This is the sad tale of how I was walking down the stairs at home 12 days ago, and slipped, and twisted my knee. And then thought that it maybe wasn’t so bad, so went for a ride. And realised it was a bit bad, so decided to rest it for a few days.
The next morning I had no car though, and had to bike the boy up the hill to his dayhome though. Maybe it would be ok? It was not ok, and after that I was limping quite a lot, and in enough pain that it was hard to sleep.
So I went to physio, and rested… and then six days later, I’d had a few days of no limping or pain, just a lingering discomfort and sensitivity. So I tried a gentle test ride. Conclusion: it didn’t feel strong, but did seem to be getting better. The next morning it didn’t feel any worse.
And so I rode again that evening. But this time I did a lot of knee twisting (practising cornering). I realised the next day what a bad idea that had been, realised that I had made an MCL sprain worse, cursed a lot, took a lot of painkillers, and limped around awkwardly.
Now it’s 12 days after the initial knee twist. My limp has nearly cleared up again. But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to ride the Tour Divide or not. If my knee isn’t 100% it would be stupid to try. And so I’m making contingency plans. And also, spending a lot of time lazing around in the sun, finding my old hammock, playing at the lake, planting new plants, and tidying the house. Because I’m not great at actually resting.
4 replies on “So you sprained your knee walking down the stairs…”
So sorry to hear about your injury. I twisted my knee after falling down a wet boulder while hiking last fall, and sustained a partial tear to my LCL. I was able to start cycling again after four weeks, but it was eight before the knee didn’t feel both stiff and wobbly while walking and running. Not the most ideal timeline. Sending you fast healing vibes.
Thanks Jill – I think mine might actually be LCL too (from my vague memories of the event, and from what’s hurting now). I’m mostly not limping now, but even tiny amounts of pedalling aggravates it. I’d love to confirm what’s actually going on in my knee – I’ve come to terms with the fact I won’t be Tour Dividing this year, but I’d really like to get back on my bike… I’m going crazy without being able to run or ride!
I saw your name crossed off the tour divide list, and immediately checked here to see what was up. I am really sorry to read of your injury and sorry to hear you have had to pull out of the race. I suspect it’s something “on your list” and you’ll make another attempt in the future. Sad how a small thing can completely change plans. I’m sure you have been doing TONS of stuff to prepare. None of that is lost. All the gear, the thinking, logistics, etc. All there ready for the next.
Sorry to hear about the injury, sounds like you are getting better, hope you get full recovery, and I sincerely hope to see your name on the Tour Divide start list in a future year. All the best to you.
Thanks Tom – and yep, planning has definitely switched to a 2016 race. And now I’ve basically got all the preparation sorted, all I have to do is make sure I ride my bike a lot in the next 12 months! And there’s the added fact that my custom frame took longer to turn up than I was hoping – so although the setup was basically identical to my old bike (just lighter), it will be nice to have a full year to thoroughly test it. Trying to see the bright side, as I was really looking forward to riding it this year.