resent it, and it is very hard to motivate oneself for some future benefit, but at some time in the future you will value your mobility more highly!
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    Do it.

    Some of the "physio" might be to mix different sports.

    Other physio will be no more inconvenient than using one of those elastic band things while you watch the morning news.
  • sc999cs
    sc999cs Posts: 596
    I know every one is different but I injured my knee when I was 18 (hit the knee cap on a concrete floor) so had very weak leg muscles for a long time. I did my physio for around 10 years. I'm now 41, have no problems with my knees - legs still a lot weaker than a lot of peoples' but at least its better than it would have been if I hadn't bothered. (This is why I like cycling, strengthens leg muscles, but low impact so doesn't jar my knee.)

    Also my age must seem a long way off to you but when you do reach it you'll probably still want to be active. If you don't do the physio you may really regret it in the future.
    Steve C
  • Simonb256
    Simonb256 Posts: 880
    sc999cs wrote:
    I know every one is different but I injured my knee when I was 18 (hit the knee cap on a concrete floor) so had very weak leg muscles for a long time. I did my physio for around 10 years. I'm now 41, have no problems with my knees - legs still a lot weaker than a lot of peoples' but at least its better than it would have been if I hadn't bothered. (This is why I like cycling, strengthens leg muscles, but low impact so doesn't jar my knee.)

    Also my age must seem a long way off to you but when you do reach it you'll probably still want to be active. If you don't do the physio you may really regret it in the future.

    It sounds odd but doing the physio is not really the problem. I just cant seem to go 'Yes, i need to do it so im going to'.

    Ahh well...
    "War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength." George Orwell - 1984
  • sc999cs
    sc999cs Posts: 596
    Simonb256 wrote:
    sc999cs wrote:
    I know every one is different but I injured my knee when I was 18 (hit the knee cap on a concrete floor) so had very weak leg muscles for a long time. I did my physio for around 10 years. I'm now 41, have no problems with my knees - legs still a lot weaker than a lot of peoples' but at least its better than it would have been if I hadn't bothered. (This is why I like cycling, strengthens leg muscles, but low impact so doesn't jar my knee.)

    Also my age must seem a long way off to you but when you do reach it you'll probably still want to be active. If you don't do the physio you may really regret it in the future.

    It sounds odd but doing the physio is not really the problem. I just cant seem to go 'Yes, i need to do it so im going to'.

    Ahh well...

    Hate to say it but it sounds like you've made up your mind by the fact that you're even asking! Just pick up that phone and dial the number. :D If it was a heart problem or eye sight problem would you hesitate? Just do it!
    Steve C
  • cee
    cee Posts: 4,553
    hate to say it, but I don't really see that you have a decision to make. get your ar$e to the physio already!
    Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I believe in the future of the human race.

    H.G. Wells.
  • passout
    passout Posts: 4,425
    As above - a worthwhile investment for the future.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    Its easy to not worry about the future, but in 20 or 30 years time when you can't walk you will be wishing that you'd done the physio. Do it and deal with the problem now. Better the hassle of physio and regular exercises than being unable to walk when you are older.
  • The Chingford Skinhead
    The Chingford Skinhead Posts: 718
    As Nike would say - Just Do It (swoosh :roll: )

    You're 24 and still at the age where you think you're indestructable and you can get by with things the way they are. Sadly experience tells me that such things if not treated get worse. If you're struggling to do a mile unaided now it is going to get shorter and shorter (at an increasing rate of decline) unless you do something about it.

    As Del Boy would say - go on son, you know it makes sense.

    If you're lucky you may end up with a cracking physio. If you're anything like me you'll end up with a Germain Greer lookalike and sound allike and will panic when she says take off your clothes! (Not all of them of course). TBH My GG lookalike was very good and sorted out my frozen shoulder and unbendable elbow caused by a cycling accident in Austria (don't ask!)

    Good luck with the physio, you won't regret it. A few minutes of physio a day is a small price to pay for the ability to walk to the toilet!
    Pain is only weakness leaving the body
  • xio
    xio Posts: 212
    I'd generally agree with all of the above. The main thing with the physio is to find a positive way for it to become part of your lifestyle so you don't resent it. When I was 30 I had a karting accident which (amongst other things) was a trigger for for a form of arthritis which I'm not going to recover from. I got to the point where I'd be virtually bed-ridden (or at least on a bunch of inflammatories and in a lot of pain to the point it was difficult to walk) for on average a day or two each month. Nothing's cured, but it's probably one of the main reasons I got into cycling, trying to maintain an active lifestyle. I also had to give up red wine (something to do with the tanine I believe), but can still drink white wine and beer so it's a small price to pay. It's now 10 years later and I still get the occasional back pains, but nothing I can't deal with - and I haven't had a repeat attack for about 4 years now. I probably cycle on average about 5 days a week. To be honest, I rarely even think about it now, other than just associating it with getting older. I fractured my spine in a cycling accident last year and feared that would bring it all back but it didn't, I'm relieved to say.

    So, to re-iterate, get your arse in gear and get on with it!!
  • girv73
    girv73 Posts: 842
    Yep, get on yer bike, so to speak, and go to the physio.

    My own anecdote is of a cycle crash and badly broken arm when I was 13ish that I never got any physio for (I don't recall if it was offered or not). I'm 35 now and the wrist and elbow don't have a full range of movement - you should see the way I have to sit at a keyboard to get my left hand typing, which is a problem since I'm a programmer! There's little that can be done now and I'm kinda used to it anyway, but maybe some physio 20 years ago would have avoided the situation altogether?

    Do you want to be saying something like that 10 or 20 years from now?
    Today is a good day to ride
  • Bemmiebiker
    Bemmiebiker Posts: 31
    Have to agree with all the above. I'm currently sat on the sofa, where I've largely been stuck for 3 weeks following surgery to repair a ruptured cruciate ligament. I took over 5 years to get around to the surgery for this and although I'm still on crutches and a month away from getting on my feet and another from getting back on the bike I already think it was the right decision.

    I did the injury initially playing football, I was living East Africa at the time so no proper diagnosis, but knew it wasn't right. And I've had problems ever since trying to play football, squash or skiing. Luckily cycling has always been ok and will now be major part of the rehab.

    The trigger to get it sorted was getting my eldest kid on skis at the age of 2 last winter whilst also having problems with my knee when skiing more challenging stuff on my own and after that I started to get problems day to day

    So I've gone under the knife, but why did I wait when I'd known I had a problem for years? I'm trying to recover with a 1 year and 3 year old running round the house, not easy for me or my wife, and I'm strongly advised to miss skiing this winter. So the 3 year old will have to ski holding her grandad or mummy's hand this year and I'll find watching hard. But it'll be well worth it in the long run.

    Sort yours out when its easiest to do. And that surely is now.
    A Lemond (FCN 4)
    An ageing Klein (FCN 9)
  • biondino
    biondino Posts: 5,990
    Bemmiebiker, can I ask how you went about getting round to getting it sorted? What kind of medical input did you have? Was it expensive? My girlfriend basically has a fuxored knee which she's had an operation on (multiple bits of metal in there) but clearly needs another and she's putting it off and off and I'd love to be able to give some useful advice if possible!
    My Focus / My Bob Jackson
    Blog (incl. bikes)
  • Bemmiebiker
    Bemmiebiker Posts: 31
    Basically started at the GP. They couldn't work it out so sent me to sports physio, who still couldn't work it out so with a bit of persistence got referred for an MRI which showed I had a ruptured anterior cruciate.

    I was told the reason nobody worked it out to begin with was that as I cycle a lot (I the doctor's terms, but nothing major, about 100miles a week) and did the bulk of the damage a while ago the muscles around the knee are pretty strong hence ususal motion tests didn't show the problem, although my description of symptoms suggested it.

    I think I got lucky with NHS in Bristol as when I got referred to a specialist I was careful to stress I do a lot of sport and its important to me. Initially I opted not to rush into surgery and the specialist/surgeon gave me an open appointment to come back if I changed my mind. Which I did when I started to get problems just chasing after kids rather than just when doing daft things like skiing mogul fields badly which is when I used to get problems.

    I went back, asked for surgery and then got lucky again in that I obviously hit their waiting list at the right time and got transferred to private care for the op and follow up (as I had been for the MRI scan as well). Apart from the fact I only got 10 days notice of the op date, which is a very minor quibble, the experience has been great.

    So I would say hassle the GP, push for an MRI if she hasn't had one, and if you need an op move to Bristol...
    A Lemond (FCN 4)
    An ageing Klein (FCN 9)

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