During last Sunday’s road race, i was too cooked inside the last km and managed to crash out myself and another rider when i swerved. I landed on my right side, with my right knee taking a good hit.
I guess as just punishment, i’m sitting out this week and possibly the next in order to have the injuries heal. I just came back from the orthopedic doctor’s office, and while the X-rays were negative, I was told that the injury could take anywhere from 6-8 weeks to heal; the main diagnosis being a bone contusion of the bones on the right knee. Truthfully, i’d lose my mind if i’m off the bike for that long, so, for all the medical professionals or anyone else having similar experiences, after how long would you think it’d be safe for me to hop on my bike?
Technically, i was also told that whenever pain subsides is when i can get back, but that is a lot less definitive than 6-8 weeks. I’m hoping maybe 10 days, but am i being overly optimistic?
Thanks in advance for putting up with the hand-wringing
Not sure why you want to go by what a medical professional who doesn’t know you and hasn’t seen you says, as opposed to one who has examined you. Good ol’ internet medicine. What if you have a follow up with the doc after a few weeks and re-assess at that time?
I’m not a medical professional, but it the advice predicated on risk if you had a subsequent bike accident? If so, you might be able to do trainer workouts but I have no idea if that is advisable.
There is a difference between pain and the risk of aggravating or re-injuring yourself. Aren’t you supposed to go back to the physician in a couple weeks for evaluation? You can either go with expert medical knowledge, or buy yourself a magic 8-ball. The latter is cheaper and if you shake it enough you’ll get the answer you wnt to hear.
Technically, i was also told that whenever pain subsides is when i can get back, but that is a lot less definitive than 6-8 weeks. I’m hoping maybe 10 days, but am i being overly optimistic?
Thanks in advance for putting up with the hand-wringing
So…when the pain subsides, try some light trainer rides. See how they go.
You have gotten the ‘internet doc’ response - So I will refrain from adding to that.
It sounds like you are mostly a cyclist (?) given this I can understand if you are out of your sport for a period of time how that can be frustrating. Here are some things to think about while you are off :
take the time to work on your weaknesses. E.g. Core strengthening, lateral hip strengthening, functional muscle length, diet, rest, mental focus, etc. Whatever they are we all have them.
think about ways to ‘cross train’. E.g. water running/exercises, walk everywhere you can, take the stairs, swim.
In this instance I would trust that for the next 6ish weeks pain is a good indicator that things are not healed. IF you were to choose to push through this, the chances increase that you will be out of your sport for for much longer than 6 weeks and/or have sub par performances. Healing times do vary but in general if you have a bone bruise (contusion) full healing can take time. Having said that you MAY be able to start applying MILD stresses sooner than 6-8 weeks.
Be honest with your pain assessment. Get a trainer, set the bike up, low/no resistance and spin. No pain - Great! Work on pedaling drills, cadence, smooth work, etc. Even the best cyclists (runner/swimmer) can benefit from drills every now and again. I tell my patient that while healing if they do something that causes pain for more than 24 hours they need to back off. We are not talking about DOMS here.
If you have swelling in your knee (even mild swelling) this will inhibit the ability for you to contract your quadriceps. This can result in several things: other overuse injuries, stress to ligamentous tissue, atrophy. Getting the swelling out and keeping it out is very important to your recovery. Ice is your friend!
make sure to be re-evaluated by the Doc who saw you.
-Do you want to get on the bike now/ soon and risk further injury coupled with sub-par training?
-Or would you rather heal up, get back to 100% health as soon as possible and resume with great training?
You can either go with expert medical knowledge, or buy yourself a magic 8-ball. The latter is cheaper and if you shake it enough you’ll get the answer you wnt to hear.
the tough love messages especially appreciated as that helps me transition from the bargain phase to the acceptance phase
i’ll be resting until next Monday and see how an easy spin goes. If i can’t complete even one revolution of the crank without having pain, then i’ll shelf cycling to a further date…
This is not medical advice, but if it was my knee I would ride on a trainer right away. If it’s sore stop.
Ice each hour for 10 minutes, use a ziplock filled with cold water and ice cubes.
The timeline they gave is about right for a bone bruise to heal, however I don’t see you making it worse with some easy pain free riding right away.
one question about this here: i’ve heard that the bone bruise, *per se, *won’t get worse through repetitive motion while tendenitis would. Anyone care to explain why this is so?
Simple answer: you sustained the bone bruise due to trauma between your bones and the ground, not due to your pedaling motion, so while there is no guarantee that the pedaling motion wouldn’t make the bruise worse, there is no direct reason to think that it would per se. On the other hand, tendonitis is generally an overuse injury that as a cyclist you may develop directly from your pedaling motion, so more pedaling would quite possibly make the situation worse!
btw, the race i was hoping to do (the bargain), as you may have surmised, is the Penn State road race. Got 8th in B’s last year and was hoping to do better this year. Now it may have to be shelved, and if so, i won’t be able to do that race as a collegiate racer again.
Also kinda sad to miss the Army race this weekend, but that’s a non-starter given the circumstances.
Good luck to you for the remaining races of the season
What if you have a follow up with the doc after a few weeks and re-assess at that time?